Building bridges through film

MANILA, Philippines – “Pamilya Ordinaryo” continued its winning streak at the 4th Hanoi International Film Festival (HANIFF) in November, with director Eduardo Roy Jr. and lead actress Hasmine Kilip receiving the top awards in their respective categories.

The film was among 11 other contenders from around the world: from India, Canada, Korea, Iran, Russia, Japan, France, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Festival director and Vietnam Cinema Department general director Ngo Phuong Lan says one of the major changes at the fourth edition of HANIFF was that they opened the feature length competition to films from around the world, not just Asia-Pacific as was the case in the past. Thus, Roy and Kilip’s recognitions are all the more important, with a wider and even more competitive playing field.

The film’s wins round out a stellar year for Filipino independent films that have been receiving accolades from film festivals all over the world.

Other Filipino films featured at HANIFF were “Sibol” by Mikee de la Cruz, which was in competition among 29 others in the short film category. “Imbisibol” by Lawrence Fajardo and “Tandem” by King Palisoc were part of the World Panorama section, while “Water Lemon” by Lemuel Lorca was part of the ASEAN Cinema program.

The festival, held every two years, carried the theme “Cinema – integration and sustainable development.” Lan says, “This is a young film festival that constantly innovates itself.”

Aside from the films in competition and exhibition, HANIFF prepared open air screenings. Lan asserts, the festival wanted to bring quality films closer to the public. The screenings, held near Hanoi’s well known tourist spot Hoan Kiem Lake, were paired with fashion shows by local designers, to further push the idea of bringing arts to the public.

Lan was also inspired to bring the British film “I, Daniel Blake” to the Vietnamese audience after watching the 2016 Palm d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival. The provocative film, directed by eminent British filmmaker Ken Loach, also won the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival. The festival also offered a film campus to aspiring filmmakers, as well as a film market where producers, directors and writers from all over the world could convene.

At the launch of these two festival components, Motion Picture Association director of operations and special projects-Asia Pacific Susan Lee noted that Vietnam’s film industry has been growing steadily, ending 2016 with more than 50 films produced, compared to the previous year’s 45 – statistics similar to the local industry in the Philippines.

“You have so many stories to tell the world,” she said to the filmmakers present. What is important, Lee adds, is to create a vibrant, competitive, healthy market and to expose filmmakers to international best practices.

There were also round table discussions about ASEAN collaborations and co-productions, in support of the festival’s thrust of unity in the region.

Unity through film was further highlighted by the image of a bridge, used in the festival’s opening and closing ceremonies. Film is able to bridge many gaps – from socio-economic to cultural; breaking barriers of distance and of language.

Interestingly, film has indeed served as a bridge for the young volunteers at HANIFF, who were excited to meet filmmakers and actors – especially those from the Philippines as they are surprisingly familiar with some Filipino films and soap operas that have made it to Vietnam.

One volunteer, an English major, said she loves Marian Rivera. And Dingdong Dantes – “so handsome!” she swooned. While the popular love team did not visit, HANIFF was graced by the presence of Iza Calzado who was part of the jury and looked elegant in blue Filipiñana during the red carpet opening night.

Another volunteer, a film student, hoped that local films in her country would be supported by a wider audience – especially independent films, just like those that were being shown at the festival.

This sentiment could easily be echoed in the Philippines as well. Locally, film is being used to bridge the gap between mainstream and independent filmmaking – or it’s trying to, at least.

There are many controversial and much-discussed changes in this years’ Metro Manila Film Festival, leaving the industry divided.

Under new leadership, the festival featured eight films that are more likely to be seen in festivals like HANIFF, not on local screens.

The eight films are: Jun Lana’s “Die Beautiful,” which has already won the Best Actor award for lead actor Paolo Ballestros at the Tokyo International Film Festival; Marlon Rivera’s “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2,” a follow-up to the highly lauded Cinemalaya best film; Theodore Boborol’s “Vince & Kath & James,” produced by Star Cinema and the lone mainstream selection this year; Avid Liongoren’s “Saving Sally,” a film that blends live action and animation, making its premiere after some ten years of production; Erik Matti’s “Seklusyon,” which takes the place of the usual Christmas horror flicks; Arturo San Agustin and Real Florido’s “Kabisera” starring Nora Aunor; Alvin Yapan’s “Oro”; and Babyruth Villarama Gutierrez’s “Sunday Beauty Queen” the first-ever documentary to be part of the MMFF.

These are surely different from the usual rom-com/fantasy/horror fare that MMFF viewers are used to, but, audiences across the Metro have been giving the films a chance.

There has also been clamor for theater owners to show the MMFF films in the provinces.

While the box office returns will surely reflect a dip in sales compared to past years, this year’s festival is a step towards bridging the gap towards fostering a movie-going audience that supports Filipino films of different genres, open to a wider variety of local films that is continually being made more accessible to them.