There are two movie industries in the Philippines, separated by cost, aspiration, and aesthetics. Like parallel universes, they seem simply unaware of each other’s existence.But actually, they actively ignore each other. It is odd, but not so surprising in the Philippines, a land of paradoxes where film producers complain of meagre profits but movie actors are regularly voted into public office.Of the two movie industries, the more popular and profitable is the mainstream represented by Star Cinema, Regal Films and Viva Films. Star Cinema is part of a huge conglomerate with interests in television, electricity, water, publishing, real estate and telecommunications.Regal Films, once the dominant player, is now an alsoran which nonetheless accounts for half the movies in the annual Metro Manila Film Festival. Viva Films mostly co-produces films starring its most valuable asset Sarah Geronimo, and makes low-budget but highly profitable movies for the gay market.
The top-grossing Filipino movie of the regular year (not counting the Metro filmfest) was You Changed My Life (US$4.7M), a Star-Viva production starring Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz. It was the sequel to the previous year’s top grosser, A Very Special Love. Cruz has headlined the number one box office movie for three years in a row. His new movie Miss You Like Crazy seems likely to top the box office this year as well. The second highest-grossing movie was In My Life (US$2.88M), a melodrama also starring John Lloyd Cruz and the most enduring star in Philippine movies Vilma Santos, now gover nor of the province of Batangas. Next was BFF (Best Friends Forever)starring comedy queen Ai Ai de las Alas and 1980s and early-1990s “megastar” Sharon Cuneta.At the Metro filmfest - when foreign films ar e not allowed in theatres - the box-office c hampion was Panday, the latest installment in the comic book fantasy series which started in the 1970s. The ear lier movies had starred the “King of Philippine Movies” Fer nando Poe, Jr, w ho died a few year s ago following a run for the presidency. The latest ver sion, spr uced up with special effects that looked amazingly like the Mor dor scenes in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings, starred action star tur ned senator Bong Re villa.
The mainstr eam follows the rules and conventions of Hollywood movies from the 1950s: big-name stars, histrionics and forced ha ppy endings. The audience leaves the theatr e r eassured that all is right and glamorous in the celluloid world. Occasionally ther e are attempts to introduce elements fr om the real wor ld, notably in In My Life, where a middle-aged mother, a recent immigr ant to the United States, must not only deal with her new life in an unfamiliar environment but also with her son’s relationship with another man. The movie is lifted by fine performances from Santos and Cruz, who despite his box office success is a sorely underutilised talent. However, the rest of the movie unfolds in the predictable fashion. The impor tant thing is to please the viewers and stay close to their expectations with big acting moments, tears and a happy ending. Ar t, talent, and originality are excellent concepts to mention in media releases, but no one should be fooled into thinking these matter more than the bottom line. In the mainstream universe, filmmaking is a business.
The other Philippine movie industry calls itself indie for independent or non-studio-based. In short, the primary difference between mainstream and indie in the Philippines is where the money comes from. Indie in the Philippines cannot yet be considered a school, aesthetic, or philosophy. Many independently-produced movies are indistinguishable from studio product. Within the indie universe there are many disparate styles and schools, from the strictly arthouse to the audiencefriendly.Consider the two most successful Filipino indies of 2009, Joyce Bernal’s Kimmy Dora, and Brillante Mendoza’s Kinatay.
Kimmy Dora was a big hit. Its US$1.65M take made it the fourth highest local grosser of 2009. It was not produced by Star or another major, but it seemed like a mainstream product. Director Joyce Bernal has helmed many hits for Star Cinema (D’Anothers, Mr. Suave), screenwriter Chris Martinez has written major studio movies (Bridal Shower, Caregiver), and its producers include the matinee idol Piolo Pascual. Kimmy Dora star Eugene Domingo is one of the mainstream industry’s busiest supporting players, and her leading man Dingdong Dantes is one of the country’s most popular actors.
Distribution is a major problem for the Indies. Apart from the Robinson’s mall multiplexes, the big theatre chains often decline to screen indies. Kimmy Dora easily surmounted this obstacle through a distribution deal with Star Cinema. As for the movie itself, it’s a madcap sendup of the Korean telenovelas that are ubiquitous in the Philippines. It is faithful to the comedy formula that has been around since the 1950s, with mugging, slapstick, and making fun of anything different. It could be argued that Kimmy Dora is not indie at all, but a quirky mainstream movie.
Butchered (Kinatay) is indubitably indie - funding came from the director’s French distributors - but it is on the accessible end of the indie art-house spectrum (Raya Martin’s and Lav Diaz’s movies are at the other end).
Working from a screenplay by indie guru Armando Lao, the prolific Brillante Mendoza made a film about a grisly murder made all the more harrowing by the fact that the crime is not dramatised.
Kinatay was the most excoriated film at the Cannes festival - quite an achievement in a year that also featured Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist - and the American critic Roger Ebert called it the worst film ever to screen at Cannes.
But Mendoza was awarded the Best Director prize at the festival, the highest recognition a Filipino production has ever garnered at a major event. Back home it was criticised for its negative portrayal of the Philippines, and this was before critics had even seen it. Mendoza declined a theatrical run in the Philippines, opting for special screenings for students, media, and the cognoscenti. Kinatay generated far more attention abroad than it did in its home country.
Then again, the same can be said of all the local indies.
Just weeks after his Cannes triumph, Mendoza was at the Venice filmfest, where another film of his, Lola (Grandmother), was the surprise film in competition.Mendoza may be the first filmmaker to have two different films in competition in the same year at Cannes and Venice. In Venice, the young indie filmmaker Pepe Diokno bagged the Best First Feature and Lion of the Future prizes for his gang war film, Encounter (Engkwentro). Diokno, 22, was praised by the local media, but his movie remains unseen by the general public.
The indie movie industry in the Philippines is largely defined by its opposition to the mainstream. Artistic aspirations usually trump commercial considerations. Not that indies would reject box office success, but at this time the trade-off seems unacceptable. Indie filmmakers such as Lav Diaz, Raya Martin, and Sherad Anthony Sanchez are much better known and appreciated at international festivals than in their own country. Similarly, commercially successful Filipino mainstream movies have not found markets outside the Philippines apart from Filipino overseas workers.
It would make sense for these two disparate worlds to collaborate, but with the exception of actors who appear in both indie and mainstream projects, the gap appears to be unbridgeable. Every year the Film Academy of the Philippines selects the country’s official entry to the USA’s Academy Awards. Given that this prize is awarded by foreigners, it would seem logical to choose a local movie that has had some success abroad. Kinatay or Engkuwentro would be obvious nominees. If these are deemed to present the country in a negative light, Raya Martin’s Cannes entry Independencia, or another acclaimed festival film would fit the bill.
Instead, the Film Academy picked Soxy Topacio’s Grandfather Is Dead (Ded Na Si Lolo) which is funny, broadly- acted, full of local color, and - except for its low budget - solidly mainstream. It is as if the indies did not exist at all.
(Note: 1 US$ = 46 Philippine pesos)
Jessica Zafra