Indie Time: Cinemalaya 2011

MANILA, Philippines - The beginning of June often signals the start of a cinephile’s dilemma. With only so much money in his pocket and so little time to spare, the task of choosing which film to watch becomes painstaking. Hollywood plays its blockbuster card for the summer, raking in tons of cash from people who just can’t get enough of their superheroes and sequels. At the same time, many different embassies in Manila roll out their annual film fests. Free admission, of course, draws in the crowd. But in the middle of it all is Cinemalaya, the only Pinoy alternative to the onslaught of foreign flicks and run-of-the-mill local offerings. Every year, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) becomes a sardine can packed by schools of moviegoers with an insatiable fondness for film. It’s a far cry from when this little indie film fest started out seven years ago.

Cinemalaya 7 gets even bigger this year. Screening simultaneously at two venues, CCP and Greenbelt 3, the 2011 festival not only aims to accommodate more viewers, but also aims to include more films in its already packed line-up. In the forefront of the event is the New Breed category for full-length films.

The Comeback Kids

Returning to the festival is Chris Martinez, who promises to deliver a whole lot of “meta” in Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. His co-producer, fashion designer and Publicis exec Marlon Rivera, takes a break from his day jobs to direct this film centered on a group of misguided filmmakers shooting for international acclaim by making flick about independent cinema’s favorite topic: poverty.

The story was spurred when both Martinez and Rivera were making their rounds in the international film circuit for their first Cinemalaya entry 100. Martinez explains, “The people were surprised with 100, because their only image of the Philippines was poverty, so we thought of making fun of that.” The loaded satire is geared up for more laughs thanks to Eugene Domingo, who stars as an exaggerated version of herself.

Also coming back to Cinemalaya is Lawrence Fajardo, whose last major foray into the festival was back in 2005 with his grisly Bacolod-based short Kultado. He now moves his setting to Pasay Rotonda for Amok. The place becomes a stage where the stories of several strangers intertwine as they all get stuck in the middle of a madman’s shooting spree. The film features indie veterans Nonie Buencamino and Mark Gil, whom Fajardo has worked with in several of his previous projects.

After last year’s Boca, a visually evocative experimental short tackling the subject of oral fixation, Zamboanga native Zurich Chan mellows it down and bears his heart on his sleeve with a very personal full-length feature titled Teoriya. The movie follows an estranged son, played by Alfred Vargas, in a peninsula-wide search for his recently deceased father’s remains. “The film is very contemplative,” Chan says. “It is a mood film where the story progresses not with event but with the change of emotion of the main character.”

Women And Literature

Bahay Bata is Eduardo Roy Jr. and Jerome Zamora’s ode to all the women who spent countless hours in labor. The movie follows Sarah (Diana Zubiri), a staff nurse assigned to the seemingly busiest maternal ward in the world. Being in her first trimester herself, Sarah is forced to face all sorts of maternal archetypes, which makes her reevaluate her own looming motherhood in the process.

There will be art in Alvin Yapan and Alemberg Ang’s Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa. The two, who previously worked on Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe, are bringing back Pinoy art on screen, this time in the form of dance and feminist poetry tweaked to shed light on LGBT issues.

“It’s really more about artists in third world settings. We used feminist poetry to talk about LGBT issues especially since most artists, dancers in particular, are the marginalized women and gays,” said Ang. The movie unveils the intricate relationships among a literature and dance teacher (Jean Garcia), her infatuated student (Paulo Avelino), and the classmate he asks to help him with his moves (Rocco Nacino).

Still on the subject of literature, the trio of Erick Salud, Noel Ferrer, and Jerry Gracio are translating Eros Atalia’s Ligo Na U, Lapit Na Me for the big screen. “It’s about time that Cinemalaya had a book-based film in their roster,” explains Noel, “The novel has such a huge cult following, and we felt it was the right material to mount as a film.” Both the movie and book delve into the current generation’s view of love and relationships.

Back To Their Roots

New York-based theater director and set designer Loy Arcenas first got acquainted with Cinemalaya while working on a production at the CCP. Instantly he fell in love with Filipino films and decided to make one with the help of screenwriter Rody Vera. The result is Niño, a multi-layered family tale zigzagging between the lines of tragedy and comedy.

Being a writer, director and producer of TV documentaries, Joseph Laban sticks to his strength as a filmmaker for social issues. His Cuchera is a true-to-life take on the experiences of a veteran drug mule played by Maria Isabel Lopez. Though coming after the recent executions of the Filipino drug mules in China, Laban explains that the film was actually inspired by a documentary series he saw four years ago.

Starring Eugene Domingo, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank pokes fun at stereotypical indie flicks about poverty

“When I was writing the script for this film, very little attention was being given to the plight of Filipino drug mules languishing in various prisons around Asia. Even today, the focus is mainly on China when in fact hundreds if not thousands more are incarcerated in other countries,” explains Laban.

Finishing the list is Rommel Sales, who focuses on what he knows best: human loss. With I-Libings, he explores how “the dead is defined by the living… It looks at death with not so innocent eyes.” In the movie, Glaiza de Castro plays Isabel, a funeral videography intern who comes face to face with mortality. Though the subject is grim, Sales says that there’s enough comedy to keep the audience from feeling dead themselves.

As with last year, Cinemalaya will also feature films from the New Breed Shorts and Directors Showcase categories plus NETPAC Philippine Premieres. For the first time, Cinemalaya will open its doors to other Asian countries such as Korea, Thailand, and Japan, with the Focus Asia selection. Don’t forget to save the dates July 15 to 24.

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For more information, visit www.cinemalaya.org