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Cinemalaya 2006 surpasses last year’s film fest
By Nestor Torre
Inquirer
Last updated 01:00am (Mla time) 07/29/2006
Published on page A3-1 of the July 29, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
WE MADE it a point to watch all of the eight 2006 Cinemalaya feature-length films, the better to answer the key questions: Was it a good festival -- and was it as successful or even better than its first edition last year, which had set a high standard in terms of quality?
The answer to the first question is a hearty yes, with some six of the eight entries coming off as significant and well-made productions.
As a result, we can say that the 2006 filmfest is as good as or even better than last year’s -- which is saying a lot, since the 2005 festival exceeded expectations, and came up with such worthy films as “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” “Pepot Artsita,” and “Big Time.”
Most exceptional
This year, the most exceptional productions are “Tulad ng Dati,” “Batad, Sa Paang Palay,” “Rotonda” and “Donsol.” If you didn’t catch them at the CCP, you have another chance to view them when they move over to the UP Film Center from Aug. 7 to 10.
The 2006 Cinemalaya festival boosted local filmmaking because it enabled viewers to experience situations, characters and themes generally ignored by formula-oriented mainstream cinema.
For a long time now, we’ve been plugging for the production of a Filipino movie about a band, since bands are very popular here, So, we were gratified when “Tulad ng Dati,” a psychological docu-drama about The Dawn, was shown.
Other Cinemalaya entries introduced us to youths in the Mountain Province (“Batad”), whale sharks and a cancer victim (“Donsol”), denizens continually living at the edge of risk and violence (“Rotonda”), and other characters we don’t usually get to meet on the big screen.
We also appreciate Cinemalaya 2006 for showcasing new directors like Ron Bryant (“Rotonda”), Mike Sandejas (“Tulad ng Dati”), Benji Garcia (“Batad”) and Adolf Alix Jr. (“Donsol”) -- gifted and committed filmmakers, one and all.
When we watched the Cinemalaya films, we concluded that Bryant did best of all -- and we’re glad to see that he won the filmfest’s directing award.
We trust that mainstream producers were impressed with the new directors’ polished tyro efforts, and will tap them to direct other movies in seasons to come.
Outstanding
We’re happy, too, that this year’s Cinemalaya festival entries came up with many outstanding lead performances -- Alcris Galura in “Batad,” Mark Gil, Meryl Soriano and Celso Ad Castillo in “Rotonda,” Sid Lucero and Angel Aquino in “Donsol,” Rio Locsin in “Mudraks,” etc.
It’s great that alternative movies are “discovering” new standouts like Galura and Lucero, and “rediscovering” under-utilized veteran talents like Gil and Locsin. We trust that their performances will motivate mainstream producers to cast them in their own productions.
Standouts
Even among the supporting actors and “unknown” talents, there were some standouts -- the vibrantly pretty girl Galura has a crush on in “Batad,” the obsessive girl in the laundry in “Ang Huling Araw ng Linggo” (Angeli Bayani), etc.
We also noted that, on point of technique and technology, this year’s entries are generally better than the 2005 Cinemalaya films. This is heartening, because alternative movies need to look more “professional” if they want to attract and sustain the attention of mainstream moviegoers.
This is the ultimate objective of the festival: To showcase new talents and innovative themes and techniques, so that they can eventually redound to the good of the larger local film audience.
Cinemalaya 2006 was a hit, but the thousands of people who enjoyed its offerings are only a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands who patronize mainstream movies. It is this much larger audience that should ultimately benefit form the gains notched by Cinemalaya.
After another successful edition of the pioneering festival and competition, the challenge now is to figure out precisely how to better achieve that more important goal.
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