Originality: The essence of Cinema One

MANILA, Philippines - Lav Diaz, who was a no-show, sent a speech that not unlike his films was epic-long. In his stead, indie film regular Mercedes Cabral went on stage to read the speech and fumbled her way through it. Festival entry Astro Mayabang’s title roler Aaron Villaflor mispronounced “curious” as “kuryus.” But then he is cute and showed in the film’s crucial scenes that he was a better actor than 10 Gerald Andersons combined and so we forgive him.

Like Lav, a visibly aged but still flamboyant Celso Ad Castillo was also an honoree. The audio-visual presentation that accompanied the tribute for the former Enfant Terrible of local movies had for its first reel that unforgettable scene from Tag-ulan Sa Tag-araw (1975) where a young, long-haired Christopher de Leon chases after the car that carries Vilma Santos (as Nanette), the cousin he fell in love with. There is not much dialogue but the images speak volumes about the intricacies of incestuous love.

“Movies, nowadays, talk too much,” direk Celso addressed the audience at the Nov. 14 awards rites at the Dolphy Theater in the ABS-CBN Compound. “I was more interested in the form, the visuals.” And indeed, the vignettes that Celso created in film classics like Pagputi ng Uwak, Pag-itim ng Tagak, Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa, Burlesk Queen and even the lesser-known twinbill Bakit May Pag-ibig Pa? (he directed the Alona Alegre-Romeo Vasquez episode; the other one with Nora Aunor and Christopher was helmed by the late master Ishmael Bernal) will haunt film lovers forever.

Whether you’re a Lav Diaz who has a penchant for movies with long running time or a Celso Ad Castillo obsessed with imagery, both seasoned, or a newbie like Astro Mayabang’s Jason Paul Laxamana, it is hard to miss that all three filmmakers have something in common — originality. It is that ferocious insistence to step out of the box and veer away from conventions. Originality, in fact, is the very essence of Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival’s six-year existence.

Seven daring films were chosen to take part in the yearly cinema feast’s sixth edition. In Remton Siega-Zuasola’s Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria, an island girl is about to leave home to marry a foreigner. The flawed but energetic Astro Mayabang by Jason Paul Laxamana features a young man who wears patriotism on his sleeve. Joaquin Pedro Valdes’ Dagim is about two brothers who chance upon a tribe with a gory secret while searching for their father who has all but disappeared. Ishmael is Richard Somes’ humble homage to the now-extinct Pinoy Western genre. Layang Bilanggo, adjudged Best Picture, is a drama depicting the strained relations between a hired gun (Pen Medina, deserving of his Best Actor plum) and the daughter he abandoned. EJ Salcedo’s Third World Happy is notable if only for Jodi Sta. Maria’s heartbreaking performance as the former girlfriend of an expat who has come back home.

And then there is Tsardyer by Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez which tackles a kidnapping incident.

Like the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in July, Cinema One Originals has become synonymous with November, the penultimate month of every year. It is a fitting culmination of the laudable efforts of courageous independent filmmakers to build a true Filipino film community. What makes the endeavor even more noteworthy is the fact that it is not always free from challenges and obstacles. Will the masa troop to the Shang Cineplex for the festival’s limited run? Will critics be kind or will they be harsh? And true to the Pinoy spirit of never giving up, it is safe to conclude that Cinema One Originals is here to stay. Director for programming Ronald Arguelles sums it up best: “We have tasted both success and failure, but in the long run, it is the failures that serve as our best teacher.”