Indie films take the spotlight

Nine full-length films. Six short features. One independent film festival named Cinemalaya.

Add the numbers, then their sum. It’s the lucky number "seven."

If this is any positive sign for the present plight of the movie industry, then let it be.

(Fact is, only 57 films were produced last year as compared to over a hundred movies the previous year.)

After all, the public and the industry deserve a breather from costly, poor-income-generating, formulaic (beginning-middle-end), standard and predictable movies.

The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, which was recently launched over a luncheon, offers a different way of storytelling – through its cutting-edge works in digital format – many a compelling human drama that surface on the life of Juan dela Cruz.

The independent film festival, a joint venture of CCP, Film Development Council of the Philippines and the UP Film Institute, also gives moviegoers alternatives to mainstream movies.

Scheduled from July 12 to 17 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the "indie" festival aims to enliven the film industry and discover new vanguards of the local cinematic scene. The fest also taps first-time and potential filmmakers and encourages them to produce outstanding films in the future.

Cinemalaya initially screened over 180 entries for full-length films and 36 for shorts. Only nine and six entries in finished forms from both categories made it to the final cut.

This year’s finalists have varied themes and genres to boast of, from homosexuality (Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros) to prostitution (Roomboy), from felony (Big Time) to technology (Isnats), from black, standard and musical comedy (Lasponggols, Baryoke and Pepot Artista) to drama (Sarong Banggi).

Among the well-crafted entries, ICU Bed #7 of Rica Arevalo piqued my interest the most. The movie’s main character is reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s Warren in About Schmidt.

"I like writing scripts about family," says Rica, a graduate of Communication Arts from De La Salle University and a film lecturer at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

"The main character (Joseph) is an alcoholic and a gambler. The conflict starts when he gets sick and hospitalized. Then comes the issue whether the family will prolong his life or not."

Playing Joseph is Eddie Garcia, a staunch supporter and a veteran of indies and short films.

"(Joseph) is very incorrigible. He smokes (heavily)," Eddie describes his character. "Finally, he landed on a hospital. His daughters (Cely and Beth) thought he was dying. So they made arrangements for his wake, funeral and burial. They even withdrew his money from the bank. But their father survived. He went home, got bored of everything and went out again."

The light drama was based on Rica’s script that won for her second place in the prestigious Don Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature. This is Rica’s third script which received acclaim from scriptwriting competitions. Her other works are Pamilya (Family) in 2000 and Mana (Inheritance) in 1998, which won third prize and first prize respectively in the Film Development Foundation of the Philippines’ Scriptwriting Contest.

Since her foundation is filmmaking, Rica decided to make ICU Bed in moving scenes, so to speak. While she was writing the story, Rica adds, she already had Eddie Garcia in mind to play the lead role.

"It’s an experience," says Eddie on doing ICU Bed. "I’ve been long supporting and helping young filmmakers. Usually, these are the students who produce their own short films for their theses. They approach and talk to me if I could be part of their production."

He added, "I do this because I want to have more new filmmakers. These young people have lots of fresh and different ideas. I always encourage them to continue what they’ve been doing."

With Eddie’s soft spot for budding filmmakers, it was no mean feat for Rica to convince the award-winning actor-director.

"From the beginning, the actors didn’t know anything about my background and the production," recalls Rica of the nitty-gritty of her feature film. "We sent them the script. They liked the material and they said yes to us."

Aside from ICU Bed, Eddie Garcia also appeared on Raymond Red’s short film, Anino (Shadow), that won the Cannes’ Golden Palm Award in 2000. In Anino, Eddie starred along with Ronnie Lazaro and John Arcilla.

Also lending their "thespian" skills in the film are Angel Aquino, Nonie Buencamino and Irma Adlawan.

Asked what’s the advantage in making indies, Rica replies, "There’s creative license. There’s freedom in casting the characters, choosing the production people and also treating the aesthetics of the film."

"(As part of the featured filmmakers of Cinemalaya), we are offering an alternative to the kind of films we have today," concludes Rica. "I hope these films will eventually be accepted by the viewing public and theater owners. Kasi kahit maganda ang film kung walang sinehan na magpapalabas, sayang pa rin."