Freedom in cinema

MANILA, Philippines - A fish springs forth from the loins of a woman who loves it as a true son; the quest for a healing balm for a young woman afflicted with painful wounds; a Christmas eve made unholy when thieves leave a home and family in shambles; and the struggle of a townspeople caught in the crossfire of armed conflict to keep their children in school – these are the tales told by film directors Adolfo Alix Jr., Auraeus Solito, Jeffrey Jeturian and Joel Lamangan, all raconteurs of the first order, in their entries to the Directors’ Showcase of this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and Competition on July 15-24 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Greenbelt 3.

These are stories that would never have flickered to life in the regular movie circuit. Adolf Alix Jr., director of “Isda,” believes that his film would have been very difficult to do as a commercial film. “I knew it would be a difficult project to find a financier for. We took the chance of entering it in the Directors’ Showcase category because we thought Cinemalaya might be interested and daring to choose such a unique material. Stories like this are not mainstream but it needs to be told, I think. Hence, the freedom that Cinemalaya offers is a refuge for alternative stories like these.”

Alix could very well be a poster boy for Cinemalaya’s success. He marks Cinemalaya as the spot where he started his career as a director with “Donsol” (2006), which was a Cinemalaya finalist in the New Breed Full Length Feature category, the main competition category of Cinemalaya for new directors. Donsol, a story of love and healing set in the idyllic seaside town of Donsol in Sorsogon province where whale sharks frolic, became the Philippines’ first official entry to the Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards.

Jeffrey Jeturian, Aureaus Solito, Adolf Alix Jr., and Joel Lamangan are featured in the 2011 Cinemalaya Directors’ Showcase.

Alix returned to Cinemalaya in the New Breed Category in 2007 with “Kadin,” a film about two children who traipse all over the Batanes landscape searching for their lost goat. His films “Adela” and “Manila” (he co-directed Manila with Raya Martin) have the distinction of opening Cinemalaya in 2008 and 2009.

Since he joined Cinemalaya in 2006, Alix has gone far as a film director, reaping laurels here and abroad. Yet, he keeps returning to Cinemalaya and with his Isda, joins the heavyweights in the Directors’ Showcase.

“Being in Cinemalaya is like going back to your alma mater and reminiscing your early years,” Alix says. “The energy at the CCP during the festival is infectious. You see how enthusiastic the audience is with the films and you feel their immediate reaction as you sit through and watch with them.”

The premise of Isda is very simple, Alix believes. Based on a newspaper report dating back to the 1980s about a woman who gave birth to a dalag (mudfish), Alix’s Isda calls to mind a kind of magic realism. The story was featured in the show of the late Inday Badiday, who even agreed to be the godmother of the dalag, Alix recalls.

“When Jerry Gracio (one of the co-directors of “Ligo na U, Lapit na Me,” a finalist in this year’s New Breed Full Length Feature category) told me about his story which won second place in the Palanca Memorial awards, I was immediately interested,” he says. “It may be based on a peculiar incident but deals primarily with the workings of a typical family – the oddity being the son is a fish. I think it will be enticing enough. A story about a family always interests the Filipino audience. It will be interesting to explore the relationship of the community as well within the context of such occurrence which Philippine cinema often portrays as fantasy. The ‘realness’ of the situation will blur the lines between fantasy and reality. I am happy with Isda. I cannot wait for the first reaction of the audience when they see it.”

Scenes from Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Bisperas” with Edgar Allan (left). Alessandra de Rossi stars in Aureaus Solitos’ “Busong” (below).

Auraeus Solito is another Cinemalaya baby who has gone on to win worldwide accolades for his work. “Cinemalaya made me,” he declares. “It is through this festival that I made my first feature film and my big breakthrough.”

The celebrated film “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” (2005), which he directed and which was written by Michiko Yamamoto, catapulted him to directorial stardom. “Pisay” (2007), finalist in the New Breed Full Length Feature category, “was my ode to my high school life.” This year, Solito joins the Directors’ Showcase with “Busong (Palawan Fate),” which he describes as the fruition of his life as a film artist.

“Busong is about us. Our roots. When we do something bad to others, it comes back to us right away. This is about Palawan. Punay, the wounded who is searching for a way to be healed of her wounds. And Alessandra de Rossi is the lead actress!”

Some of the images in Busong have been in Solito’s mind since childhood, through his mother’s bedtime stories. To make a Palawan feature film, for Solito, was the penultimate dream. “It has been gestating in my mind for 15 years. This film is about my roots. About my tribe, the Palaw’an. It is about people and land being one. Our ancient culture and our struggle to survive in this modern age.”

According to Solito, his mother would tell him stories that would go on for days on end. “She said these were her movies. Now as a modern indigenous Palaw’an, it is my turn to tell these stories through cinema, for it is simply my birthright.”

Solito is always thankful to Cinemalaya for supporting him throughout his career. “In Cinemalaya, I have had absolute freedom. I just make the film. I have never compromised in my life. I simply make films that I can imagine and see them in frames in my mind. I make films that I am dying to make. I make films that I am excited to make. A film is independent when a filmmaker realizes his visions. That is why I love the term of the French for filmmakers – realisateurs.”

Left: Rosanna Roces, Cherry Pie Picache and Anita Linda appear in Adolf Alix’s “Isda.” Below: Scenes from Joel Lamangan’s “Patikul.”

As a “graduate” of the New Breed category for new directors, Solito is very happy about joining the Directors’ Showcase. “It’s good to be back home! The thrill of being in Cinemalaya lies in the audience,” Solito enthuses. “One of the most amazing experiences in my life was when Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros had its premiere in Cinemalaya. The loud laughter, the hiyawan (swooning), the sigawan (screaming) and the thunderous applause.”

And so even if his Busong premiered in Cannes earlier this year, Solito says he is actually more excited about seeing how the Filipino audience will react to Busong. “Filipinos react differently – empathic and passionate – they really feel it. The final test of my film is when my fellow Filipinos watch it in Cinemalaya.”

The venerable Joel Lamangan expresses a similar sentiment about the Filipino audience. “For me, mas matimbang ang appreciation ng Filipino audience (the appreciation of the Filipino audience carries more weight) – because I am a Filipino.” Lamangan, who is a major mainstream director, first joined Cinemalaya’s Directors’ Showcase last year with his film “Sigwa,” an epic spanning 40 years of social unrest in the Philippines. “Cinemalaya offers me that chance to do the films I like to do. I chose everything, without anybody dictating to me. It’s very fulfilling because everything emanates from me and not a producer. It’s all my idea,” he explains.

Lamangan believes that the merits of the commercial film should not be disregarded. “The commercial film is the film that is seen by the majority of Filipinos; it is seen by the national audience. You can’t exist in a vacuum. Your film needs to be viewed by an audience. If you want to be versatile, you need to learn from both mainstream and independent. Young directors nowadays seem to prefer to serve the festival audience, the international audience, rather than the Filipino audience. It would be good if they can communicate first to the Filipino audience. Young directors must not negate the mainstream. Both the mainstream and independent should learn from each other. There should be no dichotomy,” he says.

“Patikul,” his current entry to Cinemalaya, is about the schooling of children constantly interrupted by the chaos in Mindanao. “Ito ay tungkol sa pagkakaisa ng mga magulang para sa edukasyon ng kanilang anak (This is about how the parents come together for the education of their children). It’s about empowerment of people to open schools and get their children an education. I am happy with it just like my other advocacy films na nagsasabi ng katotohanan tungkol sa ating bayan sa isang partikular na panahon (which tell the truth about the situation in our country in a particular time).”

Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Bisperas” takes place on the eve of Christmas when marauding robbers ransack a family home, and ultimately unearth what were once hidden from light, breaking the silence of night and turning it unholy.

Now on its seventh year, Cinemalaya, which is probably the Philippines’ most important indie film festival, started out as a digital indie film competition for young and neophyte directors but expanded to include established and veteran filmmakers by opening the Directors’ Showcase category last year.

The Directors’ Showcase, according to Cinemalaya festival director Nestor Jardin, gives established directors the chance to join Cinemalaya. “We are certain that many mainstream directors would like to create new films outside the studio system,” he explains.

The response to the Directors’ Showcase, and Cinemalaya on the whole, has been most gratifying for the people behind it. “We will continue to discover and support filmmakers and encourage the creation of new works,” Jardin says.

Cinemalaya is going to get bigger and better, Jardin promises, in terms of grants and exposure. “We want to go regional. We want the Philippines to be a center of independent filmmaking in Asia.”

Alix and Solito both believe that the rise of the Filipino indie film is not a flash-in-the-pan thing. Says Alix: “Cinemalaya continues to be one of the institutions that pushes the envelop of independent filmmaking. Every year, you see an improvement. Independent films have always been part of the industry. It is only in the last six years that it has been getting attention due to the democratization of the film medium through digital technology. So more exciting stories are still waiting to be seen.”

Solito adds, “Indie films will never die, it has always been there and will always be…as long as people want freedom in cinema.”

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With 31 films in competition, plus more than a hundred in exhibition, Cinemalaya 7 is bigger and better. Beckoning audiences to “See the Unseen,” Cinemalaya will reach a wider audience as it will be held in its main venue at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, CCP Complex and at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City, in cooperation with Ayala Theaters Management. Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Film Development Council of the Philippines and Econolink Investments, Inc. For film schedules and ticket information, visit www.cinemalaya.org.