Laurice’s one big fight

If there’s any good the crisis in the film industry has done, it is to unite its movers and shakers. One of those in the forefront of this Operation: Save the Industry movement is Laurice Guillen.

The acclaimed director was recently named chair and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), which falls under the Office of the President. And she’s bent on doing everything to extricate local cinema from the quagmire it is in.

"Our role is that of an enabler," she begins. "We are here to identify the problem and access people in government to help us solve it."

The centerpiece program is cinema evaluation and grading. The rationale here is that if the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) rates a film A or B and thus gives a corresponding amusement tax rebate, producers will come up with more quality films. Let the Love Begin and the Metro Filmfest entries Panaghoy sa Suba, Aishite Imasu and Mano Po 3 were among those which got this incentive.

The Council reports that last year, it collected P40-M in amusement taxes for graded films and remitted P25.8-M to producers. From Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2004, remittance of amusement tax rebates to producers of graded films totaled P53.1-M.

So, while the economic crunch and foreign competition have cut down the number of local films, today’s producers are making up for it in terms of quality. The better writers and directors, true to the survival of the fittest maxim, are seldom idle.

More independent filmmakers have also entered the scene.

Another major FDCP project is fielding local films in international festivals. This not only makes local cinema globally competitive, it also exposes it to markets abroad where it will hopefully be exhibited at international (read: dollar) rates.

Last year, a P1.6-M subsidy was given to five films which were invited to multiple international filmfests. These are Bridal Shower, Huling Birhen sa Lupa, Babae sa Breakwater, Keka and Magnifico. The Council shoulders the plane fare of two film representatives plus their hotel accommodation. It also coordinates with Philippine embassies abroad.

Thus did film lovers at Cannes, Singapore and Bangkok view the works of local talents. English subtitles were incorporated to make dialogue understandable to the foreign audience.

To make the industry more open to foreign filmmakers who want to shoot movies in the Philippines, the Council came up with the Film Information System, a web-based centralized databank which carries items on filmmaking.

Education is just as important. The Council backed up the opening of the Asia Pacific Film Institute in Manila and the International Academy of Film and Television in Cebu. It joined hands with the Film Academy of the Philippines and other independent filmmakers to map out a competency-based diploma course with specialized filmmaking subjects

In the area of development routes exploration, the Council has linked up with industry stakeholders to study the industry and its environment, pinpoint problems and plan solutions. It has organized the Film Industry Baseline Data Task Force to get data on taxation laws and policies; future strategies for new projects, and proposals for the Investment Priorities Plan. The Council also made its voice heard in House meetings on amendments to the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) and a Senate proposal to link agencies on arts and culture with the Tourism Department.

The Council is also behind the Cinemalaya Filmfest set July 12 to 17, which features film competitions, exhibits, an indie congress and others.

Talks with the Society of Film Archivists for a study on the establishment of a national film archives have begun. This way, the works of the great masters, like Lino Brocka’s Macho Dancer, now owned by The National Museum of Arts in New York, will not fall in a foreign country’s hands, but stay where it belongs – to the Filipinos.

The proposed film archive will be a big help to students and others groping for a sense of pride where things Filipino are concerned.

And why not? Only recently, Laurice says, a member of the French embassy came over her office to discuss the possibility of a co-production. Should this joint project push through, local cinema has everything to gain in terms of revenue, jobs for local talents, exposure to foreign audiences, heightened tourism and others.

"We plan to develop Subic as a shooting site. It’s a self-contained community Americans are already familiar with. Thus, they feel more comfortable and secure in Subic," says Laurice.

She and her group have formed a group to study and recommend fielding of quality local films in the next Cannes Filmfest, thereby making its presence better felt on a worldwide scale.

Before any quality film can be done however, competent people are needed to make them. Thus, the Council developed the concept of a National Film Institute together with the UP Institute of Mass Communication.

Finally, the Council has taken steps to provide complete information about the local industry with one click of the mouse. It has, with the help of the National Computer Center, come up with the Film Information System, a web-based directory of film services. Filmmakers and students can look this up in researching about local cinema.

The task is Herculean. But Laurice and company believe that if they present the problem point by point to people concerned (e.g. congressmen, senators, etc.), lawmakers will see the light and help local cinema. Who knows? There may be light at the end of the tunnel, after all.