Turning real into reel

MANILA, Philippines - With presidential fora being staged left and right and countless reports on the election coming out in both traditional and new media, we might think we have seen or heard enough to decide who to vote for in the May national elections — that is, until ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) aired last Sunday a special on amBisyon2010, a film project involving 20 of the most influential and talented filmmakers in the country today.

The group includes Cannes Film Festival winners Raymond Red and Brillante Mendoza, directors Erik Matti and Jeffrey Jeturian, and indie scene luminaries Ditsi Carolino and Ellen Ramos. Completing this “dream team” in cinema are notable filmmakers Emman Dela Cruz, Kiri Dalena, Henry Frejas, Jade Castro, Jon Red, Jerrold Tarog, John Torres, and Paolo Villaluna, plus six promising young directors in Aissa Peñafiel, Gym Lumbera, Jerome Reyes, Sunshine Matutina, McRobert Nacario and Pam Miras.

Getting all these filmmakers together was itself a great achievement, but the goal of the project was an even bigger ambition. By producing four- to eight-minute short films on different national issues such as health, economy, environment, justice and human rights, amBisyon2010 aims to show Filipinos the real state of the nation, to turn real into reel, and urge people to action. By presenting these pressing issues in a creative manner, ANC hopes it will be easier for the public to understand them.

Through a simulcast on ANC and ABS-CBN, televiewers got a sneak peek at the 20 short films of amBisyon2010. Directors displayed their own distinct styles — some chose a narrative approach, some opted for a documentary format, while others transported viewers to a totally different dimension with their surreal takes on the issues. Each one was different, and each one was brave and spot on.

Jerrold Tarog’s piece on education was the opening salvo of the special. It focused on two friends working in a private university, one working for the school administration, while the other is a faculty member who is forced to resign after one of her students gets hurt in a rally. In a confrontation, their clashing ideologies cause a crack in their friendship that moves the viewer to ask which is right — to remain silent and be safe, or to fight the system that oppresses?

Another stirring piece is Kiri Dalena’s take on the Maguindanao Massacre, which begins with a sound bite from one of the victims’ wife. There are no bloody or dead bodies shown in the film, but it truly evokes pain and regret with film footage shown backwards, as though the crime is being undone.

Jeffrey Jeturian’s film on the economy directly hits the government by following the lifespan of a newspaper with a headline screaming about the economic growth in the country. As the newspaper travels from one person to another, Jeturian projects the deprivation that continues to haunt Filipinos given their lowly jobs and depressing living conditions.

Dante Mendoza uncharacteristically shows a more positive tone in his film — a music video featuring young undiscovered talents he met in the slums. The song speaks about all the good things in the country, while the video ironically shows everything that’s not. Unmistakably, Mendoza’s intention was to hit two birds with one stone — illustrate what is happening and at the same time explain what he desires to happen to the country.

The films, which are far from any of the movies the country’s biggest film outfits have produced in the past years, come as a breath of fresh air. Watching the clips brought back memories of the second golden age of Philippine Cinema in the ‘70s, when directors like Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Mike De Leon, and Peque Gallaga roused awareness and nationalism with socially-relevant films.

The directors tastefully brought in the rawness and realness of independent filmmaking to capture the realities in society — hunger, lack of a proper health care system, corruption and security, among others.

These are exactly the issues that people need to consider before they vote in the 2010 elections. We need to be shocked. We need to be enlightened. We need to be aware so we can put into office the right person to lead us.

And through ANC’s epic collaboration with 20 filmmakers in “amBisyon2010,” hopefully, we also find the need to ask ourselves, what is our ambition for the country, and what should we do to achieve it?

“AmBisyon2010” will have an exclusive theater screening on April 6, followed by a five-part television premier on ANC starting April 10 on SKYCABLE channel 27. E-mail [email protected] or [email protected] for comments, questions and suggestions. Thank you for communicating.