Women filmmakers in Philippine independent film, though still few, are steadfastly making their mark, certainly an encouraging development in Filipino cinema

Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, director of ANG HULING CHA-CHA NI ANITA

 

Pam Miras, director of PASCALINA

 

 

Hannah Espia, director of TRANSIT

 

 

A least-often cited feature, a most interesting development of the current surge in Philippine independent filmmaking, inasmuch as digital technology afforded those generally underserved in the movie industry to produce/direct their own films - also, to cite the regional filmmakers - is the slow, but steady rise in number of Filipina filmmakers, making their mark, not only in the quality of their output, but in sheer discipline of their works.

 

To cite, just in the last two years, Hannah Espia made an upset over more popular, more acclaimed filmmakers, when her debut feature, TRANSIT (2013), was selected as Philippine entry to the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film last year over Brillante Mendoza's THY WOMB and Erik Matti's ON THE JOB. Earlier, the film swept the 2013 Cinemalaya New Breed awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

 

In the same year, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo shared Best Film honors (with Mes de Guzman's ANG KUWENTO NI MABUTI) for her film, ANG HULING CHA-CHA NI ANITA (2013), in the inaugural Cine Filipino festival. The film is best remembered for its lead actor's upset win, the very young Teri Malvar, as Best Actress over veteran actor, Nora Aunor in MABUTI.

 

Late in 2012, Pam Miras made a surprising win for her film, PASCALINA (2012) in Cinema One Originals festival of new works, for Best Film.

 

All three films will make their San Francisco premiere at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, New Filipino Cinema series in June. (I will do a separate feature each for ANITA and PASCALINA.)

 

As mentioned earlier, digital technology is material to this development, an observation shared by almost all filmmakers - it is less expensive, it is manageable - but more than anything, this has given especially, women filmmakers the agency to assume artistic control, hence not subservient to market demands of corporate interests.

 

I must submit that this merits a more exhaustive survey in the future, but let me make mention the other women filmmakers worthy of note.

 

- Sari and Kiri Dalena, THE GUERILLA IS A POET (Cine Filipino 2013); THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS (2013)

- Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez, JAZZ IN LOVE (2013)

- Shireen Seno, BIG BOY, 2012

- Jewel Maranan, TONDO, BELOVED, 2012

- Marie Jamora, ANG NAWAWALA, 2012

- Antoinette Jadaone, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION FROM LILIA CUNTAPAY, 2011

- Monster Jimenez, KANO: AN AMERICAN AND HIS HAREM, 2010

- Tara Illenberger, BRUTUS, 2008

- Ditsi Carolino, of several documentaries, I am not yet familiar with, friends can attest to their integrity

 

(Let me also mention those women directors working in the industry like Joyce Bernal, Olivia Lamasan and still others, I must assume, should be included here, need to be cited when we talk about women in cinema.)

 

To our women filmmakers, mabuhay kayong lahat!