2013 was a watershed in the history of Filipino films. When we talk about the “golden age” of Philippine movies, we are usually referring to the 1970s and early 1980s, when the great Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal were doing their best work. For the sheer number of noteworthy films produced, the year 2013 could rival that golden age; the difference is that there were few household names in the roster of filmmakers.
Many of the most highly-regarded films of the year were made by filmmakers we hadn’t heard of – writer-directors who had just graduated from college (Sigrid Andrea Bernardo of Anita’s Last Cha-Cha [Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita]), Hanna Espia of Transit, Carlo Obispo of Purok 7, or first-time directors who had been working in other fields (Leo Abaya of Instant Mommy in the academe, Miguel Alcazaren of White [Puti] in advertising). Then there were the veteran filmmakers, some of whom had not made movies for many years (Elwood Perez of Eight [Otso]; Peque Gallaga of Sonata; Mel Chionglo of Lauriana), who returned to the big screen in the Sineng Pambansa (National Films) Masters Festival organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
Filipino master Lav Diaz, who is esteemed by foreign cinephiles but largely unknown to the general audience at home, made his Cannes debut with North, the End of History (Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan), a meditation on Philippine history by way of Crime and Punishment.
North was one of the most acclaimed films in the world in 2013, landing in many year-end Best lists including the annual BFI/Sight and Sound poll. It opened in the Philippines in March 2014, in a limited theatrical run.
Film festivals remained the primary venue for new films by new independent directors: Cinemalaya, which produced If Only (Sana Dati) by Jerrold Tarog and Quick Change by Eduardo Roy, Jr.; CineFilipino, which produced The Story of Mabuti (Ang Kuwento Ni Mabuti) by Mes De Guzman and The Guerrilla Is a Poet by Kiri and Sari Dalena; and Cinema One, producer of Shift by Siege Ledesma and Kabisera by Alfonso Torres III. The indie boom spurred established directors to make some of their finest work in years at Sineng Pambansa. Chito S. Roño, adept at every genre from horror to comedy, directed the powerful political thriller Dynamite Fishing (Badil); while Elwood Perez surprised viewers accustomed to his melodramas with the enigmatic Eight (Otso).
These festivals opened within a three-month span in selected venues, sending devout filmgoers scurrying all over Metro Manila to catch the limited screenings. The depth of talent, diversity of subject matter and the intellectual risk-taking on display at these film festivals attest to the vibrancy of Filipino filmmaking in the digital age.
As far as the mainstream film industry was concerned, the indie boom never happened. It was business as usual for the big studios, ruled by the media giant ABS-CBN network and its affiliate, Star Cinema. During the regular box-office year, only one local production cracked the Top 10 that was dominated by superhero series (Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World, Wolverine) and Hollywood franchises (Fast & Furious 6, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire). That film was It Takes a Man and a Woman, the third part of the romantic comedy series starring John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo. Romantic comedy-drama remained the most popular genre in Filipino movies, with Four Sisters and a Wedding and She’s the One cracking the Top 20 in terms of grosses and Why Aren’t You the Crush of Your Crush? (Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo?) landing just below the Top 20.
All four movies were Star Cinema productions, relying on the traditional formula of big stars in crowd-pleasing tales with happy endings. They are largely indistinguishable from all the Star Cinema products that came before and after them, but the public doesn’t seem to mind.
At the Metro Manila Film Festival in December, during which only local films screen in theatres, the team of director Wenn Deramas and comedian Vice Ganda reset the box-office records once more.
Girl, Boy, Gay, Lesbian (Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy), in which Vice Ganda portrayed the four title roles, became the biggest box-office hit in Philippine movie history, reportedly grossed over 400 million pesos. It beat the former record-holder Sisterakas, also a Ganda-Deramas project, which beat the former record-holder Praybeyt Benjamin, by the same team.
How could indie movies with their minuscule budgets, their lack of big-name stars, and limited access to commercial theatres, compete with that kind of mainstream clout? Indie movies draw audiences when they are screened as a group, within a festival setting.
When they open solo in commercial theatres, they are almost doomed to flop. Without concerted marketing and promotions, by the time the audience hears that the movies are showing, they will have closed. Some indies are lucky enough to get picked up by distributors; most of them never reach the audiences they were intended for. There have been offers to combine the strengths of indie and mainstream. Jeffrey Jeturian co-wrote and directed The Bit Player (Ekstra) starring Vilma Santos, one of the biggest stars in Philippine film history as a bit player in TV soap operas. Stars, not films, have always been the number one product of the mainstream industry.
Indies, with their small budgets, cannot afford stars.
But stars like Santos have taken to appearing in indies for a fraction of their usual fees, drawn by the promise of awards and international prestige. The Bit Player borrowed the mainstream strategy by casting Santos, then goes further by having her play the lowest of the low in the production hierarchy. The film generated decent grosses, but was not the blockbuster that the indies had hoped for.
Erik Matti co-wrote and directed On the Job (OTJ), a crime thriller heavily influenced by Hong Kong action films, starring popular actors Piolo Pascual and Gerald Anderson. On the Job was co-produced by Matti’s Reality Entertainment and Star Cinema. From the 1970s to the 1990s, action was the biggest genre in Philippine movies; Matti hoped to rekindle the audience’s interest in action dramas by combining ambitious set pieces with the hot-button topic of government corruption.
After a slow start, good word of mouth kept On the Job in cinemas for a month. Whether its respectable box-office showing will convince mainstream producers to dilute their romance-heavy line-ups with crime thrillers or political dramas remains to be seen. It may have been a banner year for Philippine cinema, but the rom-com is still king.
(Note: US$1 = 44 Philippine pesos)
Jessica Zafra