Pinoy indies stir interest abroad, but where to find the rest?
What's next after Cannes?
Pinoy indies stir interest abroad, but where to find the rest?
By Mayo Martin
http://www.malaya.com.ph/may27/ente2.htm 5/27/2009
CANNES - On Tuesday afternoon, the heavenly sound of Filipino choral music rang clear outside of the Debussy Theater beckoning critics and movie buffs alike to watch "Independencia," Filipino filmmaker Raya Martin's entry in the Cannes Film Festival's more adventurous Un Certain Regard section.
The following night, Martin and his co-conspirators: director Adolfo Alix, Jr., producer Arleen Cuevas and first-time executive producer and longtime celebrity heartthrob Piolo Pascual walked up the red carpet with the likes of Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and director Pedro Almodovar for the screening of "Manila," an "out of competition" official selection pick at the fest.
A few days before that, it was Brillante Mendoza's turn at the red carpet with the provocative work "Kinatay." The reviews have been mixed for Mendoza's film, but Martin and Alix's films have gotten positive responses from online and print critics - mostly among the diehard art-house fans.
But there was one particular review of "Manila" that struck a chord with this writer. And it has nothing to do with whether the film was good or bad. In Variety magazine, Alissa Simon wrote how the film - which was inspired by Ishmael Bernal's "Manila by Night" and Lino Brocka's "Jaguar" -"makes one yearn to see the originals."
Here was a movie critic from a respectable international trade publication whose curiosity about other Filipino films was well and truly piqued.
The question is where can she find it?
It's probably not known to many that what's being called the Cannes Film Festival is actually a film AND a market festival. During those two weeks in May, the world's brightest stars walk down the red carpet in the evenings.
That's the glam factor.
In the daytime, film critics and industry people flock to the various theaters like flies to catch (and judge) thousands of movies - and in many instances decide whether or not it's deserving of a bigger audience (i.e. to release it for theatrical screenings).
So imagine my bafflement at the fact that even as a Philippine flag flew at Cannes (literally), there was neither booth nor table for anyone who wanted to know more. It's the third consecutive year that we've had at least one feature length entry in Cannes.
After a Directors' Fortnight entry in 2007, Mendoza returned with back-toback "In Competition" entries, "Serbis" and "Kinatay." Both controversial films, "Serbis" and "Kinatay" were infamous talking points during the festival. (Mendoza eventually went on to win the Best Director award for "Kinatay." - Ed.)
Martin, meanwhile, screened a four-hour long film at the Fortnight last year and is back with two films this year (one, co-directed with Alix Jr.). And this comes after a veritable feature film black hole since the days of Lino Brocka, a festival darling.
So why wasn't there anyone selling Filipino films at the universe's most prestigious cinematic event packed with more film critics, buyers, and directors per square feet than anywhere else? Where, for two weeks in May, nothing else mattered but movies?
As a Singapore-based journalist, I was there to cover our tiny neighbor's frenzied activities (okay, full disclosure, I was also there incognito to cheer my brother Raya and his friends on).
Never mind that the Singporeans had only one film at the Directors' Fortnight. Or that their entire cinematic history comes nowhere close to ours in terms of quality and tradition. They arrived two days before the entire shebang and immediately tried to sell theirs and their grandmother's films to everyone who'd sit down to listen to their spiel. All in all, they had a total of 20 films to boast of. And only two of these were actual finished products.
According to a movie kit from the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in 2007 and 2008, we had a whopping 92 films. And all of these - from romantic comedies to arthouse fare to horror flicks - were packed and ready to go.
Sure, I understand that everyone was probably taken by surprise in 2007. But after three years and with the current buzz over Southeast Asian films, why weren't we taking advantage of all the attention?
Aside from Singapore, I spotted booths from Thailand and Indonesia - and the latter hasn't even had a film shown in Cannes.
Arleen Cuevas, who produced both "Independencia" and "Manila," revealed that people had approached her looking for a booth to find Filipino films to buy.
But it's been a missed opportunity. Cuevas said that they've talked to sales agents who normally wouldn't have given them the time of day if they didn't have a movie being shown in Cannes. But now, it's the agents who've been wanting to meet them.
She's had a French company coming up to her to talk about future film projects thanks to the presence of the three Filipino films.
The diversity of the three films - Mendoza's uber-realistic suspense thriller, Martin's stylish early 20th century parable of the Fil-Am war, and Martin and Alix Jr.'s artsy homage to Manila - has also changed the international film industry's perception of Filipino films as either "gay films" or "soft porn" ones, she said.
What needs to be pushed now is the industry side of things. "Kailangan talagang karugtong (ng pagkakaroon ng films sa Cannes) ang sales, promotions and distribution side. 'Yun ang wala ngayon na nakakatulong sa ibang cinema," she said.
One doesn't have to look far for an example. Like Singapore, Thailand has been aggressive in its promotion of films in Cannes. Despite the fact that the Thai directors who've shown their films there aren't exactly local boxoffice darlings (e.g. Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), the Thai booth showcases their more commercial films.
Naysayers who downplay the Philippine presence as a "fad" miss the point. It's more like getting a foot in the door in the global arena. Cuevas revealed that they've also been getting rather unkind comments about how their presence at the festival is "just" due to the fact that they've got French co-producers onboard for both "Kinatay" and "Independencia" ("Manila" is purely Philippine-made).
"Independencia's" co-producers are from France and Germany, and its international sales agent is Memento Films, which handles art-house flicks like last year's Palm d'Or winner "The Class." It's never been a secret that Cannes has had a bias for the French - who after all pioneered the visual art form. But what's wrong with having outsiders helping you make your film?
Of all the films I've watched at the festival, you'd be hard-pressed to see one non-Hollywood film that isn't a multi-country co-production. Even Heath Ledger's last movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" was made with some Canadian money - by a British-based director, Terry Gilliam.
"To actually find a European partner to finance your film and trust that you have the talent on a level na puwede silang mag-invest ng pera sa iyo is an achievement in itself," Cuevas said. She clarified that it doesn't mean Filipino films need vindication from a foreign party but "right now, it's a global market."
I'm crossing my fingers that we'll return not just with one or two or three films at next year's edition of the Cannes Festival but with hundreds of them. All of which are ready to come to a foreign theatre near you.
Source: Malaya - The National Newspaper
Pinoy indies stir interest abroad, but where to find the rest?
By Mayo Martin
http://www.malaya.com.ph/may27/ente2.htm 5/27/2009
CANNES - On Tuesday afternoon, the heavenly sound of Filipino choral music rang clear outside of the Debussy Theater beckoning critics and movie buffs alike to watch "Independencia," Filipino filmmaker Raya Martin's entry in the Cannes Film Festival's more adventurous Un Certain Regard section.
The following night, Martin and his co-conspirators: director Adolfo Alix, Jr., producer Arleen Cuevas and first-time executive producer and longtime celebrity heartthrob Piolo Pascual walked up the red carpet with the likes of Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and director Pedro Almodovar for the screening of "Manila," an "out of competition" official selection pick at the fest.
A few days before that, it was Brillante Mendoza's turn at the red carpet with the provocative work "Kinatay." The reviews have been mixed for Mendoza's film, but Martin and Alix's films have gotten positive responses from online and print critics - mostly among the diehard art-house fans.
But there was one particular review of "Manila" that struck a chord with this writer. And it has nothing to do with whether the film was good or bad. In Variety magazine, Alissa Simon wrote how the film - which was inspired by Ishmael Bernal's "Manila by Night" and Lino Brocka's "Jaguar" -"makes one yearn to see the originals."
Here was a movie critic from a respectable international trade publication whose curiosity about other Filipino films was well and truly piqued.
The question is where can she find it?
It's probably not known to many that what's being called the Cannes Film Festival is actually a film AND a market festival. During those two weeks in May, the world's brightest stars walk down the red carpet in the evenings.
That's the glam factor.
In the daytime, film critics and industry people flock to the various theaters like flies to catch (and judge) thousands of movies - and in many instances decide whether or not it's deserving of a bigger audience (i.e. to release it for theatrical screenings).
So imagine my bafflement at the fact that even as a Philippine flag flew at Cannes (literally), there was neither booth nor table for anyone who wanted to know more. It's the third consecutive year that we've had at least one feature length entry in Cannes.
After a Directors' Fortnight entry in 2007, Mendoza returned with back-toback "In Competition" entries, "Serbis" and "Kinatay." Both controversial films, "Serbis" and "Kinatay" were infamous talking points during the festival. (Mendoza eventually went on to win the Best Director award for "Kinatay." - Ed.)
Martin, meanwhile, screened a four-hour long film at the Fortnight last year and is back with two films this year (one, co-directed with Alix Jr.). And this comes after a veritable feature film black hole since the days of Lino Brocka, a festival darling.
So why wasn't there anyone selling Filipino films at the universe's most prestigious cinematic event packed with more film critics, buyers, and directors per square feet than anywhere else? Where, for two weeks in May, nothing else mattered but movies?
As a Singapore-based journalist, I was there to cover our tiny neighbor's frenzied activities (okay, full disclosure, I was also there incognito to cheer my brother Raya and his friends on).
Never mind that the Singporeans had only one film at the Directors' Fortnight. Or that their entire cinematic history comes nowhere close to ours in terms of quality and tradition. They arrived two days before the entire shebang and immediately tried to sell theirs and their grandmother's films to everyone who'd sit down to listen to their spiel. All in all, they had a total of 20 films to boast of. And only two of these were actual finished products.
According to a movie kit from the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in 2007 and 2008, we had a whopping 92 films. And all of these - from romantic comedies to arthouse fare to horror flicks - were packed and ready to go.
Sure, I understand that everyone was probably taken by surprise in 2007. But after three years and with the current buzz over Southeast Asian films, why weren't we taking advantage of all the attention?
Aside from Singapore, I spotted booths from Thailand and Indonesia - and the latter hasn't even had a film shown in Cannes.
Arleen Cuevas, who produced both "Independencia" and "Manila," revealed that people had approached her looking for a booth to find Filipino films to buy.
But it's been a missed opportunity. Cuevas said that they've talked to sales agents who normally wouldn't have given them the time of day if they didn't have a movie being shown in Cannes. But now, it's the agents who've been wanting to meet them.
She's had a French company coming up to her to talk about future film projects thanks to the presence of the three Filipino films.
The diversity of the three films - Mendoza's uber-realistic suspense thriller, Martin's stylish early 20th century parable of the Fil-Am war, and Martin and Alix Jr.'s artsy homage to Manila - has also changed the international film industry's perception of Filipino films as either "gay films" or "soft porn" ones, she said.
What needs to be pushed now is the industry side of things. "Kailangan talagang karugtong (ng pagkakaroon ng films sa Cannes) ang sales, promotions and distribution side. 'Yun ang wala ngayon na nakakatulong sa ibang cinema," she said.
One doesn't have to look far for an example. Like Singapore, Thailand has been aggressive in its promotion of films in Cannes. Despite the fact that the Thai directors who've shown their films there aren't exactly local boxoffice darlings (e.g. Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), the Thai booth showcases their more commercial films.
Naysayers who downplay the Philippine presence as a "fad" miss the point. It's more like getting a foot in the door in the global arena. Cuevas revealed that they've also been getting rather unkind comments about how their presence at the festival is "just" due to the fact that they've got French co-producers onboard for both "Kinatay" and "Independencia" ("Manila" is purely Philippine-made).
"Independencia's" co-producers are from France and Germany, and its international sales agent is Memento Films, which handles art-house flicks like last year's Palm d'Or winner "The Class." It's never been a secret that Cannes has had a bias for the French - who after all pioneered the visual art form. But what's wrong with having outsiders helping you make your film?
Of all the films I've watched at the festival, you'd be hard-pressed to see one non-Hollywood film that isn't a multi-country co-production. Even Heath Ledger's last movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" was made with some Canadian money - by a British-based director, Terry Gilliam.
"To actually find a European partner to finance your film and trust that you have the talent on a level na puwede silang mag-invest ng pera sa iyo is an achievement in itself," Cuevas said. She clarified that it doesn't mean Filipino films need vindication from a foreign party but "right now, it's a global market."
I'm crossing my fingers that we'll return not just with one or two or three films at next year's edition of the Cannes Festival but with hundreds of them. All of which are ready to come to a foreign theatre near you.
Source: Malaya - The National Newspaper