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[Music]
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[Applause]
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so
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afternoon i'd like to thank the
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organizers for
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inviting me to deliver this lecture
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i'm entitling it in the bravo i'm
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borrowing the term from the philippine
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daily inquirer
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awards for independent films
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philippine cinema is dead i first heard
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the phrase in the 60s
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it was a time when the reign of the big
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three studios
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sampaguita lvn and premiere
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was waning small companies
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like tagalog ilan productions were
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producing
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cheap movies without the quality control
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of the studios
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at the turn of the new millennium i
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heard the phrase
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again philippine cinema is dead
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from an annual output of 150 to 200
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movies a year
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before the turn of the new millennium
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the production of the industry dwindled
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to around 50
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movies
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was not as bleak in describing the state
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of philippine cinema
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but he said that it was quote in the icu
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fortunately
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this thing called independent films came
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to the rescue
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and kept philippine cinema alive
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if international film festivals are any
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measure
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of the presence of pinoy in the films
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then we can just look at the films
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that have represented the country in
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various festivals
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in the past few years you might have
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heard of the titles annino
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ampag da talagani maxima oliveiros
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cobrador confessional
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death in the land of encantos and many
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more
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what is this kind of films we call indie
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for the past eight years the philippine
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daily inquirer has been
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recognizing the achievements of indie
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films
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and filmmakers in the international
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circuit
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through its annual indie bravo awards
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the phrase in the bravo is instructive
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and even a cursory look at the reference
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or source
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will give us an idea of the concept
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indium and by extension indie
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indi bravo recalls the india bravo of
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results times
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the spanish colonizers in our country
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referred
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to the indigenous peoples or natives
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as indios rizal and the other filipino
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expatriates
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in spain in a sub subversive turn
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referred to themselves as los indios
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bravos
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braavos could either mean courageous
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or barbaric by calling themselves los
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indios bravos rizal juan luna
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and their fellow filipino expatriates
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owned
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the derogatory term and twisted it
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into an expression of resistance and a
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mark of distinction
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los indios bravos certainly
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is also an exclamation of pride
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of admiration of approval for the indios
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bravo great galing
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yes thus the biography of usarizal
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written by his granddaughter assuncion
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lopez
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rizal bantug is entitled india bravo
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the story of us erisal
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in the mid-60s beatrice rumwaldes
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returning to manila from the united
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states saw the need for a watering hole
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where artists and other people with
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unconventional taste
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and bent could unwind and talk
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and conceive of great things to do she
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put up
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cafe los indios bravos
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that became quote the epicenter of
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pre-martial law
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bohemia that gave breathing room
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to the artists diplomats and
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revolutionaries
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suffocated by the strictures of 1960s
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manila
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the late bayani san diego jr of the
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entertainment section
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of the philippine daily inquirer writes
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about the india bravo awards
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quote like the indios bravos
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of the 19th century these present
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generations
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artists are traveling to distant lands
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to share the filipino story a narrative
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of resistance a tale of struggle
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and hope unquote so in the bravo
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echoes the expression that is rooted
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in subversion resistance difference
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in our reflection on indie filmmaking
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it would be instructive to keep in mind
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the connection
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of indy to india
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film in our country being
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a borrowed or imported medium was
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patterned after
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foreign models particularly the
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hollywood variety
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after world war ii the american system
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of the mid 40s and 50s was a small
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version
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of hollywood
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sampaguita lvn and premiere the big
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three studios
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copied the factory-like system of
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hollywood
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each identified with a particular genre
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of movies
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lvn with comedy musicals some pagita
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with melodrama
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and premiere with action movies
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conventions of hollywood storytelling
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and film language
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became the dominant form the studio
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system
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eventually lost its hold on the industry
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hampered by studio fire or labor
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problems
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and competition smaller companies came
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into the picture
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and big stars like dolphy fernandopol jr
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amalia fuentes and others played a role
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in competing against the big studios
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by putting up their own production
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companies
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in the 60s it was a free-for-all
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situation
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moreover the sexual revolution of the
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60s
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in europe and america only exacerbated
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the problem
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the bomba movies or soft pornography
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uh pornographic films of 1970 ushered in
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by movies like oh how brought philippine
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cinema
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to the pits and if there's ohau
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there must be ohau no
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this is not to say that philippine
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cinema in the 60s
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was all trash in fact filmmakers like
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lamberto aveliana and gerardo de leon
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made what would arguably be their best
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works
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in the sixties how did that happen
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avellana and gerardo de leon did their
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thing
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outside the mainstream
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in the mid 60s antonio vellega's mayor
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of the city of manila
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organized the manila film festival 1965
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to give a boost to the ailing industry
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the idea was to devote
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a week that would highlight the best of
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what the industry could offer
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all the theaters in manila would feature
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the entries
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during the festival before this
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local movies were only shown in a few
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theaters
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balisi life globe and center
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the other theaters played foreign movies
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the idea of all the manila theaters
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screening pinoy movies
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was revolutionary and the industry rose
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to the occasion
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aveliana delivered a film
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that he had wanted to do for so long his
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film adaptation of nick walken's a
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portrait of the artist
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as filipino he brought the idea to
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manuel de leon
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the son of donia sisan the matriarch of
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lvn
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manuel de leon and lamberto avellana
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made the now classic
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dalita bajao and kundiman lahi
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in the 50s under the banner of lvn
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so the connection between the director
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and producer was well established
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to realize aveliana's dream manuel de
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leon invested his own money
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and put up diadem productions
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here was a case of a company that would
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produce a movie
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outside of the mainstream diadem
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productions was not called an
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independent company then
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but it was independent in the way we use
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the term today
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the choice of material a stage play in
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english
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was uncompromising clearly different
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from the generic movies
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that were produced during that period
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gerardo de leon made ang dig nang
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mangapi
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originally conceived as a propaganda
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movie
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to highlight the reform the land reform
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program
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of re-electionist president jose
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macapagal
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the project was not finished by election
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time
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but gerardo de leon continued working on
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it anyway
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it was produced by cnn masters a company
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that was set up to do
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the propaganda movies for makapagal the
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result was a film
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that could be the best film by gerardo
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de leon
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so unfortunately there is
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no more copy of the film
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a portrait of the artists as filipino
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and angdai dignangmangapi were not
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referred to
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as indie films but they were done
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outside the mainstream
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and differed from its usual commercial
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products
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the impetus was the production of film
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an uncompromising film a film that was
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against the trend
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a resistance if you will against the
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commercial
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requisites both films did not depend on
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big stars
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portrait featured stage actors
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desi ontaveras aveliana the wife of
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lomberto aveliana
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and nati kramer rogers well known in
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theater but virtually
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unknown in in the movies
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they dig had robert arevalo
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and barbara perez well-known movie
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actors
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but they were not big stars moreover the
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subject of the film
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was the kind that mainstream production
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companies would not
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dare touch for example
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with the portrait
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two old maids are worried about survival
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in a changing city in a country that is
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on the verge of war
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the dignity is about the plight of
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farmers
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and the issue of land reform
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nonetheless the films were made and
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quite expectedly
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they bombed in the box office during the
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first manila film festival
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in 1966.
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the highest grossing film was an
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action-adventure
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caper sabotage starring tony ferreira
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the local counterpart of james bond
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it should be noted that there were other
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productions in the 50s and 60s
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that went against the grain these films
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were not limited
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to the prestige projects of the studios
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like an actalita there were other
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projects that came from outside the
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studios
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and even away from manila that could be
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called truly
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independent examples are the regional
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films from the visayas
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one can argue though that the visayan
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filmmakers
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attempted to set up their own regional
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industry
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and produce movies for commercial
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purposes
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nonetheless some of these visayan movies
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could be considered as a fresh
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expressions of resistance
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and difference to the manila-centric
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mainstream productions
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an example would be badly's saki nabuhi
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which was produced with a small budget
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in a two-day
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shoot by gloria sevilla and matranillo
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jr
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starred in this film which they
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themselves produced
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in the 50s and 60s there were also
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filmmakers
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who were doing documentaries in 16
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millimeter
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film the format for news gathering
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but these so-called documentaries were
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mostly sponsored films
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so strictly speaking they could not have
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been independent
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since they were tied to the objectives
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of their sponsors
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but during this period there were a few
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filmmakers who made
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16 millimeter film documentaries
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that we could consider really
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independent
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the term used was underground film
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making mainstream filmmaking being
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above ground there was henry francia
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who did on my way to india consciousness
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i reached china in 1968.
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in 1974 while lino broca
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mike de leon and myself were doing my
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nila
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samongaku
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eric digia before he officially changed
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his name to gitlat tahimik
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was doing bangla a personal documentary
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fiction film
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that is shot on 16 millimeter and was
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eventually screened in the berlin
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international film festival
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in the 70s aspiring
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filmmakers of broca's generation had to
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break
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into the industry
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they could not do their films outside
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the mainstream there was no way
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they had to break into the industry
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there was no other way
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the cost of full-length feature
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filmmaking was prohibitive
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film format was expensive whether on 35
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millimeter
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or 16 millimeter equipment was not
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readily available
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the process was daunting you shoot
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you send your film to the lab for
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processing
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you edit the work print you do the sound
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mixing
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you conform the work the edited work
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print to the negative
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you send the conformed material to the
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lab
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and order your release print
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very complicated process
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filmmaking outside the industry was a
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luxury
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fortunately broca and bernal paved the
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way
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for a new generation of filmmakers
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directors screenwriters cinematographers
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production designers editors
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music composers and scorers actors
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and other production staff
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film making in colleges and universities
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on the other hand
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also gained popularity in the 70s
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the shooting format was super eight
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millimeter
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the regular eight millimeter or super
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eight millimeter
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was the format for home movies at that
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time
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or for amateur film enthusiasts
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a young filmmaker then who made a name
00:17:02
for his short super eight millimeter
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films
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was a college dropout named raymond red
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he did experimental films like ang
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magpak island
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later he would shift to 16 millimeter
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when funding became available
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and a host of new filmmakers got their
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baptism of fire
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shooting in super eight millimeter like
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nick
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ocampo joey agbayani mike and juan
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alcazaren
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mark alejandre trina dairet mani reyes
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and many others
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in the 80s the videotape technology
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was widely used with the betamax vhs
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and the industry standard then pneumatic
00:17:48
tape
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later the beta come kodak philippines
00:17:52
stopped distributing super 8 millimeter
00:17:55
film
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and it signaled the end of super 8
00:17:58
millimeter filmmaking in the country
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schools had to shift to the new video
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technology
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so besides the sporadic independent
00:18:08
filmmaking that was happening
00:18:10
outside the mainstream industry there
00:18:13
was the lively
00:18:14
student filmmaking the experimental
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cinema of the philippines
00:18:18
and the cultural center of the
00:18:20
philippines sponsored
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film festivals that featured these
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student films
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at the turn of the new millennium a
00:18:30
revolution happened
00:18:32
in filmmaking technology analog gave way
00:18:36
to digital
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filmmaking became more democratized
00:18:40
shooting equipment
00:18:42
and editing with the computer became
00:18:44
accessible
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independent filmmaking became more
00:18:48
feasible
00:18:50
there was no more reason not to be able
00:18:53
to shoot one's dream film
00:18:58
in the 70s when we broke into the
00:19:02
industry
00:19:03
i thought we were already doing
00:19:06
films in the mainstream of the industry
00:19:10
until i realized that we were just in
00:19:12
the fringes
00:19:14
along the periphery of the industry
00:19:17
the center of the mainstream was the
00:19:20
first world of filmmaking
00:19:22
the second was the periphery the third
00:19:25
world was
00:19:26
outside the industry the space for
00:19:29
independent or
00:19:30
indie filmmaking the indie filmmakers
00:19:34
were the outsiders
00:19:40
motivation distinguishes each world from
00:19:43
the other
00:19:45
in the mainstream the motivation to make
00:19:47
films
00:19:48
is essentially commerce films are made
00:19:51
in the mainstream
00:19:52
to make money film therefore is a
00:19:55
commodity
00:19:56
that one can offer in the economics of
00:19:59
filmmaking
00:20:01
it is quite ironic that the film
00:20:03
industry
00:20:04
is always referred to as art and science
00:20:08
when it is primarily business
00:20:12
truly filmmaking is both art and science
00:20:16
but it is also business and as business
00:20:19
the mainstream has developed
00:20:21
conventions that would facilitate the
00:20:24
production
00:20:25
of money there are conventions in
00:20:28
storytelling
00:20:30
and conventions in film language that
00:20:32
have
00:20:33
proven to be effective in the business
00:20:36
thus filmmaking in the mainstream has
00:20:39
become
00:20:39
formulaic veering away from the formula
00:20:44
or the prevailing
00:20:45
genres can be detrimental to the
00:20:47
enterprise
00:20:49
any filmmaker who wishes to work in the
00:20:52
mainstream
00:20:53
has to accept the fact that he is an
00:20:57
instrument
00:20:58
of making money and therefore has to
00:21:01
follow the rules
00:21:03
anyone who cannot fathom that this
00:21:06
truth is doomed to be disappointed
00:21:11
this characterization of the mainstream
00:21:13
is not
00:21:14
an aesthetic judgment it is a mere
00:21:17
description
00:21:18
of what mainstream filmmaking is all
00:21:21
about
00:21:24
along the periphery the motivation
00:21:28
is more than making money the filmmaker
00:21:31
aspires
00:21:32
to make something in the aura of art or
00:21:35
something that may be used
00:21:37
for a particular advocacy
00:21:40
the filmmaker wants to make money too of
00:21:43
course
00:21:44
but it seems that the motivation to
00:21:46
create
00:21:47
and end or communicate takes precedence
00:21:51
over commerce in the history of pinoy
00:21:54
film making
00:21:55
we have seen projects that were done for
00:21:58
prestige
00:22:00
i have already mentioned the prestige
00:22:01
films of lvn like anakdalita by lamberto
00:22:04
aveliana
00:22:06
it was a peripheral project not
00:22:08
mainstream
00:22:09
dona sisang fondly referred to anak
00:22:12
dalita
00:22:13
as her son's manuel de leon's project
00:22:17
of course the proverbial story
00:22:20
tells that the donya cursed the film
00:22:24
when it bombed in the box office it was
00:22:26
not
00:22:27
anak dalita it was anak nang
00:22:32
continued the phrase
00:22:35
manuel de leon continued to make films
00:22:39
along the periphery even moving farther
00:22:42
away from the mainstream
00:22:44
with a portrait of the artist as
00:22:46
filipino definitely an
00:22:48
independent project by his own company
00:22:50
diadem productions
00:22:52
it was the only project of this company
00:22:55
in the 1970s there was a non-government
00:22:58
agency called communication foundation
00:23:01
for asia
00:23:02
that was engaged in media for
00:23:04
development
00:23:05
it produced films like butting out that
00:23:07
focused on the issue of
00:23:09
family planning and sugatsu got directed
00:23:12
by ishmael bernal
00:23:13
that dealt with the plight of farmers
00:23:17
these films were done in the periphery
00:23:20
of the industry but were distributed
00:23:23
commercially
00:23:28
and then along the periphery there is
00:23:30
some leeway to do the films that you
00:23:32
want
00:23:34
and outside the mainstream you are more
00:23:37
free
00:23:39
and these is the filmmaking universe
00:23:41
just keep on clicking
00:23:43
um so most of the films are done
00:23:47
uh at the center of the mainstream
00:23:56
you might have seen some of these films
00:23:57
that it's a
00:23:59
conglomeration of different films that
00:24:02
have happened
00:24:03
through the years imagine a film like
00:24:06
you know and you know but as
00:24:11
when when you go farther away from the
00:24:14
center of the mainstream then you can
00:24:15
see the better
00:24:16
you know films like the made in london
00:24:20
santa santita general luna and then
00:24:23
go on outside the mainstream
00:24:27
you'll see bayaning third world which
00:24:29
was produced by
00:24:31
mike deleon himself the producer
00:24:32
director of the film
00:24:34
cocina a cinemalaya independent film bun
00:24:37
so a documentary by dizzy carolino
00:24:40
astig is one of the early in the films
00:24:43
done
00:24:43
in the mid 90s baton west side by love
00:24:46
diaz anito
00:24:49
anino by raymond redd kinate by
00:24:52
brilliant mendoza citizen jake
00:24:54
by mike deleon and then there's another
00:24:56
one panajo
00:24:57
by love diaz again so the films outside
00:25:01
the
00:25:02
the mainstream the the filmmakers are
00:25:05
free to choose what they want to do
00:25:07
and they can make it you know uh
00:25:10
in in their own way not following the
00:25:13
conventions not following the genres
00:25:16
in the mainstream you follow the genres
00:25:18
today rom-coms are
00:25:20
popular because they earn in the box
00:25:23
office
00:25:24
right so you have to do a rom-com film
00:25:27
but outside the mainstream outside the
00:25:30
center of the mainstream
00:25:31
you can do the films that that you want
00:25:34
and you can do it
00:25:35
as long as you want right that the
00:25:37
running time can be as long as you want
00:25:39
like love diaz
00:25:40
you know films they run for five hours
00:25:43
ten hours or twelve hours
00:25:45
love diaz doesn't care right uh
00:25:48
if you're going to stay and watch for 12
00:25:50
hours but he's going to do his thing
00:25:52
that is what he wants to do and he can
00:25:54
do it outside of the mainstream
00:25:56
so the the independent filmmaking
00:26:00
uh development allowed
00:26:03
a lot of indie filmmakers to do the
00:26:05
films that they want
00:26:09
and looking at the lino broca's films
00:26:12
many of his films were done at the
00:26:15
center of the mainstream
00:26:17
you know when he established himself in
00:26:20
1970 when he
00:26:21
entered the the movie industry in 1970
00:26:27
he worked for leia productions and he
00:26:29
did a lot of commercial films
00:26:32
and then he continued and he established
00:26:34
his name and then later on he was
00:26:36
able to to form his own company cinema
00:26:41
which produced the nimbankang unit kulan
00:26:43
in 1974.
00:26:46
the the production of tin in bangkok
00:26:47
when kulan inspired
00:26:49
other film makers and producers
00:26:53
to do their own films like mike deleon
00:26:57
did uh produce my niela samangoku
00:27:01
when we realized that there's an
00:27:03
audience
00:27:05
out there and we can do the films so
00:27:07
mike de leon established
00:27:09
cinema artists philippines and did my
00:27:11
nila samonga coconut
00:27:14
mike de leon he just he just made
00:27:17
one film at the center of the mainstream
00:27:21
hindi ahati and langet and
00:27:24
and he that the experience was not quite
00:27:27
good
00:27:28
and he decided to take out his name from
00:27:31
the
00:27:31
from the film but now he he's
00:27:34
older and you know he includes it in his
00:27:37
uh filmography
00:27:39
many of his films are done along the
00:27:41
periphery
00:27:43
sister stella el bach81 team along the
00:27:48
periphery
00:27:49
done by companies
00:27:52
mainstream companies but with a
00:27:55
different
00:27:58
purpose and then outside he did ali one
00:28:01
paradise ali one paradise
00:28:04
uh was produced by the asian
00:28:07
center of the japan foundation it's uh
00:28:11
it it involves aside from the filipino
00:28:14
filmmakers it involves
00:28:17
it involved filmmakers from thailand
00:28:20
japan
00:28:20
and indonesia beyond third world was
00:28:23
produced by
00:28:24
mike deleon himself
00:28:28
mike was supposed to to
00:28:31
make uh the rizal film
00:28:34
during the centennial celebration um
00:28:38
but again it uh fell through and
00:28:41
uh uh gma films which which was
00:28:45
producing it
00:28:47
and chose marilu diaz abaya to to do
00:28:50
the result film which became jose rizal
00:28:53
and so
00:28:55
mike de leon wanted to do his result
00:28:57
film
00:28:58
and so we brainstormed on the on the
00:29:01
project and we came up with bayern
00:29:02
interdword
00:29:04
citizen jake his latest film
00:29:10
so in indie filmmaking presents a new
00:29:13
generation of filmmakers
00:29:16
um because filmmakers can do the films
00:29:19
that they want then they can
00:29:21
they you there are there is a
00:29:23
multiplicity of distinct voices
00:29:27
and different styles various subjects
00:29:30
experimentation with new language
00:29:32
so a film can be done in one long take
00:29:36
you know the digital video has allowed
00:29:38
filmmakers to experiment
00:29:40
with the technique
00:29:43
the whole film can be done in one take
00:29:46
which
00:29:47
which one in the filmmaker did
00:29:50
in in in one of the festivals
00:29:54
uh just just imagine doing a one and a
00:29:56
half hour film
00:29:58
in just one take right so the digital
00:30:02
video technology allowed
00:30:04
that filmmaker to do it um
00:30:08
the the filmmakers are not tied down to
00:30:11
conventions or style
00:30:14
that is acceptable only in the
00:30:18
acceptable in the center of the
00:30:20
mainstream
00:30:22
indie filmmaking has made possible for
00:30:24
love diaz to do the kind of film that he
00:30:27
wants to do
00:30:29
diaz after his traumatic excursion in
00:30:31
the mainstream of the industry
00:30:33
in the 90s through regal films pitopito
00:30:36
brand of filmmaking
00:30:37
regained consciousness and is now making
00:30:40
con uh films
00:30:41
without regard for conventions in the
00:30:42
industry so you might have heard of
00:30:44
pitopital
00:30:45
no regal films device that you know to
00:30:49
to control production it simply means uh
00:30:52
seven days of uh planning and then seven
00:30:55
days no
00:30:56
seven days of shooting and seven days of
00:30:59
post-production
00:31:00
so pitopita and uh
00:31:04
but of course the the filmmakers
00:31:05
involved like love diaz and uh
00:31:07
jeffrey turian who were not able to
00:31:10
follow that uh limitation
00:31:12
and uh if they had
00:31:16
to exceed the raw stock that they would
00:31:19
use
00:31:19
it was during the pitopital years it was
00:31:22
still filmed that was being used
00:31:24
they had to spend for the film
00:31:26
themselves
00:31:27
okay so it was a traumatic experience
00:31:30
for love and he
00:31:32
said that it was that the experience was
00:31:34
was
00:31:35
like hell you know being in hell and and
00:31:38
so
00:31:38
uh he did his thing outside of the
00:31:42
mainstream
00:31:43
his long films ranging from five to
00:31:45
twelve hours like batang west side
00:31:47
evolution melancholia
00:31:54
angbobain humayun have been well
00:31:56
received
00:31:57
in international festivals and then
00:32:00
there's uh brilliant mendoza who has
00:32:02
conquered the world of film festivals
00:32:04
including khan with foster child and his
00:32:07
more controversial films like kinatai
00:32:09
and marosa
00:32:12
so independent uh filmmakers
00:32:15
there are so many uh independent
00:32:17
filmmakers not too too many to name them
00:32:20
uh khan de la cruz is a
00:32:24
a very prolific independent filmmaker he
00:32:27
did squatter
00:32:28
punk and then recently he produced and
00:32:31
directed balanga
00:32:33
howling wilderness his take
00:32:37
on a experimental and impressionistic
00:32:40
take
00:32:40
on the aftermath of the balaniga
00:32:42
massacre
00:32:43
of american soldiers in summer southern
00:32:48
in the southern province adolf alex who
00:32:51
seems unstoppable
00:32:52
in his productions making not less than
00:32:54
10 films in two years
00:32:55
imagine ten films in two years so that's
00:32:57
about five films in a year
00:33:00
continues to be active in festival
00:33:01
circles his film madeli mangabi
00:33:04
takes on the drug menace and anti-drug
00:33:07
campaign of the current
00:33:08
administration corrine jimenez
00:33:11
and mario cornell graduates of lasalle
00:33:15
communication arts made big time for the
00:33:18
cinemalay in 2005
00:33:20
they came up with the documentary cano
00:33:23
the american and his harem and
00:33:26
apocalypse child there are many more who
00:33:29
have the
00:33:30
passion to use film as their medium let
00:33:33
me just name a few
00:33:34
john torres joel ruiz also from lasalle
00:33:37
ron bryant
00:33:38
paolo villanuna ellen ramos chris
00:33:41
martinez
00:33:42
cheryl sanchez arnel mardocchio keep
00:33:44
oybanda
00:33:47
top nazareno remtonzigaz was sola
00:33:51
and many more filmmakers
00:33:54
from various independent film festivals
00:33:57
like cinema
00:33:58
cinema 1 q cinema cine filipino
00:34:01
and several regional festivals in
00:34:03
mindanao visayas and northern luzon
00:34:05
enriched the output of this new
00:34:07
generation of filmmakers
00:34:10
we should not construe this model as
00:34:12
three separate and exclusive worlds
00:34:15
now the three worlds of filmmaking
00:34:17
filmmakers can move from one world to
00:34:19
another
00:34:21
even during the early years filmmakers
00:34:23
like broca bernal and galliaga
00:34:25
they would do films in the mainstream in
00:34:27
the center of the mainstream and
00:34:28
sometimes they would do films
00:34:30
outside along the periphery we've seen
00:34:33
it in the
00:34:34
broca films peki gallagher and lori
00:34:37
reyes did
00:34:38
gangland and sonata independent
00:34:42
film projects chiturono also did
00:34:46
films so from the main center of the
00:34:49
mainstream
00:34:50
to outside the mainstream with
00:34:53
badil and signal rock
00:34:56
now that independent films and
00:34:58
filmmaking have risen and soared to
00:35:00
great heights
00:35:01
what is in store for the future do we
00:35:04
expect the rise to be followed by a fall
00:35:08
let us look at what is happening today
00:35:10
and see if there are any indications
00:35:12
of what may happen in the future
00:35:17
mainstream companies have offered
00:35:18
opportunities to indie filmmakers to
00:35:21
cross over to mainstream filmmaking
00:35:24
so when when the mainstream companies
00:35:26
like viva
00:35:28
films uh realize that hey that there's
00:35:32
there there is a lot of talent uh here
00:35:36
so they they hired some of these
00:35:38
filmmakers
00:35:39
and these filmmakers crossed over to
00:35:41
viva doing
00:35:42
mainstream films but unfortunately
00:35:45
these migrations to mainstream
00:35:47
filmmaking have not been successful
00:35:50
usually the indie filmmaker finds out
00:35:52
quite belatedly
00:35:54
that working in the mainstream means
00:35:56
essentially losing
00:35:58
one's freedom but a few have been
00:36:00
successful
00:36:02
you might have heard of antoinette
00:36:03
hadaone who did the indie films
00:36:06
six degrees of separation from lilia
00:36:08
kuntapai
00:36:10
and that thing called tadhana she is now
00:36:12
a popular
00:36:14
director of rom-coms so she made the
00:36:17
adjustment
00:36:18
right because personally she enjoyed
00:36:22
or she enjoys doing rom-coms
00:36:25
and so is dan villegas who did the indie
00:36:27
film mayohan for cinemalaya
00:36:29
crossing over to the mainstream he did
00:36:31
the breakup playlist
00:36:33
changing partners and the box office hit
00:36:35
excess
00:36:36
baggage sigrid bernardo
00:36:40
signaled her entry to the mainstream
00:36:42
with her box office hit kitakita
00:36:44
with that box office success mainstream
00:36:47
companies were quick to open their doors
00:36:50
so filmmakers who crossed over who cross
00:36:53
over to the main
00:36:54
center of the mainstream they have to
00:36:56
make
00:36:57
adjustments they can't do what they do
00:37:00
outside of the mainstream
00:37:02
they have to do what they do in the
00:37:06
mainstream
00:37:08
aside from mainstream companies opening
00:37:11
their gates to indie filmmakers
00:37:12
there are companies that are in the at
00:37:14
heart but aim to break
00:37:16
into mainstream distribution and
00:37:18
exhibition for example
00:37:20
1017p of paul soriano
00:37:23
paul soriano produced thelma
00:37:27
and transit a cinemalaya film
00:37:30
ducot and chargao quantum films of
00:37:33
giorgi alonso
00:37:35
quantum films produced posas extra
00:37:38
and pinay beauty and tba
00:37:42
tba is buchi boy
00:37:45
and articulo uno that produce henra luna
00:37:49
goyo birdshot smaller and smaller
00:37:52
circles
00:37:54
among these production companies tba is
00:37:57
the one
00:37:58
that does not scrimp on budget investing
00:38:01
on projects that are not mainstream
00:38:03
and pushes their films through
00:38:05
commercial exhibition
00:38:07
circuit tba is independent
00:38:10
but it struggles to co-exist with
00:38:12
mainstream companies
00:38:14
like regal star cinema and viva films
00:38:18
there are also developments in
00:38:20
exhibition
00:38:22
recent years have seen the appearance of
00:38:24
micro theaters
00:38:25
cinema 76 of dba studios black maria
00:38:29
cinema and cinema centenario
00:38:32
add to these the art house cinema of the
00:38:35
cultural center of the philippines
00:38:37
the manuel conde theater and the cinema
00:38:40
tech manila
00:38:41
of the film development council of the
00:38:42
philippines these
00:38:44
small cinemas are homes for indie films
00:38:49
indie filmmakers have an alternative to
00:38:51
commercial exhibition
00:38:53
through these micro cinemas
00:38:58
as far as audiences are concerned there
00:38:59
is no shortage of film festivals that
00:39:01
offer great alternatives to the usual
00:39:04
commercial fair in mainstream
00:39:06
theaters aside from the indie film
00:39:08
festivals in manila
00:39:10
for example cine malaya cinema one cine
00:39:13
filipino
00:39:14
q cinema international film festival toe
00:39:17
farm
00:39:17
film festival sinagmanila
00:39:20
and in the region salam in danao cine
00:39:23
casimanwa
00:39:25
there are the annual festivals offered
00:39:28
by the embassies
00:39:29
and foreign cultural centers cine europa
00:39:32
french film festival german film
00:39:34
festival italian film festival
00:39:37
silent film festival aygasai
00:39:40
and others local indie films and a
00:39:43
variety of classic
00:39:44
and contemporary foreign films are
00:39:47
available
00:39:47
to film enthusiasts needless to say
00:39:51
this contributes towards the development
00:39:53
of audiences for a variety of films
00:39:57
film education continues to be popular
00:40:00
many schools in metro manila and in the
00:40:02
regions offer film courses
00:40:04
these schools have their respective film
00:40:06
festivals for example here in lasalle
00:40:08
there's
00:40:09
indie unfilm festival
00:40:12
and there is freedom film festival at
00:40:15
saint benil there's cena
00:40:16
sb in ateneo there's ateneo video
00:40:20
open in usd there's cena
00:40:24
and other festivals in different schools
00:40:27
considering these developments what is
00:40:29
in store for the future
00:40:31
of philippine cinema in the past
00:40:35
when television came into the scene
00:40:38
there were pro prognostications
00:40:40
the television was the end of movies
00:40:44
film companies countered a small screen
00:40:46
of television
00:40:48
with cinemascope a widescreen film
00:40:50
format
00:40:51
not happy with that the cinerama was
00:40:53
introduced
00:40:54
a wider screen with three projectors
00:40:57
each one projecting
00:40:58
a third of the screen still more
00:41:01
attractions followed
00:41:02
smell low vision or smell or rama
00:41:05
where different scents as many as 30
00:41:08
orders
00:41:09
were released from the seats when
00:41:11
triggered by the projector
00:41:13
some of these developments were merely
00:41:15
novelty but the movies
00:41:18
survived television and the movies
00:41:21
co-exist
00:41:23
in fact television programming includes
00:41:25
a lot of movies
00:41:27
other platforms are now available movies
00:41:30
are now accessible
00:41:31
online with the advent of netflix that
00:41:34
offers movies through subscription
00:41:36
one can watch movies through different
00:41:38
platforms
00:41:40
will this sound the death knell of
00:41:42
movies in theaters
00:41:44
will watching movies in theaters be a
00:41:46
thing of the past the grand theaters in
00:41:49
the malls
00:41:49
are downsizing some of these theaters
00:41:52
will be subdivided into smaller
00:41:54
theaters giving credence to the rise of
00:41:57
micro
00:41:58
cinemas theaters are being repurposed
00:42:02
on weekends some theaters are used as
00:42:04
venues for religious activities
00:42:07
for those who can afford there are
00:42:09
little theaters that can be rented for
00:42:11
special screenings certainly
00:42:14
all these developments will affect
00:42:16
philippine cinema
00:42:18
this will affect the mainstream greatly
00:42:21
for the mainstream companies are in the
00:42:23
enterprise
00:42:24
for business if screening in big
00:42:26
theaters will no longer
00:42:28
be profitable and they will earn
00:42:31
and survive by providing content for the
00:42:34
new platforms
00:42:36
then certainly these companies will
00:42:38
shift to the new platforms
00:42:40
and make films for the smaller screens
00:42:45
what happens to the indie films and
00:42:47
filmmakers the generation of indie
00:42:50
filmmakers
00:42:52
started to make their presence felt
00:42:55
at the turn of the new millennium it has
00:42:58
almost been two decades
00:43:00
a new generation of indie filmmakers is
00:43:02
waiting in the wings
00:43:05
these indie filmmakers are coming from
00:43:07
the schools colleges
00:43:09
and universities they come from the
00:43:11
cities and the different regions
00:43:13
if they remain true to the idea of indi
00:43:17
that is they have a cause to resist
00:43:21
the mainstream forms of filmmaking then
00:43:24
they will continue to struggle
00:43:26
against all odds to be free the indies
00:43:29
will not only survive
00:43:31
they will continue to flourish and keep
00:43:34
philippine cinema
00:43:35
alive thank you
00:43:43
[Music]
00:43:53
[Applause]
00:43:57
you
