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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filipino migrant film, TRANSIT, makes a first, in that it is not only about displacement and isolation; young filmmaker Hannah Espia, explains why she needs to do it, and she did, triumphantly!



TRANSIT
93 min, Philippines, 2013
In English and in Tagalog and Hebrew with English subtitles
Cinemalaya Foundation, TEN17P
Distributed by Electric Entertainment
Written by Giancarlo Abrahan, Hannah Espia
Directed by Hannah Espia
Stars Irma Adlawan, Ping Medina, Mercedes Cabral, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Marc Justine Alvarez


Any appreciation of Hannah Espia's TRANSIT needs to be put in context of how the issue of immigration has been explored in Philippine film, a subject that resonates in a big majority of Filipino families considering that, based on studies, at least ten percent of Filipinos work and/or live outside of the archipelago.

TRANSIT, more than any other Filipino movie which may include Elwood Perez's PINAY, AMERICAN STYLE (1979), Gil Portes's 'MERIKA (1984), Olivia Lamasan's SANA MAULIT MULI (1995) and Rory Quintos's DUBAI (2005), has chosen not only to dramatize the dislocation, alienation and loneliness of migrant workers common to these films, but more importantly, by expanding its narrative to include their children, attempt to explore questions of citizenship and home.

A still from TRANSIT featuring Marc Justine Alvarez and Irma Adlawan

By utilizing a multiplanar/multi-character parallel narrative, wherein each of the five major characters is given his/her own subjectivity, a device that may have removed the film of its dramatic potency considering that it could have focused more cogently on the father, Moises (Ping Medina) and the four-year old son, Joshua (Marc Justine Alvarez) who is the one threatened by deportation, nonetheless, if affords a means through which the viewer can further understand the human cost of inhumane immigration laws, as well as reflect what "home" really means and what privilege does citizenship beget.

An auspicious debut film which is seen to be an important one when globalized labor has become an urgent concern of nations - be they, the extremely-haves or the extremely have-nots.

                                                                        - o 0 o -

TRANSIT swept the 2013 Cinemalaya, New Breed Awards: Best Film, directing, performances (Irma Adlawan, Jasmine Curtis-Smith), cinematography (Ben Cruz, Lyle Nemenzo Sacris). editing (Benjamin Tolentino, Hannah Espia), musical score (Nora Espia); was chosen as the Philippine entry to the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film.

                                                                      - o 0 o -

SINE! says:
XO (crossover appeal): ***
A+ (arthouse potential): **
C> (cult film fav): -
H! (hometown prime): **

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Hannah Espia



I read somewhere that the subject of TRANSIT is close to home. If so, why, please elucidate further?

 

A lot of people mistake Transit as something that was based from my personal experiences. No, I'm not half-Israeli, nor did I grow up there. No, my parents weren't OFWs. I lived in the Philippines my entire life, but I have always questioned national and cultural identity. I am also into fish-out-of-water stories. I just strongly felt that the deportation of foreign worker's children in Israel was a story that I needed to tell.

 

With regards to the structure of the narrative, I am struck by the way you chose to divide the film into five parts, each representing a character. Why did you do it?

When my co-writer Gian Abrahan and I wrote the script, we wrote it in linear form, but being an editor as well, I had always had it in mind to restructure the film in editing. I collaborated very well with my co-editor Benjamin Tolentino, and we made the film episodic per character. I wanted to take something that was very big and give it a more personal approach. By telling the story in different perspectives, we get to see how such immigration laws affect people. 

 

 

One of the impressive aspects of the film production is how seamless you shot you your scenes, especially the exteriors, in Israel. Is it really easy, or if you can describe further the production in Israel that will be wonderful.

 

Because we had such a small crew (there were 12 of us), the whole film was "lit" and shot by our 2 cinematographers Lyle Sacris and Ber Cruz. They only had 2 Canon C100s, 3 DSLRs - which were operated by members of our crew: sometimes me, sometimes Paul (Soriano, our producer), sometimes by our production designer, or assistant director - 2 LED lights and 2 reflectors. We would've wanted to shoot in better conditions, but we definitely made the most of what we had.

 

Among the 5 characters, who did you empathize the most, and why?

 

Yael (Jasmine Curtis-Smith's character). Her character is conflicted because she is going through a lot of changes in her life. Also, I was quite rebellious growing up.

 

 

Will you tell me more how you decided to make this as your full-length debut film? What were you doing prior to this project? Or shall I say, what has been your background in film?

 

I studied filmmaking at the University of the Philippines Film Institute. While doing that, I was working for our family business - a tour company which specializes in Holy Land tours. I went to Israel a couple of times and during one of my trips, I encountered an OFW who was bringing his baby to the Philippines because of the deportation law in Israel. That encounter inspired me to make Transit. 

 

The film won major awards at Cinemalaya last year, then selected as the Philippine entry to the Oscars, in quite a controversial way. How did these affect you and what have you learned from the experience? Did you have any inkling on how the Oscars would respond to the film?

At first, I felt really bad when people started bashing Transit on Twitter and Facebook and saying bad things about the film (and sometimes, me). But I learned that I can never please everyone, and I started to not take things personally. I have a really strong support system from family and friends who keep me grounded. I was happy enough that I was able to make a film. Everything that came after that was a bonus.

 

On the whole, were you satisfied with how TRANSIT turn out to be? If not so, what would you have done to make it better?

 

I promised myself to make films that as an audience, I would like to watch. So I guess I can say that I'm satisfied with how Transit turned out to be. But with that said, it's funny how I can't bear to watch the film from start to finish anymore. Whenever my film screens in festivals, I watch the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes. I always see the mistakes. If I could have done something differently, it would be that I would have wanted to have more time developing the film.

 

Any new project? Any new plan for the year, for the next few years?

 

I am currently producing a New Breed entry for Cinemalaya - Dagitab (Sparks), which is written and directed by Gian Abrahan (who was my co-writer in Transit). I am also developing my next feature film project. My next film would be a love story.

Mikhail Red's REKORDER reveals paradox of media; in an interview, Red talks of his first work, its pleasures and challenges, ponders of how his father, Raymond Red, an acclaimed filmmaker, looms large as he creates his own voice

REKORDER
90 min, Philippines, 2013
Cinemalaya Foundation, Filmex, PelikulaRed
Written by Mikhail Red, Ian Victoriano
Directed by Mikhail Red
Stars Ronnie Quizon with support by Suzette Ranillo, Mike Lloren, Abe Pagtama, Archi Adamos


Seemingly random acts of violence caught on cctv open the film, because they are mediated, impress the viewer with their usual-ness as being "normal-occurring" in modern-day metropolis, which in another time would have provoked an inquiry into the roots of evil, Mikhail Red's REKORDER instead infers the truth-revealing power of media, in this case, the all-pervasive modern technology.

Not that the film opts to obscure reality; by making an ingenious reference to Raymond Red's film, HIMPAPAWID/Manila skies (2012), the film being screened in the theater which the protagonist is surreptitiously recording, Mikhail Red's REKORDER in a way, suggests the socio-economic basis of his material. (Raymond Red is Mikhail's father; his HIMPAPAWID tells of the desperation of an impoverished laborer in improving his life.)

While the film's protagonist, Maven (Ronnie Quizon, now looking weather-beaten, a far cry from his matinee idol charm of many a popular film in late 70s through the 80s), so forlorn and withdrawn, toiling the streets of the city as underground recorder of movies for a video pirate, struggles to move forward as witness to a crime, the fatal mauling of a street youth, which he has recorded, speaks of the paradox of media as truth-seeker.

Inasmuch as technology is believed to have democratized media, thus empowering; its use cannibalizes people, the pervasive recording of daily life anesthetizes us to the violence that we see, as well as it continues to be a medium of containment, always subservient to capital economy.

                                                                        - o 0 o -

REKORDER won Best Production Design at Cinemalaya, New Breed in 2013; Was awarded Special Jury Prize and Best Music at the Annonay International Film Festival in France in February, 2014.

                                                                        - o 0 o -

SINE! says:
XO (Crossover appeal) - **
A+ (Arthouse potential) - ***
C> (Cult fav hit) - *
H (Hometown prime) - **

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Mikhail Red (photo by Pamela Reyes)

How did you come up with the idea of REKORDER? What spurred you to work on the subject? Are you political?

The idea for Rekorder started three years ago. I was 19 when I saw a viral video on the news, it seemed to be a random street crime: a young man, about my age at the time, was being lynched and beaten by a group of thugs in the streets. Everyone took videos of the incident but no one helped the victim, eventually he was shot to death, he took a shot to the chest from a homemade pipegun. The perpetrators fled the scene. The video disturbed me, in it I saw the distortion of the society I was living in. That’s when the germ of the idea for Rekorder started. 

When I turned 20, I decided to join Cinemalaya so I came up with a work of fiction based on the controversial viral video. I wrote a comprehensive sequence treatment and submitted it to CInemalaya. I was selected as one of the semi-finalists and tasked to come up with a full screenplay. I co-wrote the final screenplay with Ian Victoriano, and we were ultimately awarded the Cinemalaya grant to complete the film as one of the 10 newbreed entries for 2013.


What is in it, that you think worked and did not? What were the challenges you faced when making the film?

The film was quite a challenge to make. Basically I had to jump off a cliff and build my wings on the way down. I was learning everything for the first time, the hard way. I never really had any professional experience working with feature films, I did ally my previous short films on my own, independently, with do-it-yourself and guerilla methods. It was my first time working with a full production crew, shooting several days and handling several sequences. The transition from short films to a full feature was definitely hard but I had the help of a very dedicated and passionate crew, they were able to back me up during the entire process.

Being a young director was also hard, I was one of the youngest on set, I learned from everyone involved but at the same time I had to show my command and my authority. I respected and learned from a lot of experienced and veteran professionals on set while proving to them my command of the material, I had to make them believe in my vision and show them I knew what I was doing, it was a balancing act.

The treatment of the film was also a challenge. The film was shot using several formats. I had to deal with the headache of handling and integrating newer formats with older and obsolete video and analog formats. We had to find ways to match frame rates and audio rates, we had to find specialists who could convert the older formats into digital files that we could process in post. We were managing several kinds of materials, making the workflow for post-production quite complex. We had to troubleshoot and innovate along the way.

But the biggest problem of all was funding. We shot the film with a total cash-out of around 1.2million pesos, a very modest budget for the material at hand. It was a struggle along the way. We planned for 10 days of principal photography but ended up shooting 13. We went over our intended budget and we even had to stop production half-way because we ran out of funding, a lot of compromises also had to be made. We considered the option of dropping out when we couldn’t finish the film, but luckily we had an angel investment from our Executive Producer Butch Jimenez, his contribution allowed us to continue filming. Even at the post-production stage we reached a bottle-neck situation with our schedule and funding, I even had to skip the opening night of CInemalaya because we were rendering our final screening copy the night before our supposed premiere, that’s how hectic it was.

In hindsight, we should have gathered our funding earlier and we should have prepared an intensive pre-production plan, but at the time it seemed impossible because Cinemalaya had strict deadlines, we had to make the film at a fast pace. I didn’t even expect to get in so when it was announced that our project was a go, we had to rush to gather our resources.


Have you ever thought of being a filmmaker like your dad, since when? Does it affect you thinking that your dad is a celebrated filmmaker, do you feel some pressure?

My father definitely casts a huge shadow over me. He never really pressured me into the craft of filmmaking but being exposed to cinema at an early age and growing up with the influence of artist parents, going into film felt inevitable.

I feel that my dad and I are quite different in our approach and philosophies. He pays tribute to the past with his classical cinema craft and retro-inspired experimental shorts, while I explore the future using modern elements and techniques such as utilizing new and available technology to tell a story, Rekorder for example is a multi-format film. We also make it a point to respect each other’s work and independence, he usually does not attend my shoots during principal photography but I sometimes ask him to stop by during final stages of post to hear his comments before rendering out the material, but of course I always get the final word when it comes to my films. At one time we even had a debate over the ending of one of my films, I completely disagreed with his opinion and went with what I believed was best for my film.


Did you ever ask yourself why you make films?

I keep asking myself that all the time, but sometimes I can’t really think of a clear answer. At times, it feels innate, like I can’t go on living without making films and telling stories, the urge to start a new project just comes naturally. An idea, a concept just goes round and round in my mind until I find myself obsessing over it, the urge stops when I finally see it projected on screen, being shared with others, and for me the whole process in between is what filmmaking is.

I also used to write a lot of short stories when I was growing up as a young teenager. Eventually my writing transitioned into telling stories through motion-picture. I always believe that you should make the films that you yourself would want to see as an audience.


What do you think of the direction the independent cinema is taking at present? Can you think of anything that needs to get improved?

I’m happy to be part of an age where accessible technology has granted new filmmakers the opportunity to tell their stories through moving images. I’m also lucky that there are now a lot of initiatives in the Philippines that encourage young filmmakers to make films and provide them with the support and platform to do so. I guess what we need right now is more funding and support directed towards promotion and marketing. That’s what’s lacking at the moment, we have enough funding for production but have next to nothing to promote and market our film either locally or internationally.


Back to REKORDER, why did you end the film like you did, showing cam02 as the one on screen? What are you trying to drive at?

SPOILER ALERT:
I wanted the film to go full circle, returning to the opening sequence of the film. We start with a viral video depicting the conflict and chaos of our setting and we end with it, it is also here that the main character Maven finally faces the truth – no longer closing his eyes to sleep or hiding behind his camera, he watches the horror with his eyes open and focused on the screen, watching the truth that started his character’s descent and isolation from society. He watches what happened to his family, at that time he wasn’t just a mere spectator, or witness, or observer, or ghost. He was actually there, present during the violence, and because of his actions, his own decision to intervene during the robbery, to interact with society, to resist, it all ends in tragedy – the death of his daughter and the slow death of his once glorified career. His trauma has shaped him into what he is at present day: disconnected, dissonant, detached, afraid to intervene, afraid to act, afraid to do the right thing, but of course he eventually redeems himself by allowing his tape to go viral, and at a personal level he finally accepts the truth, as he sits there in the empty cinema, his eyes wide open to the incident that started it all, the atm-robbery viral video that was captured by cam02, an electronic witness to the horrors of society, a recorder of truth. 

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Nora Aunor, in a career that has seen ups and downs, endures; yet, now more than ever, a film artist that has no rival, certainly, still at the top of her game

In March 1991, I wrote this piece, "Nora Aunor Endures" in then-Sunday Times' Gloss Magazine, when I sort-of celebrated the return of Superstar Nora Aunor, after a series of personal and career mishaps, with her triumph at the Metro Manila Film Festival a few months back via her comeback film, Gil Portes's ANDREA, PAANO BA ANG MAGING INA, followed a few months later, by her theater debut performance in PETA's MINSA'Y ISANG GAMUGAMO, adapted for theater by Rody Vera (from the film of the same title written by Marina Feleo-Gonzales) and directed by Soxy Topacio.

Both performances would reaffirm her status as the country's premier actress, bar none.

More than two decades later, we seem to be at the same situation, when after an eight-year absence from the industry - she migrated to the United States in 2003 and returned to the Philippines in 2011 - we observe similar ascendance, a mix of sheer guts, perseverance and that enviable artistic insight, with critically-acclaimed performances as a Bajau midwife in Brillante Mendoza's THY WOMB (2012) and the Ilocano medicine woman in Mes de Guzman's ANG KUWENTO NI MABUTI (2013), on top of her television work, notably the late Mario O'Hara's last major work, SA NGALAN NG INA (2011) on tv5.

With four films, completed and in-production, including Adolfo Alix's PADRE DE FAMILIA and SILBATO/Whistleblower, Perci Intalan's DEMENTIA and Joel Lamangan's HUSTISYA, and the anticipation over her conferment as National Artist for Cinema and Broadcast Arts, fans and admirers cannot but hold their breath at these prospects - a swell of emotions that always accompanies her return.

It is hoped that with re-printing this feature written more than 20 years ago, one may somehow understand the whys and wherefores of one of the most amazing careers in Philippine cinema.

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NORA AUNOR ENDURES

by Mike Feria

 

 

Many an observer agree: It is indeed her second wind. Superstar Nora Aunor's remarkable comeback-of-sorts in the film ANDREA, PAANO BA ANG MAGING ISANG INA? shown last December, has reaffirmed her status as one of the finest actresses, if not the best, of Philippine cinema.

 

Produced on a modest budget by her close friend Mely Nicandro for the latter's MRN Films, directed by Gil Portes and written by Ricky Lee, ANDREA ... earned for Nora Aunor her fifth Best Actress trophy from the Metro Manila Film Festival. The film finished last in the box office race, but it boosted a moribund career - boosted it enough to re-institute her as the country's premiere actress.

 

That triumph was quickly followed by an equally impressive performance in the PETA play, MINSA'Y ISANG GAMUGAMO (adapted by Rody Vera from the film script by Marina Feleo-Gonzales and directed by Soxy Topacio), which was staged at the Tanghalang Raha Sulayman in February and March. It was her debut in theater.

 

 

The audience and critics have been unanimous in their accolade for the star and the production - to some, it was the theater event of the year - something unprecedented in theater history.

 

Once again, Nora Aunor has chosen to journey through untrodden paths, with a certain stubbornness peculiar to iconoclasts and mavericks. Talk has it that, against her advisers' suggestion, she refused to alter the victorious death of the rebel in ANDREA ... (the change would allegedly have solicited the support of the festival's screening committee). Like no other star before and after her, she chose to  redefine what a star/superstar in a country like the Philippines - invariably and unjustly referred as "Third World".

 

 

 

Her roles in the aforementioned film and play demonstrate choices that speak of an artist situating herself in the changing conditions of her society: in ANDREA ..., the armed revolutionary wedged in conflict between being mother and participant in the national democratic struggle; in GAMUGAMO, the aggrieved nurse who abandons her dreams of working in America when her brother is shot by an American serviceman and who later joins the anti-bases movement in her fight for justice.

 

The Young Critics Circle puts rightly in its citation (which garnered ANDREA the Gold Prize and for Nora Aunor the Individual Achievement Prize): "Ms. Aunor is cited for her fortitude and daring to star in this type of film, manifesting rare artistic insight into the problematics of social change. At a time when her career is taking one of its dangerous dips, she dares star in a film whose appeal is definitely non-commercial and whose politics could earn the ire of the powers-that-be. By so doing, Ms. Aunor, reaffirming her artistic leadership, has re-defined the role of the star/superstar in popular culture: her courage not to toe to the establishment line, both politically and artistically, at a time when she should ingratiate herself to it, is not only remarkable, but also exemplary."

 

Nora Aunor was a gawky teenager when she stepped into the national consciousness - winning the Grand National Champion trophy in the talent show TAWAG NG TANGHALAN in 1966. The year also marked the first term of Ferdinand E. Marcos. New idols, both of them.

 

The "Golden Voice" sparked heightened interest in local music recording, making her one of the industry's biggest stars of the time.  (Her PEARLY SHELLS is one of the most successful recordings in the local music industry.) Not long afterwards the movies beckoned, and the film industry has never been the same since. Nora Aunor became the movies' biggest star, the mass adulation unprecedented and perhaps, not to be duplicated in our time.

 

Her emergence as star in the late 60s signified the realization of the brown ideal: she is the first major female film star whose features are distinctly Malayan. That it was also at the time of extreme social unrest is meaningful. Her rise remains a sociological question, and Nora Aunor herself is a sociological phenomenon.

 

In 1972, the year martial law was declared, she was at her prime: the movies' biggest box-office draw, recording's best-selling artist, TV's only musical-variety star. Her tv show, SUPERSTAR, was the only program allowed in operation when Marcos imposed a clampdown on all media.

 

With martial law in full force, Aunor would take a different course. At a time when her then-and-still rival, Vilma Santos made tremendous attempts to wrest the crown from her with hugely successful movie adaptations of popular komiks heroes (as in LIPAD, DARNA LIPAD and DYESEBEL), Nora Aunor produced films considered serious and non-commercial but acting vehicles no less: Danny Holmsen's CARMELA, where she played a haunted woman, and George Rowe's PARUPARONG ITIM, where she played an oppressed blind girl.

 

Two other films - the omnibus FE, ESPERANZA, CARIDAD (1974) where she was directed by the masters Lamberto Avellana and Gerardo de Leon, and de Leon's BANAUE (1975) - foreshadowed the emergence in 1976 a major acting talent in films of definite significance: Lupita Aquino-Concio's MAGANDANG GABI SA INYONG LAHAT and MINSA'Y ISANG GAMUGAMO and Mario O'Hara's TATLONG TAONG WALANG DIYOS. The latter film set in the Japanese occupation, gave her the Gawad Urian's first Best Actress trophy for her role as a village girl who fell in love with a collaborator.

 

 

 

As Nora Aunor immersed herself in substantial film projects in later years, her box office standing took a downslide, constantly outmaneuvered by Santos's melodramas and change of image and threatened by the rise of new stars like Maricel Soriano and Sharon Cuneta. Family trouble, entanglements with the BIR and unfortunate love affairs wore her down to a state of almost-total shutdown.

 

Nevertheless, the martial law years saw the growth of Nora Aunor's talent, with a body of work that shows an actress of consummate skill and singular taste. The wronged daughter in Lino Brocka's INA KA NG ANAK MO (1979); the lesbian lawyer in Danny Zialcita's T-BIRD AT AKO (1981); the expatriate nurse in Portes's MERIKA (1983); and the prison inmate in O'Hara's BULAKLAK SA CITY JAIL (1984) are some of the performances that remain unparalleled in intensity. Most of her roles, including the movie star groupie in Brocka's BONA (1980) and the visionary/faith healer in Ishmael Bernal's HIMALA (1982) are marked by an economy of movement - her eyes, considered legendary, speak of life's complexities in a multitude of ways - and a strong, timeless presence.

 

Sadly however, these incursions into serious cinema led Nora Aunor to stray far from the mass audience, which is still steeped in the lush sentimentalism of komiks melodrams and the mindless pursuit of star trivia. Refusing to heed the temper of the times, for example, she stood steadfastly by her political patrons, the Marcoses. Her near lynching by the mob at the gates of Camp Aguinaldo at the outbreak of EDSA revolt in 1986 signaled the beginning of the end of the Marcos reign and the passing of the Nora Aunor era in the movies.

 

Corazon C. Aquino became President. Beset with endless woes, the public apparently never forgave Nora Aunor for her political move. SUPERSTAR, considered the longest-running in local tv history, breathed its last after 22 years in 1990.

 

In an interview with Nora Aunor in MAGANDANG GABI, BAYAN after SUPERSTAR folded, host Noli de Castro made some cryptic but hopeful comments: " ... Dito nga ba magwawakas ang mala-Cinderellang kasaysayan ng Superstar, o isa lamang siyang sleeping giant na naghihintay ng tamang pagkakataon upang muling magsabog ng ningning sa pinilakang tabing?"

 

Recent events are proving de Castro correct. The success of the film and play attests to Nora Aunor's endurance. Conrad Fernandez, then head-writer of SUPERSTAR, notes this rare quality: "These are the eyes of a woman who has never forgotten a single painful moment that has happened to her, and who has gained nothing but strength from her experiences. Strength is the only thing that has kept her alive."

 

The suddenly warm acceptance of the public - indeed, the standing ovation accorded her number at the recent Star Awards Night, where she reaped a Best Actress trophy for ANDREA - conjures images of timelessness. The suggestion to declare her National Artist is an affirmation of her significant contributions to national culture.

 

Nora Aunor's continuing story compels a more critical assessment of her art and work. She has ceased to become her fans' mere escape from the turbulent world, and has evolved into a symbol - hopefully, liberative.

 

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Note:

Mike Feria is the pen name of Mauro Feria Tumbocon, Jr., the owner of this blogsite.

 

 

 

 







Ishmael Bernal's HIMALA, why it continues to inspire, soar to greater heights, a good three decades after, screenwriter Ricky Lee interviewed

If there is one film that confounds viewers and students of Filipino cinema with its increased status as one of Philippines' bests ever, over a very long period, it should be Ishmael Bernal's HIMALA/Miracle (1982). According to Pinoy Rebyu, a film aggregator, in its survey of Filipino films last year, the Nora Aunor-starrer now ranks second to consistent leader, Lino Brocka's MAYNILA, SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG/Manila, in the claws of neon (1976), a marked improvement from its ninth place in 1989.

Consider that on the year of its release in 1982, although it swept the awards at the MetroManila Film Festival - also, the festival's topgrosser - HIMALA, while it was nominated by three-awards giving bodies at the time - the FAMAS, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and the Film Academy of the Philippines - it did not merit a major win, in directing, acting and writing categories. (The lesser known body, the Catholic Mass Media Awards, if I remember it right, must have honored the film though.)

Nevertheless, the film was luckier in the international film festivals: the first Philippine film entry in competition at Berlin International Film Festival (lead star Nora Aunor almost won the Best Actress award); the Bronze Hugo Prize at the Chicago International Film Festival; and another citation in an Asian festival.

The question that has been obviously asked of Philippine award-giving bodies through these years: What were you thinking at that time? Was HIMALA as film so ahead of its time?

Fast forward to the 21st century:
- In 2008, the Viewers Choice Awards listed the film as the Best of All Time from the Asia Pacific; at the CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards; Nora Aunor was voted as the Best Actress from Asia.
- In 2012, the film became the first restored by ABS-CBN Archives and Central Digital Media; the restored film made its international premiere at the Venice International Film Festival

True, it takes some historical distance to appreciate the full merit of a film. In the case of HIMALA, it took more than two decades for people to sit up and take notice.

A revaluation of any work needs to acknowledge the context of its making and ascribe importance - whether the film has indeed broken new grounds - whether thematic or formal - and maintained its legitimacy over a long period of time.

If I may make mention three key points to its enduring appeal, this must be the case.
1. The way Bernal orchestrated that monumental crowd scene after the assassination of Elsa, the protagonist, many will say, may never be duplicated in a long time;
2. The honesty and accuracy of Nora Aunor's performance - with minimum of dialogue and gestures - is now, more than ever, being recognized as a career best, and arguably, the best performance by a Filipino actor, one to whom everyone else will be measured;
3. The power of Ricky Lee's writing, perhaps one of the most fully-realized materialist examination of religiosity in Filipino culture, is further appreciated for its appropriation of popular literature's sense of the dramatic. I smile at the reason why Ricky Lee chose not to identify the person who pulled the trigger that caused Elsa's death. Do we see a sequel, or shall we say, he wants to have an open-ended question to the nature of miracle? Gee, a stroke of genius, there.

Add this: It also helps that the cable station CinemaOne programs it as its annual Lenten presentation, which means that the film is assured of airplay, year in and year out. A privilege which no other film has.

I asked a few questions to the film's screenwriter to remember how it was made, to shed new light on the film's enduring appeal.

 

1. Anong reaksyon mo nung hindi gaanong nanalo ng awards sa Pilipinas maliban sa Metro Manila filmfest ang Himala nung unang pinalabas ito? Tapos, more than 30 yrs later, sunod-sunod naman ang papuri ng mga kritiko, atbp sa pelikula, ano kaya ang dahilan?

 

Medyo disappointed ako noon. At si Nora man. Lalo na’t mixed ang lumabas na mga review. May ila pang review na nagsabing maganda daw ang pelikula, ang depekto lang nito ay ang screenplay.
Kaya siguro mas masarap ang feeling ngayon na after 32 years ay buhay na buhay pa rin ang Himala. it’s the greatest feeling for a writer to realize that something you wrote years ago still affects lives now, and will most probably outlive you.

 

2. Meron bang nabanggit si Ishmael Bernal tungkol diyan, kung may maalala ka?

 

Noong nasa post-prod pa lang ang Himala, anxious na anxious si bernal na magustuhan ito ng mga tao. Tanong siya nang tanong kung maganda ba ito, kung worth ba ito the whole trouble. Pero nang mapalabas na ito, he went back to his usual philosopical nonchalance. People can think what they want to think of it, he has said his piece.

 

 

3. Pwede mong I-kuwento kung paano naisa-kamay ni Nora ang papel ni Elsa. Kaagad ba niya itong tinanggap; kung hindi man o atubili siyang gawin ito, nasabi ba niya ang dahilan? Gaano ba ka-totoo na muntikanan nang manalo si Nora sa Berlin bilang best actress?

Sinulat ko ang himala noong 1976 para kay mike de leon. That time wala pang casting. Pero a few years later, nang maging desidido na ako (at si Gil Quito, na tumulong sa akin noon sa materyal) na gawing bida ang protagonist, si nora aunor agad ang naisip ko. Nang alukin ng role si nora, di siya nagdalawang isip. Kasi the other day lang daw, napanaginipan niya ang mahal na birhen. hapon ito at di niya malaman kung naalimpungatan lang siya o nananaginip. pero andoon ang mahal na birhen.
According to ishmael bernal, na nakatabi ni jeanne moreau (head ng jurors) sa eroplano, nora lost by just one vote. Ang nanalo ‘yung russian actress. that small girl, sabi daw ni jeanne moreau, she's terribly good!


4. Na-foresee nyo ba ang mga karangalang tinatamo ng pelikula, marami ang dekadang nakaraan?

Alam namin nina bernal na malaking pelikula ang ginagawa namin noon. He kept saying this is going to be a good film. Pero siyempre never mong maiisip na magtatamo siya ng atensyon at karangalan pagkalipas ng tatlong dekada. parang himala nga, nagkaroon siya ng iba't ibang permutations. naging musical. ipinagtayo ng rebulto si elsa sa paoay doon mismo sa burol na pinagsyutingan. may gagawa sa olongapo ng straight play adaptation. may book ako on himala etc.


5. Gaano kalapit ang paggawa ni Bernal sa orihinal mong script? May mga pagbabago ba, o kung meron, maaari mo bang sabihin kung ano ang mga iyon?

Laging sinasabi ni bernal na sa lahat ng mga script na dinirihe niya, dalawa lang ang halos di niya ginalaw---ang nunal sa tubig, at ang himala. hindi ginalaw meaning, kung may mga gusto siyang i-revise, pinag-uusapan muna at ako rin ang nagri-revise. Sa ibang pelikula kasi niya madalas siya na ang sumusulat ng revisions. Maski sa set. pero sa himala, kung ano ang nasa script, iyon. Walang adlibs.
Ideya niya ang dalawang sermon ng pari. pinag-usapan namin, at sinulat ko. gusto niyang abstract ito, philosophical, di maintindihan ng mga nagsisimba sa eksena. Yung walang himala monologue ni elsa sa huli, pareho kaming di pa masaya noong first draft. Pero di namin alam kung paano babaguhin. Minsang dumalaw ako sa shooting, at pinagmasdan ko ang mga extra, ang mga mukha nila, ang mga paghihirap nila, naramdaman kong kaya ko nang i-revise ang himala. ibang-iba ang final monologue doon sa unang draft. Ang natira lang ata ang “walang himala”.


6. Paano ang naging working relationship ninyo ni Bernie kung ihahambing mo kay Lino? May pagkakaiba ba?

Si lino halos isang discussion lang bago mo isulat ang script. then after the first draft idi-discuss niya ang comments and suggestions niya. Pag-submit mo ng revised script halos iyon na faithfully ang isu-shoot niya. With bernal, it’s endless discussions. On philosophy, on existentialism, on social realities. Kung kay lino ang ididiscuss ay specific concrete issues like pagwewelga ng mga manggagawa, ulam na kakainin ng character, kay bernal mas abstract ideas. Gusto ni bernal dialectics. Ano man ang ideya, babanggain namin sa discussion. Hanggang sa tumapon ang mga katas. Iyon, sa mga tumapong katas namin makikita ang bago at mas magandang idea.


7. Sa mga obra mo sa pelikula, paano mo maihahanay ang script mo ng Himala sa iba pang sinulat mo?

 I’ve always loved himala, siguro dahil sa tagal ng naging journey nito mula noong isulat ko noong 1976 hanggang sa maproduce ito noon lang 1982, matapos ang kabi-kabilang rejection. Pero mahal ko rin ang moral. Kung dalawa lang ang mabibitbit kong screenplay, siguro iyong dalawang iyon ‘yun. Unless maihahabol ko ang karnal.

                                                               ***

 

Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, recently outed as undocumented immigrant talks about his film, his mother and the challenges to US immigration reform

DOCUMENTED
CNN Films/Apo Anak Productions
Directed, written and co-produced by Jose Antonio Vargas
In English and in Tagalog and Spanish with English subtitles
89 min, US


Part confessional, part advocacy, Jose Antonio Vargas's DOCUMENTED, because of its honesty and courage, strikes at the chord of immigrants, from different parts of the globe, who know, who may have met or who suspect to have known and met, someone who is undocumented, that is, who has crossed the border, whether by land, by air or by sea, and stay in the United States for an indefinite period of time without the benefit of legal papers.

Vargas, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, who outed himself in a very public New York Times Magazine personal essay in 2011 - My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant - by insinuating his personal journey from the Philippines, sent for the US by his grandparents at the age of 12 via a "smuggler" and leaving his mother who until now, he has not seen since then, into the whole immigration issue especially as it affects almost 11 million immigrants living in the shadows, has rendered the personal and the political in a very compelling film.

I had a short interview with Vargas in San Francisco, part of a multi-city promotions tour for the film, where he talks about his film - actually, his second as writer-director (his first was THE OTHER CITY (2010) based on the 2006 series on HIV.AIDS in Washington DC - his mother and the challenges facing immigration reform push by advocates, notably the DREAM-ers, young people who were brought to the US by their parents at a young age and are still undocumented.

At Larsen Associates offices, San Francisco, CA, May 8, 2014.

How is this film important to you?

It is important to me personally, as personal statement, an expression of civil disobedience on a very political issue. Actually, the project started with me following through 5 undocumented  persons, then for some reasons, it ended to be a very personal film, talking about my mom, how to explain the separation. The film gave me and my mom an opportunity to reconnect.

How did the process of re-connection go, considering that based on the film, your mentioned you last wrote her in 1997?

Yes, I did write her last in 1997, but we had phone conversations. Those times, I did not want to open my life to her, what I was undergoing.

True, you mentioned about your fear, getting scared. Do you still the feel the same way, now?

I was afraid, not necessarily for myself, but for my family. Come to think of it. the issue of immigration is about family. Making the film for me, is just like coming home, inasmuch as the feeling is not complete.

You said home, what does it mean to you?

Home is where my shoes are, where I grew up. A sense of belonging, a claim that this is my country. I also want to go visit the Philippines soon, if I can.


There is a very interesting part of the documentary when you attended a Mitt Romney town hall meeting. How was it and why did you do it?

I went there to ask questions and I soon, realized and learned how immigration as an issue, is so much less understood by a lot of people. Why is this so, that is because our immigration laws are very complicated, so difficult to understand.

Now that you completed the film, what do you expect to happen, what do you hope to happen?

Immediately, I want to push for two things: One, stop the deportations. Two, start pushing for reforms. This is very liberating for me. I hope and I wish that the film will start a national conversation on immigration.