| Posted by msese
Jan 05, 2007 11:10 am |
The Philippine film industry, which was already struggling with its final breath, has collapsed all the way with the beginning of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last December 25.
Instead of looking forward to a week-long holiday and a feasting your eyes with movies which tease the eyes and play with the mind, the result of the festival was a week-long celebration of the commercialism of Philippine cinema which leads the industry to its almost extinction.
(Un)attainable Goals
First, there is the P500-million goal of gross earnings. In the past, it can be recalled that quality does not necessarily equate to a hit in the box office. Most local film producers are afraid to veer away from the "formula' films which earn in the box office. The result are commercially-oriented stories which will surely hit to the heart of a particular target audience and age range.
Since lesser quality films are produced, the Filipino moviegoer would have to sit through the one hour and a half or so horror, or romance spectacle which will surely become a hit with the "masses".
This 500-million peso goal for the gross of the movies included with the MMFF has lead to the entries becoming either the regular "fantaserye" that you already see daily on TV, or the regular film genres such as the teeny-bopper love stories or horror franchises which never fail to be a hit with the moviegoers.
In counteract to this dilemma is the growing of the popularity and quality of the independent films or "indies", which is another, happier story.
"No Choice" Weekend
Since no foreign or Hollywood films are allowed to be shown on the Metro during the week-long festival beginning on Christmas Day, the families and individuals who are willing to part with their hard-earned pesos have very limited choices of films to see during the Christmas season.
It can be recalled that this is not always the case. When the MMFF first started in 1976, films of Lino Brocka, Eddie Romero, Mike de Leon, Gil Portes and other legendary filmmakers graced the screen.
It makes one wonder if there is a lack of such great directors, or if the Filipino audience has become so used to the formula that they refuse to even consider seeing quality and experimental films which reflect the true culture and color of the Philippines?
Commercialism to the Max
During the MMFF awards night, another scandal broke out, as the event is well-known for. The category for "Best Picture" was awarded to "Enteng Kabisote" when in fact the film which won most of the technical and major awards is the Star Cinema entry "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo".
This is not to say that one film does not deserve the award more than the other. The surprise was that the criteria for choosing the winner of the Best Picture category includes the box office earnings, where the Vic Sotto starrer is on top of . This is his third film for the Enteng Kabisote franchise.
It can be clearly seen that the goal of the film festival is to earn commercially, instead of promoting the glory of the Philippine actors, cinema, culture, as well as the creativity of the Filipino filmmakers.
If only the officials of the MMFF notified the members in advance, then there would not have been a confusion with the Best Picture category. Not only that, but the future entries should be considered more through content and artistic value, rather than having a goal of earning millions in the box office while sacrificing what is the essence of the showing and making of any Filipino film - which is to celebrate the Filipino mind and spirit. Comments :
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