Another golden age for Philippine cinema?

The opening ceremonies for the Tofarm Film Festival are set for today at 3 p.m. at Novotel Manila Araneta Center, while the regular screenings are scheduled from Sept. 12 to 18.

The six films are: Tanabatha’s Wife, a period romance set in the outskirts of Baguio in the 1920s, written by Charlson Ong and directed by Ong and Lito Casaje; Alimuom, a rare Filipino sci-fi film written and directed by Keith Sicat, with Ina Feleo, Epy Quizon and Mon Confiado in the cast; Mga Anak ng Kamote, a futuristic drama written by John Carlo Pacala and directed by Carlo Enciso Catu, with Katrina Halii and Kiko Matos; 1957, a historical drama written and directed by Hubert Tibi; Sol Searching, a dark comedy written and directed by Roman Perez Jr., with Joey Marquez and Pokwang in leading roles; and Kauyagan (Way of Life), a Talaandig tribal drama written and directed by Julienne Ilagan, set in Mindanao and starring the inimitable diva Bayang Barrios.    

Sponsored by Dr. Milagros How, the Tofarm Fest is in its third year of advocacy that aims to “showcase the lives, journeys, trials, and triumphs of the Filipino farmer.” Bibeth Orteza is festival director, with Joey Romero as managing director. 

The six films that were selected on the strength of submitted scripts will be shown at SM Megamall, SM Manila, Robinsons Galleria, TriNoma, Greenbelt 1, Gateway, and Gaisano Davao. The awards night will be on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Shangri-La Manila in Makati.

The first of these films I’ll likely watch is Tanabata’s Wife, which will have its premier screening at TriNoma on Wednesday at 2 p.m. I look forward to this adaptation of Sinai Hamada’s classic short story of a cross-cultural romance between a Japanese vegetable farmer and a Bontoc woman. Apart from its literary provenance, another reason for my interest is its topnotch cinematographer Nap Jamir, himself a film director.

Of course I also look forward to seeing all the rest of the entries, since I was part of the script selection committee headed by Raquel Villavicencio, together with Manny Buising, Antoinette Jadaone and Mario Cornejo.  

Owing to a tight work schedule over the past two months, I’ve already missed out on several films that have been highly recommended by cineastes I trust — to hear from whom we may have entered another golden age of Philippine cinema.

Among these are Khavn dela Cruz’s Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, Dwein Baltazar’s Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus, Richard Somes’ We Will Not Die Tonight — from the recent Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino — and from Cinemalaya that also boosted our cinema’s worth last month: Liway by Kip Oebanda, ML by Benedict Mique Jr., Pan de Salawal by Cha Espiritu, and Kung Paano Hinihintay Ang Dapithapon (Waiting for the Sunset) by Carlo Enciso Catu.

I got lucky with free time last week to catch Signal Rock at UP’s Cine Adarna, and I’m happy to report that everything positive I had heard and read about it is true. Indeed, it’s a masterful film of modest intentions, so well-handled by veteran director Chito Roño.  

The striking metaphor alone of the coastal rock formations of Biri, Samar, serving as a bastion of communication with the outside world by way of adequate cellphone signal, marks this out as a unique film.

Intoy, the town’s young charmer and community glue, transcends the geographical isolation and manages to be constantly in touch with his older sister in Finland. Their hometown has become a source of young brides for aging foreigners, sometimes with unfortunate consequences — as what happens to Ate Vicky, who has to run away from physical abuse and has to fight for custody of her daughter.

The core story centers on Intoy’s efforts to help out through the fabrication of documents that’ll help convince a Finnish embassy official that Vicky has the means to support her daughter.

Woven around this bureaucratic challenge are the town’s quotidian circumstances: another girl who gets betrothed to a German senior, but continues an affair with local boyfriend; Intoy’s own romance with a girl whose father pushes for employment at a bar in Olongapo; the success story of a former Japayuki; a hoedown that ends in fisticuffs; the local jail with an unbolted door and a standing fan outside it; a genial mayor on his last term who uses Intoy to convince his wife to extend a political dynasty; a gruesome fratricidal murder; and Intoy’s handyman father who has set up his own hut since his wife has thrown him out after alleging domestic rape that produced two more children.

The intertwining narratives in this microcosm of the national condition, underscored by a remote island that relies on its women as OFW and mail-bride fodder, are rendered seamlessly via Rody Vera’s outstanding screenplay. Cinematographer Neil Daza paints pastel images broken by a customary storm and a memorable boat ride to the mainland, with the perils of a raging sea bathed ominously in mist.

 Moral ambivalence is hardly highlighted by the deception Intoy orchestrates with the assistance of townmates, all for the cause of helping out a family member in distress. 

Christian Bables shines as Intoy, while Nanding Josef as his father and Elora Españo as his girlfriend Rachel lead the fine ensemble acting. But it’s Chito Roño’s masterful hand that lofts this simple film into sheer quality.

With Signal Rock, the currently screening Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral and the recent BuyBust as evidence, plus the host of other superior films of late and upcoming — whether indie or blockbuster — I’m inclined to believe that we’re in the midst of a golden age of Pinoy cinema, all right.