FILIPINOS COME TOGETHER!!!
YES YES YES! I’ve already seen it but I dont mind a revisit. Kidlat Tahimik is probly the greatest Filipino director.
i will watch on saturday
i saw Perfumed nightmare yesterday and i love it. it’s still relevant despite its age.
I haven’t finished watching Perfumed Nightmare yet but I just want to share this.
We had a conference in my university today, writer-director Sigfried Sanchez was one of our guest speakers YEY for meeting Philippine film personalities in the flesh. Honestly I’ve only learned of him today. He introduced himself as a music video director but I did some googling and found out that he’s also an indie film director.
In his talk, he shared with us how foreigners stereotype our film themes to poverty, poor image of the Filipino people (being unkempt, terrorist, etc.). I confirmed his opinion with an article written by Mark Meily What are your thoughts on that?
He mentioned his latest movie Tsardyer (2010) because one of the forum participants asked what his inspiration was for writing that film. He also mentioned a new film by Brillante Mendoza entitled Pray, thought that might be something to look forward to, Direk Sanchez seemed very eager about it.
Enkwentro director Pepe Diokno was supposed to be a guest speaker too but he didn’t turn up.
yeah i mean when you’re going to watch a fiipino “indie” film it’s always about people in the slums or in the rural areas. it’s so cliche now. the international festival folks would think that we’re always hungry and asking for sympathy. it’s like “hey look at our poor country, please send money” lol.
it’s about time filipino filmmakers make fun about our bourgeoisie and that sick spectacle a.k.a the filipino television/media. but if you think about it these “indie” filmmakers are part of the middle class too since they can afford equipments etc, so they exploit what’s beneath them.
it’s like staring at these rich college kids and yuppies with the slrs and fancy cameras.
the output of independent directors is so because of the film festivals they submit their films to. as far as i know, cinemalaya and cinemaone (two biggest “indie” film festivals) require directors to submit a script first and then the festival will either approve or disapprove to fund that film. and as you can see, the only films that are being approved by these festivals are these films dealing with poverty (Raya Martin calls it “poverty porn”) since it’s so easy to tag these films as “indie”, so the definition of “indie” has become abused. which is why I kinda hate film competitions that have a particular theme (ex.“Taboo”) since it limits filmmakers to only do that sort of film, and the only way they can have their output shown is through these festivals.
i don’t really mind films about the poor in the Brocka tradition, its just that Everyone is doing just that, and some of these films wallow in an aesthetic poverty that adds more injury to the subjects they are depicting. Oggs Cruz remarked on how similar all the competing films in Cinemalaya were last year. honestly, its getting to be monotonous. which is why i kinda have a bias for filmmakers that don’t follow this tradition (Diaz, Raya Martin, Khavn, Carlo P.).
this is a good discussion, i hope JP can add to this…
Mga Lugar Kung Saan Tayo Nagkita: Cubao from Carlo Labrador-Pangalangan on Vimeo.
Sorry po, madaming mali sa subtitles, pero naiintindihan naman natin yung sinasabi nila, di ba?
Adrian: (Paumanhin, huli na)
Lav’s Butterflies Have No Memories was shot in Marinduque, ergo the Filipino dialect.
thanks kints.
naks starbucks
Ah yes, poverty porn. Or ang tinatawag nila sa teatrong “Aestheticization of the poor”
Para sa akin, kailangan talaga ng karamihan ng ating direktor gumawa ng mga pelikula na mas “truthful to themselves”, meaning, so what if you’re rich? Just be truthful about portraying it. Kung kaya ni Lucrecia Martel gawin yun sa Argentina, kaya din yung ng mga filmmaker sa Pilipinas. Pakiramdam ko nga kaya wala masyadong nanonood ng mga pelikula ni JP Carpio ay dahil tungkol sa mayayaman o medyo may kaya ang mga pelikula niya. Bahagi din naman sila ng lipunan natin di ba? Pano naman ang “middle class”? Sobrang daming bahagi ng lipunan bukod sa “classes” na hindi natin nakikita sa ating pelikula. Konting “diversity” naman sana.
Para sa akin kailangan talaga personal talaga ang pagawa ng pelikula, kaya para sa akin mas makatotohanan ng mga gawa nina Lav Diaz, John Torres, JP Carpio, Sherad Anthony Sanchez. Dapat gumawa ka ng pelikula tungkol sa mga bagay na pinakamalapit sa ’yo at gawin mong totoo (naks). Gumawa ka ng pelikula na tungkol sa iyong mundo. Kaya madaming nababanas sa “Poverty Porn”, hindi dahil sa ayaw nating marinig na mahirap ang bansa, pero dahil naramdaman din natin ang pagka “disingenuous” ng mga pelikulang ito.
Wala lang, walang kwentang opinyon ko lang, kung gusto talaga ng mga “Poverty Porn” directors gumawa ng makatotohanang pelikula tungkol sa masa, ibigay nila ang mga kamera sa mga masa at hayaan sila gumawa ng pelikula nila tungkol sa buhay nila. Ops, dito niyo unang narinig yan, copyright! Joke lang, gamitin niyo yan kung sino mang nagbabasa nito, gusto mapanood yung pelikula nila. O sumunod sila sa halimbawa ni Ditsi Carolino o ang ginawa ni Sherad sa Imburnal: samahan mo talaga sila sa mga lugar nila, hindi lang habang nagsshooting, pero bago ka pa maglabas ng kamera.
Yun lang.
^Can I love your comment?
YES! We need more filmmakers to create personal films! And festivals (“the fucking circus”) are hampering down filmmakers by obliging them to make impersonal material. It’s heartbreaking actually…
ask ko lang opinion niyo about sa style ng mga filmmakers natin. di ako masyado updated sa current natin kasi. style i mean yung one scene palang ma identify mo na kung sino yung director, tipong ganun. at kung sino favorite niyo.
as for Perfumed Nightmare my favorite scene would have to be the one where the statue of virgin mary began to talk. i never laughed so much. i like how super 8s look too.
MEET JOHN SAYLES 2MRW!
AMIGO
UP FILM INSTITUTE
FEB 21 5:30-8:30
FYI: There are a number of Filipino-Americans nominated for this year’s academy awards.
1) Matthew Libatique ( cinematography for Black Swan)
2) Stefanie Walmsely, Gigi Dement, Stephen Dypianco ( live action short GOD OF LOVE)
3) Hailee Steinfeld ( supporting actress TRUE GRIT)
Good luck to our PIPS!!!
@ASTRO-TOFU: thanks for sharing Mga Lugar Kung Saan Tayo Nagkita: Cubao in the thread, It confirmed what I learned in the forum I attended.
@Adrian: Everything I’m reading here is coherent to what I’ve learned from Sig Sanchez. That we don’t have a ‘film culture’ or style, well we did have one but it’s not alive now. I’m limited by my knowledge of Lino Brocka films. We’re lacking in middle-class conflict themed films.
There was a film awareness forum lately organized by SM lately. Has anyone heard of this? If I hadn’t heard of it I wouldn’t have know that Robinson’s has cinema dedicated to indie films, is this still around?
Not a lot of action going down here lately. Just wanted to say that the last film we reviewed Perfumed Nightmare gave me an idea of what Philippine cinema should be about which is promoting love of country.
Any suggestions on the next flick to watch?
Oops double post…
YEOP!, have you seen Mike De Leon’s Bayaning Third World? The best film on Rizal by far. If you are feeling adventurous, watch Death in the Land of Encantos by Lav Diaz, (now) my favorite Filipino film of the last decade (I haven’t seen Batang Westside, though, so for all I know that might be better).
It’s hard for me to keep track of everybody on this thread because of the numerous name changes, disappearances and re-appearances. Should we introduce ourselves to each other again?
This is via Kints: Lav Diaz in Conversation with ALEXIS TIOSECO, MAY ADADOL INGAWANIJ, WIWAT LERTWIWATWONGSA & GRAIWOOT CHULPHONGSATHORN
It continues our discussion, and Alexis’ statements at the end bear repeating:
“With regard to the type of films coming from a bourgeois perspective that you mentioned, the topic of films that explicitly deal with poverty has become a big topic in the Philippines now. People are suspicious, saying they’re being made for a Western audience. But what I think is sorely lacking in the Philippines are films that deal critically with the way the upper class operates––you don’t see films that look at them in a serious light, you only see love stories between the rich girl and the poor guy (or the other way round), films where everyone always works in an ad agency. You never see films that try to tackle those issues in a more serious manner.
I think the biggest issue in the Philippines at the moment has less to do with the films themselves, which are starting to be more challenging and diverse, but more to do with Filipino film culture, which is much weaker than the films are at this point. A lot of interesting films are being made, but there is not a culture which supports them by organising and attending screenings, or organising forums for discussion. Most of the work being done around film culture is being done by the filmmakers themselves, who aren’t necessarily always the best organisers [smiles]. Just to relate this to Lav Diaz’s work, I think that almost all of the films screening here have not been shown in the Philippines more than ten times. Ten individual screenings would be the maximum. At a South East Asian cinema conference that we held in Manila last year, one academic, who is a supporter of Lav’s films, questioned the fact that as his films are so long, and not many people watch them, can he really be a Filipino filmmaker? Is he really making films for Filipino audiences? To which I had to reply, very indignantly, that the point isn’t whether people are watching them, but: do you like the films? Do you want to watch them? Do you think people should watch them? And his answer is yes. The question then is: if you think it’s important, why aren’t you doing more yourself to create opportunities for people to see them? It’s not the failure of the film or the filmmaker, but the culture that doesn’t support it."
@ASTRO-TOFU: It is pretty hard keeping track of everyone. Let me start with the re-introduction.
Hi I’m YEOP! my previous screen name was Marz and is what my friends call me. I’m a complete noob to Philippine cinema and working my way around to discovering what it is and how to identify with it. I’ve been active in this thread since (if you backtrack) everyone started talking about Brillante Mendoza’s Kinatay.
Speaking of sharing movies, especially indie. I’ve shown Kinatay to my friends and they also appreciate it. One of them even took a keen interest in watching more indie films and the other is taking internship in the indie film production house- Sinehan Digitales this summer.
In all honesty, I haven’t heard of any of the movies you’ve mention that you’ve mentioned except for Batang Westside I believe I’ve read about it in this thread. I’ll look into Death in the Land of Encantos by Lav Diaz. and Mike de Leon’s Bayaning Third World, I might check that one out first.
Panalo. Magkakaron kami ng mga super updates about Batang West Side soon. Yeah yeah.
Hey guys, join the largest group of Filipino film enthusiasts here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_166410106711709&ap=1
HELLO! it’s nice to read filipino cinephiles here at MUBI.com
@ADRIANMEDIZABAL: welcome to the thread, It’s been pretty dead for a while. I guess its safe to say we all got busy. Have you seen any good Filipino films lately?
BUMP. Happy New Year everyone!
Manigong bagong taon sa inyong lahat!
Hi guys, I’ve come across the late Alexis Tioseco’s post addresses to the Film Development council of the Philippines [http://alexistioseco.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/dear-film-development-council-of-the-philippines/]
I have yet to be enlightened on the process of preserving our old films. From what I’ve read a lot our old films could use restoration but the problem is the original copies have been lost in time. Feel free to correct me if my assumptions have some truth. I think there is a lack of a cataloging system with FDCP of old films dating back to 1930’s onwards because of missing ( lack knowledge of who has them) or deteriorating master copies of old films. Wikipedia seems to have a list of film titles from those years but that leaves me guessing where I can actually watch those films.
adrian628
i suggest Perfumed nightmare