Direk Raymond Red on telling big stories in short films

What also makes the culture and tradition of telling stories and exploring topics through moving images persist and prosper is the effort of local governments and private companies to mount film festivals.

The CINEGOMA Film Festival, organized by RK Rubber Enterprise Co., encourages film enthusiasts and practitioners to display their creativity and points of view in short form or short films.

For its sixth edition, the filmfest’s theme is “May Kwento ang bawat Laban,” and it is open to amateurs, professionals, students, RK Rubber insiders and anyone.

They can submit their entries to the various categories, from student to commercial, professional to artificial intelligence (AI) and RK exclusive.

Aug. 15 is the deadline for registration for interested participants. There’s no registration fee.

The film festival will run from Nov. 24 to 29, and awards and cash prizes will be given away.

The CINEGOMA festival director is Xavier Cortez, CEO of RK Rubber, while filmmaker Raymond Red, also a pioneer and figure in the country’s alternative and independent cinema, sits as the co-festival director and creative consultant.

“The short form is really quite challenging,” said Raymond when The STAR asked him about the exciting part of this kind of filmmaking in a recent press conference. “You can try to follow the supposed rules of, you know, let’s say, (the ones being) applied in full-length movies.”

“But in a short film, you can break those rules,” added he, giving the three-act (structure) story as an example in writing one’s screenplay, “because you have to find your own way to tell it.”

Although short films are good starting points for an enthusiast or a student of this art form, he said that one needs to study it.

“Short film really looks deep into the roots of cinema, which is visual,” shared he. “That’s what cinema means. The word ‘cinema’ is (referring to) moving images. So, you tell your stories really through the visuals, that’s the challenge in it. I mean, you can complement it with dialogue or whatever sound effects, music, but it’s the visuals that are very important… So, the visuals need to tell the story very, you know, quickly and in a very effective and powerful way.”

As for how the filmfest came to be, Xavier recalled, “It started as a part of (our) team-building (activity)… we’re a fan of education and training.”

So, the company’s executive department thought of ways on how it could better train its employees, make them more competitive, enhance their skills and develop leadership and character.

Festival director Xavier Cortez says that the film festival started as part of his company’s team-building activity. Marking its sixth year, it has become a platform for aspiring filmmakers to share stories and begin their budding careers.

It saw the potential of filmmaking as another form of training, as one may infer by following his train of thought. Filmmaking and what they do also both involve project management and thrive on creativity.

It also makes work enjoyable, and the filmfest provides its employees and aspiring filmmakers the platform to share stories and establish their names.

The media event also offered a chance to catch up with Raymond, as he revisited his body of work and shared updates on his current projects.

He shared that his advocacy for film education began at the start of his career. At 19, he became a filmmaker and landed a job at the MOWELFUND Film Institute.

“Since then, sharing knowledge has become my passion at nag-aaral ako hanggang ngayon (and I’m still studying filmmaking),” said Raymond, who conducts workshops and teaches film and creative content creation in schools and organizations.

“So, whatever I’m discovering in my journey, in my learning and in my being a filmmaker, I want very much to share it with other aspiring filmmakers.”

He also carries on to promote awareness about short filmmaking.

Aside from being a teacher and director, Raymond is part of a commercial TV production house and head of education for training and research of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP).

Despite a track record that spans feature films to narrative and experimental shorts, such as “Bayani,” “Kamera Obskura,” “Sakay” and “Anino,” as well as recognitions like the Palme d’Or at the 2000 Cannes International Film Festival for “Anino,” he considers himself “a struggling filmmaker.”

He continued, “And I’m proud of that kasi hindi ako tumigil (because I have never stopped making films). I struggle to make the films I believe in. So, lagi ko ngang sinasabi sa interviews, hanggang ngayon, meron akong 30-year-old screenplay (I always say this in my interviews that until now I have a 30-year-old screenplay).”

And that’s for the full-length film titled “Makapili,” which he described as a bit ambitious and centered on World War II.

He said, “Hanggang ngayon hinahanapan ko ng tamang producers, tamang support and funding. Isa yun sa mga talagang i-na-aspire ko pa rin magawa (Until now, I’m still looking for the right producers, support and funding. It’s one of the things that I aspire to make).

“But along the way, I’ve still been making short films. I also do exhibits in art spaces and galleries. I do video installations. I also still dabble in experimental cinema.”

(For filmfest details, follow RK Rubber social media accounts: RK Rubber Enterprise Co, RK Rubber Cebu, RK Rubber CDO and RK Rubber Davao on Facebook; CineGoma RK Rubber Film Festival on YouTube; @rkrubberph on Instagram; @rkrubberph on X; and @rkrubbertiktokofficial on TikTok. To register, click https://forms.gle/GWk6RcVxv7JWiP8S7.)