These lines from the musical Miss Saigon reverberate in my mind, rekindling two of my favorite passions in life – travel and film.
Imagine sun-kissed beaches, verdant mountains, terraced stairways to heaven, landscapes devastated by war and fire, rocks battered by a rampaging river, futuristic architecture and urban roadways hit by artificial light, desert and historical monuments telling centuries old stories – such sights and sounds all combine with the camera’s lens to showcase a wealth of striking locations to filmmakers the world over.
Through motion pictures, the viewer travels vicariously to various places where the movie unfolds. As we internalize the film, we inevitably travel into the deepest recesses of our very own beings. As chairwoman of the International Film Festival Committee, which is directly under the Film Development Council of the Philippines, participating in different film festivals here and abroad is integral to my job as we proudly market and share with the world the very best of Pinoy cinema.
The Filipino motion picture, spawned at the turn of the 20th century, has matured into an industry of art and commerce. The language of film has been hailed as a national form of expression of our culture, politics and economics. At the simplest, the feature film is the shuffling of light images to win hearts in dark rooms. At its most complex, it is a massive venture, a vast creative enterprise of commerce and financial foreshadowing.
In retrospect, the Golden Age of the Philippine movies was a very special time – it was an era of lush, spectacular films and of foundation-shaking changes in the motion-picture industry: the collapse of the studio system and its constellation of stars, the emergence of the independently-produced film, and the rise of television with its bag of mixed blessings. However, the Philippine film industry is being revitalized. According to Christian Jeune, Cannes Film Festival director and jury head of this year’s ongoing Digital Lokal Competition of the 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival: "In the last few years, we have seen the emergence of this very exciting new global Filipino cinema. I am here in the Philippines for the very first time to select films that can compete in the Cannes film festival in May. Films eligible to join must have only been screened in their country of origin," he added.
In recent years the Philippine government has extended generous support to the film industry to ensure its economic viability. The FDCP, under Chairman Rolando "Jacky" Atienza, has benchmarked itself with the Korean Film Industry where joint efforts of the government and private sector have taken Asia by storm. With the advent of the digital film, it is not a farfetched idea to welcome in another Golden Age.
An Asian economic tiger, South Korea is a mosaic of old and new: rural folk villages and DVD mini-cinemas, ancient stone pagodas and rock music bars, buzzing modern cities and feudal-era fortresses, densely forested mountains graced by some of Asia’s finest Buddhist temples. It is a compact and little-explored country where Asian traditions, Western fashions, Confucian ideals and democratic ideas mingle to form an identity based equally on language, national pride and a fondness for nature’s beauty.
Haeundae or Haeundae-gu is a gu (ward) in eastern Pusan (or Busan), South Korea. It is an affluent beachfront community that attracts tens of thousands of tourists to what many consider to be Korea’s best beach and was the venue for this prestigious Film Market where our very own award-winning movie, Kubrador, was screened alongside prominent Asian and International movies on parade during the festival.
As one of Eight Great Sceneries in Korea, Haeundae is famous for its beautiful nature and long-standing history. Its famous sandy beach is 1.5 kilometers long, 30 meters wide, and can accommodate 120,000 people at one time. At the beach are a marine aquarium, a coastal literature hall, a library and a folk performance workshop where visitors can take part in Korean traditional folk games such as Nulttigi, Ssireum, Tuho, Yutnori and more.
In the Asian Film Market during the Festival, Viva Entertainment has sold its romantic drama Illusion to CJ Entertainment, the first-ever such rights deal for a Filipino movie in Korea. The deal is part of a Korean industry initiative to support Asian art films by acquiring five annually for local distribution. The film, a breakthrough in a market that is normally closed to Philippine films, will be screened in 30 cinemas across South Korea.
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has been held yearly since 1985 with the official endorsement of International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). This year marks the 19th time it is being held. As one of the world’s 12 largest international film festivals and Japan’s only officially approved international film festival, TIFF has had a major influence on Japan’s film industry and culture. At the TIFF, two Filipino films were successfully screened, Kubrador and Exodus, Tales of the Enchanted Kingdom.
With over 12 million people in the official metropolitan area alone, Tokyo is the center of the most populated urban area in the world, Greater Tokyo (which has a population of 35 million people). Tokyo brings the most modern wonders of technology, commerce and architecture side by side with the old, and has something for everyone. Tokyo has a vast array of sights, but the first items on the agenda of most visitors are the temples of Asakusa, the gardens of the Imperial Palace (in Chiyoda) and the Meiji Shrine (in Harajuku).
Director Alcantara and I arrived in Manila just in time for the opening of our very own 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival at the Center Stage in SM Mall of Asia. Indefatigable Cinemanila Festival director Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz, NCCA Executive Director Cecile Alvarez, FDCP Chairperson Jacky Atienza and over a thousand Cinemanila fans, supporters and film buffs witnessed the opening festivities. National Artist Eddie Romero’s first digital film Faces of Love is also being screened during the Festival.
Cinemanila was established in 1999 to be a world-class film festival in the Philippines. The festival has always stood for two things; the promotion of Filipino films to world cinema audiences and of world cinema to Filipino audiences, and the development of new and independent filmmakers.
With over 50 films from filmmakers in more than 40 countries worldwide, Cinemanila proudly presents its films in competition for the prestigious Grand Prize Lino Brocka Award. For the Digital Lokal Competition, independent Filipino filmmakers are vying for the Cinemanila Best Digital Film Award. The much-anticipated 8th Cinemanila Awards night will be held on Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace and attended by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, foreign dignitaries and luminaries from the film industry.
One final thought: an industry that does not prepare for the future is destined to live in the past.
Mabuhay Ang Global Pinoy Cinema!
The 2006 Cinemanila International Film Festival runs from November 3-15 at the Greenbelt Cinemas, SM Digital Cinemas and the NCCA Auditorium, Intramuros Manila. The 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival 2006 is held in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Departments of Tourism, Education, Customs, Foreign Affairs and the Independent Cinema Association of the Philippines. For more information about the 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival, please visit its website at www.cinemanila.com.ph.