Seen & unseen

See the unseen” is the catch phrase of the seventh edition of the Cinemalaya film festival that unreels at Greenbelt 3 and the usual CCP venues in mid-July. That time of year again, one might say, and film-going audiences are in for more surprises on the silver screen, of both the seen and unseen in the year of the seven.

Out of four in the director’s showcase featuring filmmakers with at least three past works, two are unabashedly homegrown Cinemalaya products — Auraeus Solito of the Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros from the maiden edition, and Adolf Alix of Donsol from the second festival. Both have since created a modest body of work that has made inroads in festivals here and abroad. For the seven Solito harks back to his native boyhood Palawan in Busong (Palawan Fate), which for good measure had its premier in Cannes. Alix delves into uncharted magic realist territory in Isda (Fable of the Fish), about a hitherto childless woman who after much imploring to the heavens and praying to saints gives birth to a fish. If only for the works of these two directors alone, Cinemalaya already justifies its reason for being. But there’s more.

The other two in the director’s showcase are the redoubtable Jeffrey Jeturian and the irrepressible Joel Lamangan. Jeturian’s Bisperas (Eve) is worth a look, as the maverick filmmaker has rarely disappointed in the past. Lamangan’s Patikul should be mandatory viewing too, especially for followers of the cinema of resistance. These two veterans may be the missing link to bridge the gap between mainstream and independent.

Film Development Council of the Philippines chairman Briccio Santos in fact envisions that one day there will be no indie or mainstream, just one movable wall of sound and vision that is one true Philippine cinema.

In the new breed category, always a delight in ferreting out new talent, there are a number that could be more than worth our while. Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) could be billed as meta-film, on filmmakers making a movie about a woman (Eugene Domingo) in the slums. This movie within a movie understandably has a lot of comic possibilities, having Chris Martinez as co-director. Martinez, responsible for 100 and some mainstream comedies, is back with his favorite actress Domingo to again marry the extreme sensibilities of art and commerce in cinema.

Writer Alvin Yapan is co-director of Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (The Dance of Two Left Feet), enough reason to block it off on the calendar, see this deadly dancing triangle with gay undertow.

Here, here: Marvin Agustin in Joel Lamangan’s Patikul

Teoriya (Father’s Way) by Zamboanga-born Zurich Chan is intriguing as it is Chavacano, and promises much philosophical panoramic visuals from one who grew up in a video rental store.

Watch out, too, for theater director Loy Arcenas first foray into film with Niño, about a crumbling old aristocratic family clinging to the last straws of hope. The climactic tertulia might be reminiscent of literature’s greatest works, the only possible drawback is that it might be seen, like Mario O’Hara’s Bonifacio movie last year in the director’s showcase, as “too theatrical.” We’ll let the audience decide, but in our book this certainly is a must-see.

I-libings: Your Loss, Our Luck (E-funerals) by Rommel Sales is described as a coming of age story starring the indie favorite Glaiza de Castro as a videographer who does her internship at a funeral parlor. Sales is an up and coming young director who did Slow Fade, and is known for employing more or less obscure actors in unconventional situations.

Ligo na U, Lapit na Me is co-directed by another award-winning writer Jerry Gracio, and features the beautiful Mercedes Cabral as a coed who gives some special benefits to her male friends. A modern text-based romance this film might be, and should be a hit with the college crowd that treks annually to the festival.

Palawan epiphanies: A production still from Auraeus Solito’s Busong, which premiered in Cannes

Cuchera by Joseph Laban has the timely subject of drug mules, and stars the unfading Isabel Lopez, with lots of shots of poverty and squalor.

Amok by Lawrence Fajardo is a multileveled visual feast revolving around Pasay Rotonda, it would be interesting to compare it with the movie of the now scarce Ron Bryant that was shot in the same dizzying roundabout setting. Fajardo was Jeturian’s assistant in Bisperas, and for this makes us wonder what he has picked up from his mentor.

Bahay Bata (Baby Factory) by Roy and Zamora is set in a hospital delivery ward and has as lead Diana Zubiri, who makes a comeback after having long dropped out of Bubble Gang.

Notable that among the nine new breed entries, four are co-directed with two or more filmmakers. The collegial approach to making movies is not unusual for Cinemalaya, which encourages a symbiosis of the elements of filmmaking.

In the short feature category, the late bloomer Henry Frejas is a standout with Hanapbuhay (Source of Living); second generation filmmaker Mikhail Red should further confound tradition with Hazard, and Ana Lim does a Cebuano take with Un Diutay Mundo (One Small World).

Walang Katapusang Kwarto (An Endless Room) by Emerson Reyes has some dark interiors; Samarito (Samaritan) by the controversial Rafa Santos is an offbeat fable about a thief caught in the crosshairs of conscience; Debut by Pam Reyes has some ribbons and lace in black and white.

In the swim of things: Cherry Pie Picache confronts the magical realism in Adolf Alix’s Isda.

Every other Time by Gino Santos, Immanuel by Gio Puyat, Niño Bonito by Milo Tolentino, and Oliver’s Apartment by Misha Balangue also compete in the short feature.

Another harvest of new, fresh talent, as well reconnecting with the old resurfaced guard, await in the seven. In the middle of the seventh month, at Greenbelt 3 and CCP, for both the seen and unseen.