In 2008, I was invited to the Cinemalaya Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines to take part in its Film Congress. I was there to represent Dumaguete filmmaking, although at that time, I’ve only had one short film to my name, and wondered frequently how I got into their list.
The congress centered around gathering ideas for best practices of filmmaking around the regions, and when I was asked in my panel how that configured in Dumaguete filmmaking, I could only say one sad thing: there was no such thing as Dumaguete filmmaking.
Granted, we have our very own Eddie Romero, a National Artist for Film. Granted, we have filmmakers from here, such as Ramon del Prado, and adopted ones like Jonah Lim and Seymour Barros Sanchez. And granted, Dumaguete seems to be a favorite place to shoot for many commercial films. But in terms of grassroots filmmaking, there was nothing. Hence, no best practice.
But I told the audience at the CCP that perhaps we could spark some change, however small. When I got back to Dumaguete, and then to my film class in the SU College of Mass Communication, I had one resolve: to jumpstart filmmaking in this City, and start small.
And, if I had to, by sheer act of will. It meant requiring my film class to go beyond just writing film criticism of the movies they saw in my class. I quoted the French director Jean Luc Godard, who once said: “The only way to critique a movie is to make a movie.”
Make a movie, I told my classes. They were scared out of their wits, and they were understandably reluctant–but they did manage to turn out films, which to me were minor miracles borne out of sweat, liters of Red Bull, endless coffee, endless bickering among the crew, sleepless nights, panic attacks, and even minor emotional breakdowns.
Then again, who said filmmaking was easy? You have to be insane to set out to make a movie, I told them–but the dividends are fantastic.
What are the dividends so far? Many of the films we showed in previous editions of we decided to call the 61 Short Film Festival–our end-of-the-schoolyear showcase of student films–have been shown in national festivals, particularly the prestigious CinemaRehiyon Festival of the National Commission for Culture & the Arts.
Among those which have represented Dumaguete in the festival include Mahogany Rae Bacon’s Marry Me, Hersley-Ven Casero’s Paper, Razceljan Salvarita’s I am Patience, and Stephen Abanto’s Café Les Back. The future is becoming bright for Dumaguete film.
But all this means something more for me. The film festival, of course, is essentially a program that collects the official requirements of students in a film class–necessary if they want to pass their course or if they want to graduate.
I guess I consider it in the order of just passing on what was passed on to me. I had great teachers. Jonah Lim, who taught film in Silliman, tapped me when I was a student, to do film not just in terms of critiquing it and putting the criticism on paper, but to actually go out into the world and deal with some of the realities of actual filmmaking. That way, you build experience, you put into practice what you’ve learned in the classroom, and you build character.
The latter is important, because nothing else like actual filmmaking engages everything that you are as a person. I try to teach this to my students. Because at the end of the day, all that matters is that one manages to make something out of our creative impulses. It is the only way to live.
Compared to five years ago, I would have to say that the student filmmaking community is very much alive, although it is still quite young.
And the community is not confined to Silliman alone — it includes budding filmmakers from Foundation University and Negros Oriental State University, even public elementary schools like North City Elementary School and private companies like SPI.
But filmmaking has become a kind of Holy Grail for the creative kind in the country these days. Everyone is excited to make at least a short film; when one is a college student brimming with ideas and free time–and you happen to have good equipment–you do tend to make a short film, usually with push from people who know you could do one.
The only challenge there is right now, for budding Dumaguete filmmakers, is to make that second short film, and to graduate to feature filmmaking. That’s our last gauntlet.
Who will be the first Dumagueteño to make a feature-length film shot entirely in Dumaguete, with local cast and crew? I hope somebody insane and talented enough is already around to make that claim true.
Last Monday, the fourth edition of the festival unfolded, and these were the winners. Best Short Film and winner of the Audience Choice Award went to Jo Vale’s Ugma na Lang, while the winner of the Special Jury Prize was Melissa Pal’s Jeepney, the Achievement in the Cinematic Arts was Stephen Abanto’s Dagit: Have You Got Time for a Story? Ms. Pal also won Best Director, while her lead Jhenzee Jardin won Best Actress in a Leading Role. A tie for Best Actor in a Leading Role went to Mardie Gabriel Limbaga Erojo in Ugma na Lang and Steven Joseph Credo in Raymond Cutillar’s F*ed. The latter film also garnered Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Noel Canobas, and Best Screenplay for Mr. Cutillar. Ms. Vale also won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Henzonly Abanto’s Shutterlife.
For the technical categories, Best Editing went to Jed James Wasawas, Mr. Abanto, Mr. Alboroto, and Ms. Vale for Ugma na Lang, and Best Cinematography also went to Mr. Abanto for Dagit. In the sound and music categories, Best Original Musical Score went to Kokoi Guinto for Ugma na Lang, Best Original Song went to Finpot for Shutterlife, and Best Sound Design and Editing went to Jerry Angelo Catarata for Ugma na Lang. In the production design categories, Best Set Design went to Ms. Pal for Jeepney, Best Costume Design went Miguel Salvania for Dagit, and Best Make-up Design went to Nicole Villanueva for Dagit. Best Poster Design went to F*ed.
So here’s to Dumaguete filmmaking, fledgling though it may be–but at least we’re starting somewhere.
