What is Cinema?

I finally had my initiation into a Raya Martin film when the UP Film Institute featured 2 of his earlier films as part of the so-called World Audiovisual Heritage Celebration last Oct. 24. The films were " Maicling pelicula ng ysang indio nacional " (2006) and " Independencia " (2009). I barely had an idea how a Raya Martin feature film goes - the themes that preoccupy him, the methods that he uses in carrying out his preoccupations, his philosophical mindset and his technical concerns. I was actually hearing about him already before, but it was something that didn't really occupy my attention. Probably because "experimental" cinema isn't really my cup of tea. Thus, this film junkie was basically clueless as to what he was going into when he finally decided to take a shot at the young filmmaker's works. I deliberately avoided reading anything about the films previously mentioned so as to not have any prejudgment in regards their value. I jus...

More likely than not, one of the least popular film screenings here in the metropolis is  The Learned Film Buff  screenings being held at the UP Videotheque on a monthly basis. So much so that during the past couple of months wherein this film junkie attended the screenings, the number of viewers would barely reach a dozen (there was a time that there were only 2 of us!). Probably, this was due to lack of widespread reach (considering we already have various forms of social media) or because the event was really aimed at a very "specific" group, as the name of the event itself suggests. Even if less "popular", it doesn't follow that the screenings are not worth one's time. In fact, the films featured these past couple of months were a treat to film enthusiasts. The event was able to live up to its conceit of coming up with "random picks that film lovers will truly enjoy".  Last August, it featured Timur Bekmambetov's hip and imaginative ...

The first week of the  Brazilian Film Festival  held at the UP Film Institute (Sept. 26-27) served up impressive samples of social realist cinema, with films like " Carandiru " by Hector Babenco, " The Twelve Labours " by Ricardo Elias and " Angels of the Sun " by Rudi Lagemann. Was the festival's third (and final) week (Oct. 11) of the same kind? Let's see.  " Olga " by Jayme Monjardim  This film presents themes not uncommon in cinema - a fallen heroine, an ill-fated romance, life during wartime, the Holocaust. No issue with that. Before seeing the film, this film junkie was somehow thinking of a deep character study and a subtle essay on the horrors and hardships of life under occupation. But the moment I heard the swelling score right at the film's beginning, I started to think, out of instinct, that such expectations might be for nought. Alas, it proved to be true! If Steven Spielberg was watching the movie, he could h...

The first-ever  QCinema  ( Quezon City Film Festival ) opted to start humbly, showcasing only 3 full-length films each given a film grant by the Quezon City Film Development Council a little more than a year ago. Judging from the 2 festival entries that this film junkie was able to see during the event's 3-day run, it is my humble opinion as well that the festival did not really stand out that much among the number of film festivals being held annually here in our country (though it also featured a number of New Breed entries from this year's  Cinemalaya ;but we are talking here of QCinema's  own  entries). Hopefully, as what Mayor Herbert Bautista mentioned in the event's promotional video, QCinema will be able to have a lot more films by next year (and in the coming years). By that way, our gauge of the quality of the festival's output will be more wide-ranging and well-informed. Nevertheless, the event was an earnest start and should definitely encourage o...