Cesar Montano's 'Ligalig' cloned after a French flick?

I haven't seen "Ligalig," another filmfest entry, but a showbiz authority swears that it is almost a clone of the 2003 French film "Haute Tension."

So I surfed the Internet to find out more about the French movie. I found out that plot of "Haute Tension" goes something like this: Two female college students, Marie and Alexa, set off to Alexa's parents' secluded homestead in the country to relax and study. Come nightfall, a mysterious killer breaks in and kills Alexa's father, mother, brother and pet dog. Alexa is now bound and gagged but Marie eludes the intruder and tries to save her friend.

I read Ligalig's synopsis and while there are similarities, I doubt if it's an exact copy of "Haute Tension." I wonder if that showbiz expert was just trying to put Cesar Montano down.

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Star Cinema can't accept that "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo," its entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival, has lost to "Enteng Kabisote" in the quest for best picture. Kasal took runner-up honors but that wasn't acceptable to the producers, who have filed a formal complaint with Bayani Fernando, the filmfest festival.

The controversy has cast a shadow over the filmfest. I wouldn't be surprised if several production outfits boycott the filmfest this year.

Many are questioning the criteria the festival organizers adopted in choosing the best entry. Did they give more weight to an entry's commercial success than its cinematic excellence?

Maybe excerpts from the complaint submitted by Ms. Malou Santos, the Managing Director of ABS-CBN Film Productions, could help shed light on the issues raised:

To millions of our fellow Filipinos of modest means who work hard and sacrifice most forms of leisure all year, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) holds a special position of trust.

Filipino moviegoers part with their hard-earned money every Christmas, trusting that the entertainment we present them, and the manner in which our peers judge these works of entertainment, are conducted with transparency, honor and a commitment to the truth.

Filipinos trust that we, producers, love our movies as much as they do, and that we respect, cherish and honor the moviegoing experience as much as they do.

Their trust humbles us. It is an important responsibility that impacts not only on the livelihood of producers and artists, but also on the image of local film festivals, the future of all aspiring filmmakers, and consequently, the public's perception of the integrity of the officials who head these affairs.

It pains us that this trust is betrayed.

For several years, we have refrained from joining the Metro Manila Film Festival. This season, out of sheer love for the industry, we decided to be a part of the festival again, with the hope that it would be a celebration of the film community, and a Christmas gift of values and qualities that Filipinos admire.

The recent MMFF awards once again compel us to critical self-examination.

After the festival, we still ask ourselves-were we able to give the public the film festival that they deserve?

We leave our film festival experience with painful questions:

1. According to the MMFF Executive Committee, they implemented 3-pronged criteria for judgment: commercial viability (as translated into film gross) 40%, creative and technical excellence 40% and cultural values 20%.

How can film gross comprise 40% of the awards criteria when the awards were given only on the fourth day of film showing, with at least 10 more days of screening to go? Isn't this criterion unfair to the producer and deceptive on the public?

In the case of Kasal Kasali Kasalo, if it overtakes Enteng Kabisote 4 in gross receipts, will the awards then be remanded and handed to Kasal? We doubt that, as much as we doubt the integrity of this criterion.

2. Assuming that the 4-day gross was enough valid basis, Kasal Kasali Kasalo did gross second highest in those 4 days (therefore high on commercial viability, 40%), garnered 8 awards (creative and technical excellence, 40%), and went on to win the Gatpuno Cultural Award (cultural value, 20%). That should have summed up as an indisputably high score in the Best Picture category.

In contrast, Enteng Kabisote won zero awards.

How could Enteng Kabisote have scored on commercial viability high enough to surmount the other criteria, when commercial viability was pegged maximum at 40 percent? Simple arithmetic and logic leads us to question the decision.

How much longer can we compromise the public's already deteriorated trust? How long can the moviegoers be patient with our self-interest and one-upmanship?

The filmfest organizers have not come up with an official reply to the complaint, but Chairman Fernando, in an interview with Mario Dumaual in TV Patrol, said that what was important was the festival should earn a profit