Digital Festival

Digital invades cable

Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer News Service

QUICK on the heels of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, ABS-CBN's Filipino movie channel held the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival July 29 to 31 at SM Megamall Cinema 12.

Ronald M. Arguelles, director of programming of Creative Programs, Inc., explained candidly that the festival was conceived to help the cable channel solve a daunting problem.

"We have a weekly show, Sunday Cine Premiere, and we need 52 new movies every year to fill that time slot," Arguelles told Inquirer Entertainment.

Unfortunately, the local movie industry, whose output had dropped from 200 to 30 annually, could fail to meet the requirements, he said. "There are two solutions: One is to acquire titles from elsewhere in Asia and dub them in Tagalog."

That's bereft of creativity, he admitted. "We'd rather produce our own content. We decided to reallocate our budget for buying new titles to the production of new digital movies instead. Actually, I got the idea from [indie filmmaker] Jon Red who told me that for less than a million you could produce a good digital movie."

After the launch last September 2004, the organizers were swamped with "300 story proposals from all over the Philippines," which they eventually narrowed down to the six finalists that received P600,000 grant each.

The final six, Arguelles asserted, tell unique stories, "of varying genres."

Topel Lee's "Dilim" is an action thriller that centers on a nocturnal vigilante. Dennis Marasigan's "Sa North Diversion Road" is based on a 1985 play by Tony Perez and features two actors essaying 10 different characters.

Mark Gary's "Sandalang Bahay" chronicles the emotional homecoming of three sisters grappling with family secrets. Sigfreid Barros Sanchez's "Ang Anak ni Brocka" is a "mockumentary" that tracks down the alleged son of the late great filmmaker.

Lisa Cornejo's "Sitak" recounts the story of a laid-off corporate executive who becomes a taxi driver. Jon Red's "Anak ng Tinapa" follows the misadventures of film school geeks who are stalking corrupt cops.

The significance of a digital film festival spearheaded by a mainstream cable company is not lost on Red, a veteran of the indie scene.

"In the past, my movies were self-financed, produced with the help of friends," Red said. "That's why it makes me happy that there are now companies like Cinema One that are ready to finance digital films. It's as if all our past efforts are now bearing fruit."

As usual, budget was a major stumbling block.

"It's true that the budget is inversely proportional to the creative freedom," he cracked. "Unlike mainstream producers, independent filmmakers solve problems with ideas, not money."

Beyond the financial constraints, the bigger challenge for Red is directing material that he himself did not write. "Tinapa" is based on "Fish Crackers," the Palanca-winning screenplay of Ogi Sugatan.

"The first thing we did was to simplify the script, which originally had three points of view," Red said. "That has always been my strategy: Simplify the material. This might be a simple story, but it still consisted of big ideas and experimentations."

Planning

Planning helped another filmmaker overcome the odds. Dennis Marasigan, assistant vice president for marketing of the Cultural Center of the Philippines "devoted a lot of time on pre-production, surrounded himself with a good staff, and hired well-trained actors."

"Prior to the shoot, I went trough the entire script with the actors," he recalled. "So on the set, reminders na lang."

Shooting was a test of nerves.

"On our first day, we had seven location changes," he gasped.

Working with tried-and-tested pros somehow alleviated the pressure-cooker conditions on the set (they shot for three days that lasted from 4 a.m. to 4 a.m.).

Digital technology was heaven-sent, in more ways than one.

"What I love about the digital camera was I could ask my actors to do scenes over and over again and there would be no wastage of film," he noted. "For the highway scenes, I used a two-camera set-up. That would've been expensive on film. Also, a digital tape costs only P150. I could use up 20 tapes, have 20 hours of footage and not go over-budget!"

"Filmmaking is not about technology; it's about accessibility," Red said. "If digital technology will allow you to tell your story, then use it."

"The great thing about festivals like Cinema One and Cinemalaya is that it opened the door for filmmakers with scripts that will never get produced in the mainstream," Marasigan acknowledged.

Optimistic

"It makes me optimistic," Red agreed. "Some actors are worried about the low budget. But this is just the start. We should all be thankful that, at least, digital films are keeping us busy."

"Eventually the indie scene will grow and talent fees will improve," Marasigan and Red chorused.

"We look at digital films as a source of new content," Arguelles concluded. "We are excited about it. After screenings in UP and the Cinemanila, we'll air these movies on Cinema One. These films will allow us to capture markets beyond our usual cable audience. This festival is our contribution to the quest to strengthen the local movie industry."