To the movie business, May means Cannes. For this year, May also meant Cannes for the Filipino film industry with not one, but four entries in this year’s Cannes International Film Festival. “Kinatay (Execution of P)” is entered in the main competition. In the Un Certain Regard section Raya Martin’s ‘Independencia” is nominated. Another of Martin’s films, this time with Adolfo Alix Jr, ‘Manila’ is in the Special Screenings category. Rounding off the nominations in the Short Film Corner is Janice Y. Perez’s “Sabongero”. Here I was thinking we weren’t making our presence known internationally, with not even a nomination in any of the major awards.

This time though, we’re not settling for just nominations. For those who haven’t already heard the great news, Brilliante Mendoza has won the best director award for “Kinatay”. Mendoza is no stranger to Cannes. Last year his movie “Serbis” was the first Filipino movie in 24 years to be selected for Cannes. It appears that the director from Pampanga has caught the attention of those on the French Riviera and will hopefully help to catapult the Filipino film industry into international circles once again.
 

The subject matter of these films is a departure from the movies that Filipinos most typically watch. No love stories of the dramatic or romantic kind we’re used to in this selection. Instead, with ‘Kinatay’ we have the story of hitmen who chop up their victims, albeit so the main character can afford to marry his girlfriend. See, we can’t quite give up the love story completely.

 

In “Independencia” we follow a mother and son as they try to find safety during the Philippine-American war. “Manila”, divided into two parts, sees Piolo Pascual in two roles. First, as a drug dealer trying to build his life again, and second, as a bodyguard dragged deeper into the dark side of the city. Finally, “Sabongero” follows Boyax as he enters the world of cockfighting in order to afford a better life.

 

These stories are what Filipino film has been missing. These stories, despite being spoken in a language most non-Filipinos can’t even pronounce the name of correctly, are what will make them accessible to the rest of the world. These stories are the beginning of a Filipino film renaissance.

 

I’m not saying that the romantic comedies, and dramedies, that we all love to watch do not have their place. However, for every ‘Love Me Again’, if actors like Piolo are allowed to flex their obvious acting muscles we could have more than just marketable films that are good for a few laughs, or tears, but are too easily forgotten.

 

Perhaps, maybe, we might also get to see one on the big screen here. It’s sad as an avid movie watcher that I have never been able to see a film from the Philippines at a cinema here or even been able to rent one from a video store that wasn’t attached to a Filipino-owned business. Now that we’ve won us an award, hopefully that will change.

 

Our congratulations go out to Brilliante Mendoza, and to all of the other cast and crew members involved in all the nominated films this year. Let’s hope it’s a feat we can match, and possibly better, in years to come.

Posted on 12 June 2009 by Gemma in Culture, Entertainment, Film

Tagged brilliante mendoza, cannes, kinatay, piolo pascual, raya martin