ON FILM FESTIVALS, MUSIC, THE ARTS AND THEIR FLOWERING

Every year, the MetroManila Filmfest is held in December to generate funds for the MetroManila Development Authority. Its original plan to stir up the production of quality films has been lost in the greed to rake up money at the tills; this is why the best film is the top grossing one, the most patronized film by the masses. *** With the cost of a movie ticket hovering between 140 to 160 each, why is there a call to wonder why the film industry is in the doldrums? The people are practical enough to know that between food and entertainment, they would much rather buy half a roasted chicken which is worth as much as a ticket. *** Some producers say that one can make a film for 5 million pesos. With the introduction of digital computers into the art of making films, the cost could be less. They need not worry about the high costs of stars who command millions while the ordinary gofer is only P350 a day working for more than 8 hours during filming. *** In a film done in the 90’s I had the chance to be a part of a production team. the major actor would come on the set late while the crew would be there by 7 am. Then at one time, he absented himself for six months; which meant that the crew would not get paid at all and so had to look for another production job. When he returned his face had grown chubby, a great departure from his original looks captured on screen. Now visuals are very much a part of filming, apart from audio. To discerning audiences, a film lacking continuity of visuals shows sloppy work. When the production designer pointed out the discrepancy in the size of the face of the actor, he vented his ire by throwing coffee on the feet of the former, meaning, get out of the set. The designer left the set and the job at the same time. Who is this actor who cannot even wangle an award from the film bodies anyway? This actor now sits in the august halls of a legislative body saying nary a word on how this country should be ran. *** The status of culture in our country is highly pathetic. Everyday we are treated to shows that lack originality. The dancers dance to the tunes of imported songs; the dancing steps are borrowed from some western steps, mainly Jacksonian riveting and automata-like movements. Yet our performers are high class – they can really imitate and even surpass any western performer in terms of high notes and giving of emotional fervor to every song. I have often asked many guitarists who sound very much like those jazz players on CDs whether they could play my compositions written on scoresheets. I am always shocked by their answers: no, they don’t read notes. Meaning they learned to perform by listening only and then copying the music by playing. What this means is that our musicians have very well-developed aural traits. *** I have not researched into this yet, but I am sure that performers who go abroad are sharing a lot in the economic stability of this country. Everywhere around the world, our musicians are much sought after. June Cadiz, professors of jazz and performer, toured the globe. But his crowning glory I surmise was when he was taken in by a Scandinavian owner of a pub who has hired many an international pianist. He told me that pub owners there know how to discern a good from a bad pianist, and they are very well versed in jazz. Yet, he had not finished music studies then. When he came back, he finished his course and then went on to teach classes at UP where he now shares his worldwide experiences in playing. *** Not only are our musicians singing or playing an instrument. They can even bring the audience to tears and/or laughter. I watched Joey Ayala at Conspiracy backed up by musicians with one using one back-up instrument made of surplus wood from the ships sailing asea. This instrument has several one-foot size rectangular sticks tied together from one end, and then shaken to give the sound of a clapper. Joey’s performance – he uses the hagalong, a T’boli guitar and backed up by that clapper- gives that feeling of our watching something very original down to the instruments. Then he intersperses his performance with humorous stories (as most Visayans and Mindanaoans have that funny streak), sometimes with sexual connotations, then goes on to sing radical songs containing sad stories of our people under repression. *** Our greatest resource are the artistic sectors of our country, from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. Films could also be our greatest resource and I think some producers are already selling DVDs of their films abroad. With over two million Filipino people in diaspora, those DVDs could be selling like hotcakes. But we have to have quality films, in terms of dialogues especially. *** How sad to note that until now, some films still contain backward notions about women, using them as props, denigrating humanity by showing them as victims of Alzheimer’s disease, or some other uncouth labeling that is not worth writing about nor printing here. Yes, the last medium to be democratic is the film. We could talk our voices hoarse about human rights violations on radio and write about them in print but on film they are very, very scarce. *** For our country to be recognized internationally, the MMFF should be a springboard for producers to go beyond their run-of-the-mill aspirations and truly spend money to create quality films. In this regard, I suggest that since the festival is a collective effort, the films gross earnings should also be collectively handled. After all, people flock to festivals because they know that they would be watching the crème-de-la-crème of the films. Ergo, the synergy of watching good films during the festival period is brought about by that collective effort. So when the earnings are collectively shared, then the MMDA should put up strict standards on what would be accepted in the festival. A group of film educators, film producers and cultural agency officials should put up those standards that will uplift the current contents and forms of accepted films. In this way, we can say that the festival would perform its original function of bringing about a flowering of artistry of our filmmakers.