It’s on the last seconds of Fine Dining that it gets really good. That’s when all of its five minutes culminate in a single line — “halika, anak, kain tayo.” Fine Dining is a story of a father recreating a fine dining experience for his daughter’s birthday, through disposable utensils and cup noodles. And it’s also, impressively, a story that has made it as a finalist to the Manhattan International Film Festival. Young Star talks to Lance Katigbak, the 18-year-old wunderkind behind the short film — just before he leaves to take a bite out of the Big Apple.
YOUNG STAR: How did the concept for Fine Dining come up?
LANCE KATIGBAK: We were eating in a fancy restaurant for my tita’s birthday and I was looking at the table setting and I thought, what if a poor man recreated this setting using simple items and plastic utensils? I started playing around with the idea and made a list of utensils and meals you’d find in a fancy restaurant, and what they could be replaced with. I told my mom about the idea and she gave me a couple of ideas, and helped me finalize the basic storyline.
How did you hear about the Manhattan International Film Festival? What was the submission process like?
A friend who is with World Youth Alliance, the organization hosting the festival, told me about the competition. When I saw the website, I felt like it was calling me, because it was open to anyone under 30 years old who had a short film about human dignity, which was exactly what Fine Dining was about. When I found out (that) I got selected, I had to rush to get my US Visa and book a ticket, but it all turned out well. I sent a letter to some friends of my parents asking for financial help for the trip and many of them replied generously. It’s a nice reminder that age doesn’t have to be an obstacle for me, and that it can be my springboard to success. I’m really excited to go to New York and meet other young directors who share my passion for filmmaking.
Did you always know that you wanted to make films?
I always enjoyed the video projects we were asked to make in high school, but it was only recently that I started going into filmmaking. I attended a summer workshop where I learned the basics of digital filmmaking, like how to operate a camera, the types of shots, and the different rules, and I’ve been into it ever since.
How do you respond to some criticism that your short is bordering on poverty porn?
Poverty porn is basically an exposition and glorification of poverty as the end of everything. What I tried to show in Fine Dining was that it is not an end, nor is it an obstacle to being able to do great things, even in simple ways. Rather, I used poverty as a background to highlight the much more uplifting messages of love, dignity, and how those values can triumph even in the midst of harshness.
After the success of Fine Dining, what’s the plan?
Right now, I’m just focused on making more films. I’m hoping to submit an entry to the shorts category of Cinemalaya this year, along with my cousin. Maybe I’ll try a full-length film afterwards.