The movies on Imee’s mind

MANILA, Philippines — Her family may be associated with culture with a capital “C,” Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, however, appreciates pop culture. She would read comics during its heyday.

“I started in Kabataang Barangay,” said Gov. Imee of her fascination with the movies in a recent media call. “You cannot communicate with the youth kungdi naman sa sine, sa komiks, sa TV. Hindi naman makikinig yun ng anim na oras na talumpati.” She recalled that speeches of then leaders were used to be long and young people were “zoned out.” “So napilitan akong mag-start sa game shows sa telebisyon. Dun nag-umpisa ang Kulit Bulilit, Kaluskos Musmos.” That perhaps explains why Gov. Imee has a soft spot for entertainment. One may add that she knew what media platforms the young market in her time would gravitate to. “At sa pamilya mamin, mahal na mahal namin ang pelikula kasi ang tatay ko laging sinasabi na may utang na loob (siya) sa sine,” she added.

Sampaguita Pictures produced Iginuhit ng Tadhana and Pinagbuklod ng Langit about the love story of the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady, and Ilocos Norte Second District Rep. Imelda Marcos.

“Kasi naging presidente ang tatay ko dahil sa sine. Parati niyang sinasabi yun.” Her mother was the brains behind the promotion of seven arts and the idea of film combining all the seven. Her exposure to creative industries led Imee’s involvement with experimental cinema. Filmmaking-wise, Philippine cinema remains alive and vibrant, although it is beset by production and promotion problems.

“Ang problema (ay) distribution, promotion, marketing all over the world,” she said. “Although some of the filmmakers and producers have been successful, it’s on their own individual effort.”

“If, for example, we want to do an animation movie, which is my first true love, it takes what? Eight years to make money on a Disney movie,” she added. “Sino naman ang may pisi na eight years kung di aabunuhan o tutulungan ng gobyerno… Hindi na tayo dun sa filmmaking as such kundi sa business of film. Kailangan na tayong mag-graduate sa business of film. Although there are people like Mother Lily Monteverde, Vic del Rosario and the rest, ABS, who know what they’re doing, it would be nice kung lahat ay matulungan.”

This concerted effort between the government and the movie industry will also empower deserving directors in places like Cebu and Davao in marketing their masterpieces. Gov. Imee said that everyone should have an open mind in tapping emerging means to showcase Pinoy narratives in films.

“We should live with the fact that live-streaming and digital (are) very much part of our lives. We have to exploit YouTube and everything else,” she said. “You  can show our films there. That’s a whole lot of platform. We need to do it systematically. Yung mas organize at mababayaran yung may-ari.” Film issues do not just revolve around admission price and production. To address them, Gov. Imee said, “I think if we’re more strict with regulation. Unang-una bumabagsak ang film and music industry natin dahil sa pirata.” But the governor is optimistic. “On one hand, there are lots of problems. On the other hand, there’s a world of opportunity. Digital has made film limitless. You can have film everywhere. So while we’re crying about the admission price in the theater, what about outside the theater? Maybe there are other ways to make money.”

Although the film industry can learn from the practices of bloggers and social media influencers in promotion, nothing can go wrong by working together and with planning. “We should have a plan,” she said. “Saan ba tayo magaling? We can’t make those giant epic pictures na lalaban sa superhero franchise. We can’t afford it. We certainly don’t have the sound and the post-production facilities. Saan tayo magaling? Music, I think we’re always way ahead.”

Despite the challenges, Gov. Imee takes her hat off to the men and women of film industry. “Kahit maraming problema, kinakaya. Ang gagaling ng (mga) producer, ang gagaling ng director. I don’t know, (but) somehow they manage to do it... I think the bigger problem is really the business of film, how to market it, how to distribute, how to have all these award-winning movies from overseas get shown in the Philippines.”

With that, Gov. Imee, for sure, will help the film industry to turn these challenges into opportunities.