Cinemalaya, the Philippines’ Independent Film Festival, held its 8th edition claiming to be in “full force,” despite the early onset of monsoon that brought a heavy downpour during its opening night and which somehow reflected the inner turmoil happening within the festival organization. Its festival director, Nestor Jardin, unexpectedly resigned just before the festival started due to some disagreements with a competing entry.
Determined to get on with the show, it heralded twenty new digital works in competition: ten in the New Breed full-length category, five in the Director’s Showcase andten in the Short Film category. With its aim to “discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity,”the festival has undoubtedly broken new grounds despite the odds.
Winners in this year’s festival main competition were Diablo by Mes de Guzman in the New Breed section, Posas directed by Lawrence Fajardo in the Director’s Showcase and Victor by Jarell M. Serencio in the Short Film category.
This year, jury members of the NETPAC award, consisting of Max Tessier, Nick Deocampo and Jo Ji-Hoon decided to give two awards to recognize the two major divisions inthe full-length category, giving one award to Bwakaw by Jun Robles Lana in the Director’s Showcase and another to Diablo in the New Breed category. Bwakaw got the judges’ nod for its poignant story of an aging gay (played masterfully by veteran actor, Eddie Garcia) who finds happiness in his late life in the company of his close friends and a dog. Diablo was convincingly a winner for its allegorical depiction of Filipino social realities.
Scanning the festival program, the theme of “spiritual crisis” catches one’s attention. It recursin stories whether about religious faith (Aparisyon/Apparition), personal drama (Posas/Shackles) or social drama (Victor). Seen from these films is a Filipino society that is growing materially progressive but whose people are faced with spiritual uncertainties. Spiritual crisis provides not only a dramatic narrative to these films but also a theme upon which toreflect on what is happening to a country. While financial analysts tout the Philippines as economically resilient despite the world economic downturn but the well-being of its people has been affected by a crisis of faith.
A few titles manifest this theme clearly. Mes de Guzman’s Diablo (Devil) represents the most obvious as it tackles the contradiction between faith and materialism, reflecting on family ties becoming dissolved in Filipino society through social pressures brought about by urban materialism or religious fanaticism. Emmanuel Quindo Palo’s Sta. Niña shows the sensational spectacle that can happen when a “miracle” turns into mass hysteria, showing how fanaticism, coupled with unabated materialism, corrupts and corrupts absolutely the characters in the film. Raymond Red’s Kamera Obscura brings this spiritual dilemma to an artistic dimension, where an artist is thwarted in his search for truth by social and political realities surrounding him.
With the coming of the 21st century, the Philippines is a country that seeks its path towards a new future. Past values are put into question as new ones challenge traditional beliefs and practices.
Outside of the main categories, there were equally interesting programs that included an Alternative Cinema Program, Special Screenings, Film Financing Forum, Animation and Gaming Congress and the annual Independent Film Congress.