Change has come to MMFF

Change has indeed come to Metro Manila Film Festival, a yearly film festival focusing on Filipino films. If you visit their website, you will see that their mission is to “develop audiences for and encourage the production of quality Filipino films, and to promote the welfare of its workers” and their vision is to be “A festival that celebrates Filipino artistic excellence, promotes audience development, and champions the sustainability of the Philippine film industry.” (www.mmff.com.ph)

This, I believe, is the reason that they didn’t prioritize the films that will surely be lucrative, they clearly want to improve the standard of our films and make a stand that profitability does not ensure inclusion in the annual film festival. This is not to say that the previous entries to the MMFF were bad, but all film makers must take this as a challenge to improve their films instead of just focusing on its capability to be a commercial success. It’s great to give joy to Filipinos and make them laugh through movies but it cannot be an excuse to make a laughable film.

Change has come to MMFF by taking a step towards the right direction, and I hope that this will continue as this development will also change the mindset of other Filipinos who believe that Filipino films are not worth watching.

Why the need for change? The way I see it, the previous films that were regularly included in the MMFF entries became so complacent with their films and history of Box Office capability; which is why they kept on making the same kind of movies, with almost the same plot, repeatedly. Without change or improvement in the film industry can you honestly say that it will continue to flourish? So, isn’t it about time that movies like “Enteng Kabisote” give chance to other Filipino films? I have heard and read some comments that the MMFF 2016 are filled with what they call ‘indie films’ (independent films) but let me ask you, what is wrong with that? They are all Filipino films regardless of whether they are mainstream or not. It seems that people have been conditioned that when you say indie films, it’s too serious and boring to watch, but I believe that you must first watch it before you pass judgement; I also believe that when it comes to quality of the movie and its plot, these ‘indie films’ are so far-off compared to the mainstream films. If independent films, which usually have a limited budget, can bring its audience a great movie that people can enjoy and at the same time learn from; then surely the mainstream films can improve as well.

Now, I must confess that I thought it would be challenging to be the ambassadress of the Metro Manila Film Festival because I know that the people I will be working with does not share the same view with me, but I am glad that even if we don’t share the same opinion when it comes to politics, we found a common ground in improving the standards of Filipino films. I am proud to be a part of a team that prioritize movies because of its quality and how it can help change the mindset of Filipinos, not because of the profit it can generate.

So why do we have to support this year’s MMFF? It’s because we must make a stand and we must make it loud and clear for everyone to hear. We must send the film makers a message that we are tired of the same brand of movies they are repeatedly making, that we will not tolerate any longer the movies that does not present Filipino’s creativity or artistic capability; we must let them know that we have the choice on what kind of films they must make and that it is time for a change, not only in our country but also in the film industry.

I am calling everyone to support the entries in MMFF 2016, starting with my personal favorite ‘Sunday Beauty Queen’ which shows how hard are the lives of our OFWs in Hong Kong and how they try to make it a little bit fun once a week. The OFWs are considered our modern heroes, so let us show them that we are here for them and that they are not forgotten.