Produ ng pelikula ni John Lloyd, pumalag sa ginawa ng MMFF!

Nakikisimpatiya ako kay Dondon Monteverde dahil sa naging kapalaran ng Honor Thy Father na disqualified sa best picture category ng Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Awards.

Matagal ko nang kilala si Dondon. Bata pa lang siya, tambay na ako sa bahay nila at sa opisina ng Regal Films kaya alam ko na totoo ang mga sagot niya.

Naniniwala ako sa statement ni Dondon na alam ng Metro Manila Film Festival Executive Committee na naging opening film ng Cinema One  Originals Festival 2015 ang Honor Thy Father.

Napaka-imposible na maglihim si Dondon dahil well-publicized noong nakaraang buwan na ang pelikula ni John Lloyd ang opening film ng Cinema One Originals.

Ramdam na ramdam ko ang disappointment ni Dondon sa desisyon ng MMFF Exe­com. Kung kailan malapit na ang awards night, saka siya pinadalhan ng sulat na hindi qualified sa best picture ang Honor Thy Father? Bakit pinaabot pa ng Pasko bago siya sinabihan? Puwede naman sabihin agad nang makasali sa Magic 8 ng MMFF ang pelikula?

Kung si former MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino pa rin ang in charge sa MMFF, sure ako na hindi mangyayari ang ganitong klase ng eskandalo dahil malaki ang malasakit niya sa local movie industry.

Anyway, ito ang sagot at explanation ni Dondon sa disappointing letter ni Atty. Emerson Carlos, ang overall chairman ng MMFF.

“When Reality Entertainment partnered with John Lloyd Cruz in producing “Ho­nor Thy Father” we agreed to make a movie that would capture a small portion of the struggle of the Filipino as he tried to transcend the back-breaking realities and limitations of his life. We wanted to tell the story of Edgar, a Filipino who finally fights back.

“After putting up with so much oppression, he confronts the people that have made his life hell, people motivated by greed for money and lust for power.

“Little did I know then that this same narrative would find its way to the movie’s own history.

“Today I received a letter from the Metro Manila Film Festival informing me that their Executive Committee had disqualified our movie from the Best Picture Category of the 2015 MMFF Awards. The reason for this, the letter said, was our “non-disclosure” of our participation in the Cinema One Originals Film Festival as the Opening Film.

“Let me refute this allegation of non-disclosure. If you will recall, Honor Thy Father was a late addition to the MMFF 2015 lineup. It had been rejected by their selection committee when the lineup was announced in June.

“On October 23 our film was officially offered a slot after an entry pulled out. By then we had already accepted Cinema One’s invitation to screen as Opening Film. We informed the MMFF Secretariat, both by email and by phone, about this. We complied with their request for a letter from Cinema One head Ronald Arguelles attesting that the screening was non-revenue generating and by invitation only. We have all of this on record.

“Secondly, each MMFF entry is allowed a maximum of two premieres. Our Cinema One screening would be our premiere.

“Let me repeat: we complied with all the MMFF’s requirements; we did not commit any non-disclosure of any kind; no MMFF rule was ever violated by Honor Thy Father.

“I am questioning the reasons, the timing, and the means employed in enforcing this decision by the MMFF Executive Committee. Where is due pro­cess in all of this? We were merely informed of their decision, not given any opportunity to air our side. They sent the letter today. The awarding ceremony is tomorrow.

“Are they merely being good scouts and sticklers for the rules, even when no rule was broken? Or is there some other reason? Why disqualify the movie only from the Best Picture category and not all cate­gories? Whose interests are being protected by this last-minute decision?

“Together with my director Erik Matti, co-executive producer and actor John Lloyd Cruz, and every­one behind Honor Thy Father, I demand answers.

“We demand an investigation. But if no one would care or bother to investigate, then we simply wish that the moviegoers, the Filipino people would start to question and be more critical of what, year in and year out, is passed off to them as good and true.

“They can have their Best Picture and all the other awards. We just want to keep making movies that people will care about, MMFF or no MMFF.

“Today is a sad day for the industry I was born into and love dearly. But it doesn’t have to stay this way.

“Let’s do something about it. Let’s end the si­- ­­­­­len­­ce.”