What is Cinema?

Back in the late 90s and early 2000, there emerged few Filipino directors who possessed a strong sense of visual aesthetics in telling their stories onscreen, no matter how flimsy the story might be. Among these directors were Yam Laranas (" Balahibong Pusa ", " Radyo ", " Hibla "), Quark Henares (" Gamitan ", " Keka ") and Erik Matti (" Scorpio Nights 2 ", " Prosti ", " Mano Po 2 "). These directors are active still, in one way or another coming up with works that aim to improve their craft and, perhaps, to conquer the international market. But somehow, one can't help but feel that these works are still lacking that strong punch, that ability to provoke and challenge our viewing experience (Laranas' " The Road ", Henares' " Rakenrol ", Matti's " Tiktik:The Aswang Chronicles "). And now comes this new film by Matti - " OTJ ". Having its world pr...

The  7th International Silent Film Festival  was such a blessing. It worked wonders for us contemporary viewers in many ways. First, it was humbling to be able to go back to the roots of cinema, the kind lovingly pioneered by the Lumiere brothers'  Cinematographe  nearly at the end of the 19th century. And then, it was such a marvel to behold cinema's lost era coming to life on modern big screen once again, even for only a short period of time. And still, it was a one-of-a-kind viewing experience for us to be able to watch these silent classics while a Filipino live band (comprising different genres - pop, classical, rock) accompanied each of them - it was both a visual and aural feast! On hindsight, with a unique film festival like this, we once again come to terms with the realization of how far - really far - the art of cinema has come since its humble inception more than a hundred years ago. This film junkie was able to see 5 of the 6 silent films shown,...

There are rich talents and rich stories to be found in our regional cinema. And there could be no more strong indication of this than the recently-concluded  Cinema Rehiyon  (Aug. 14-16 at the UP Film Institute). Each day featured choice films (both full-length and short) from the country's 3 main regions - Luzon (day 1), Visayas (day 2) and Mindanao (day 3). This film junkie was able to see 3 films from the festival - Mes de Guzman's " Ang Mundo sa Panahon ng Bakal " (Luzon), Keith Deligero's " Kordero sa Dios " (Visayas) and Arnel Mardoquio"s " Ang Paglalakbay ng mga Bituin sa Gabing Madilim " (Mindanao). Each of these films was supposed to represent its respective region's cultural identity, social concerns and aesthetic sensibilities. There can be no doubt as to how such distinctions were competently expressed in the language of cinema by these works. What this film junkie remarkably observed in these works, though, was how thei...

Don't get me wrong. Hannah Espia's '' Transit '', the Best Film winner at the recent 2013 Cinemalaya Awards, is an admirable film. It is touching, funny, insightful and heartfelt. There can be no doubt in regards its winning the top prize of the festival. But somehow, this film junkie can't still shake off the feeling that it is a movie that was made with a large audience in mind. It is the kind of work that easily gets noticed by the Oscars:big themes with big emotions (think of Japan's '' Departures '', Denmark's '' In A Better World' ', Italy's '' Life Is Beautiful '', and yes, even the last year's winner, France's '' Amour ''). (Thus, it wouldn't be surprising if ''Transit'' would be the country's representative in the Best Foreign-Language Film category in next year's Academy Awards;and who knows, this might finally be  our  film that will ...

Thus far, only a couple of films have made a strong impression upon this film junkie in the New Breed category of this year's Cinemalaya - Alvin Yapan's " Debosyon " and Hannah Espia's " Transit ", with the former being my prime bet for Best Film. Will there be any strong contender still in the remaining New Breed films that I have seen? Let's see:  6.) " Babagwa " by Jason Paul Laxamana  A casual reading of the film's main plot - a Facebook scammer falls in love with one of his victims, a wealthy old maid - appears trite and unengaging. But then, looks can be deceiving (and this is a crucial point of the film itself!). With his adroit storytelling and excellent performers, the director is able to weave a downbeat, suspenseful and character-driven tale of dreams and deception, love and sex. Filled with red herrings and evocative shots and settings, this neo-noir is one engaging work from start to finish, literally making ...

By the time this piece is written, the 2013  Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival  is just about to conclude and this film junkie has seen about 8 New Breed works and 1 Directors Showcase work. This was just about the second time that I actively attended the festival, so I guess I am not really in a position to say if this year's edition was better than the previous ones (which started back in 2005). And even if I was able to attend this year's film event, I was still not able to see all of the films-in-competition - 10 movies in the New Breed section and 5 movies in the Directors Showcase section - due to work schedule and sold-out tickets. (If there was a lesson I learned here, I think it was that I have to have the festival pass for the next year's edition!) Nevertheless, I still feel blessed that I was able to sample the new works from some of our talented Filipino filmmakers and artists. Certainly, the Pinoy  indie  filmfest is a telling testam...