Valerie's Bad Hair Day

It was lunch time, Magene was at the table watching Carlos eat, while I was reading an interesting thread on the net. When all of the sudden, we heard a loud scream for help. It was Valerie!

We rushed to her and saw her with a toy car on her head. Further investigation made us realize that her hair was entangled within the wheel mechanism of the toy and it was grabbing more of it since it was still running. We immediately turned the toy off and try to untangle her hair but to no avail and had no choice but to cut the some of her hair.

My poor princess. But I guess everyone gets into one of those troubles when we get into something and couldn't get out.

An Afternoon with STExposure

I just spent a good afternoon talking to one of indie film's progressive documentary groups called Southern Tagalog Exposure or STExposure. We talked about the trials and triumphs of indie films and their brushes with the law.

Among the group was Virgilio "King" Catoy who along with Eden Marcellana, Eddie Gumanoy,Francisco Saez and Melvin Jocson, was abducted by a group who reportedly identified themselves as "Alsa Masa" while investigating alleged Human Rights violations in . King, Francisco and Melvin survived the ordeal while the two were later found dead.

Eden was secretary general of the Southern Tagalog office of the human rights group KARAPATAN while Eddie was Chairperson of the peasant group KASAMA-TK.

We also talked about being able to share our work for free and how my group, SineBuano, and STExposure link up to create awareness about indie films.

It was an interesting talk, I must say and it inspired to continue trying to reintroduce Cebuano films to the Cebuanos. And try to do it as FREE as possible, no matter where the venue might be.

Codename: Bugoy Update

We have just concluded our first pre-production meeting for SineBuano's next short film called Codename: Bugoy, to be directed by yours truly and written by Jurly Maloloy-on and I. This is probably the first Cebuano digital action/comedy short film.

We already have our main cast, our problem now is getting the permits for the locations and finalizing shoot schedules. We intend to push the limit of Cebuano indie filming by using technologies such as green screening and split screens.

Being a martial arts fan, expect some of it to come out in the action sequences.

Codename:Bugoy, the agent everyone forgets.

Public Screening in Talamban feat. Cebuano Digital Short Films

Brgy. Talamban and SineBuano have linked up to screen Cebuano Digital Short Films for the months of March and April, every Friday at 8pm at the Talamban Sports Complex. This is in junction with the barangay's Fiesta Cinemax.

To be shown are the following Cebuano Short Films:

1. Carlo Borromeo's The Witness, directed by Jurly Maloloy-on
2. Duha Duha, directed by Januar Yap
3. Obessession, directed by Merrel Tabuela
4. Serante Serrano, directed by Frank Calmita
5. Colon: Ang Paglantaw, directed by Jurly Maloloy-on

In behalf of SineBuano, I'd like to thank the filmmakers who have submitted their films for this free public screening. If you have a Digital Cebuano film and would like to participate please do not hesitate to send me an email.

Teach. Learn. Grow.

The Art of Saying "NO"

For one reason or another, we Filipinos find it hard to say "No". Either we beat around the bush or we just laugh. Why is it that we can't say this two-letter word? Would it be because we are afraid that people might think of us negatively? or that they would not approach us ever again?

Whatever it is, I think it's just right that people think before they ask anything from us. People sometimes have the tendency to keep asking you for favors just because they know it's your expertise or simply because they know you can do it. That is, without considering the fact that you might have something else to do or maybe just the fact that you have something called "life' to live.

Learning to say "No" is not that bad at all. While people may become aloof, which by the way isn't such a bad thing, it'll make them become more considerate.

Mantawi Festival Documentary Competition: The Draft

I had a meeting with Cheryl Ouano and Ted Madamba at the Mandaue City Hall regarding the Mantawi Festival Documentary Competition. They gave me the lowdown on what they want to happen with the competition and what the expected results should be.

Yes folks, I will be the Chairman for this competition and will be the over-all co-chair for Documentation of the said event. It's a rather big task since It'll be my first time to organize a competition this big.

Anyway, since I am tasked to create the guidelines for the competition, I shall post the draft on this blog:

Mantawi Festival Documentary Competition 2005 Draft

Guidelines

- All filmmakers are eligible to join.

- Competitors must have completed and/or submitted the following:

1. A duly accomplished registration form.

2. A recent 2x2 photo of the filmmaker/s

3. Registration fee of 350 pesos per camera used.

- The filmmakers will be required to attend a one-day briefing with the organizers of this competition. Date of the briefing will be announced soon.

- Deadline of submission of entries is on June 4, 2005.

- Awarding will be on June 15, 2005.

Rules and Regulations

- All films must be in English or subtitled in English

- Films in competition must not have had a commercial distribution or broadcast, in part or in its entirety.

- Films must not be more than 50 minutes total running time.

- Music used in the films must be original, licensed or in the public domain.

- The completed work must be submitted in DVD format on or before June 4, 2005 5:00pm to the Mantawi Festival Documentary Competition Secretariat.

- Entries should be labeled properly with the following information:

1. Title of the documentary

2. Full name of the Director

3. Full name of the Producer

4. Contact Numbers of the Filmmakers

5. Total Running Time

- The organizers of this competition and the City of Mandaue reserve all intellectual property rights to show and distribute all entries.

- The organizers, committee heads and the City of Mandaue will not be liable for the loss or damage of DVDs in transit.

- In case of loss or damage of the DVDs, the filmmakers are obligated to submit another copy to the organizers of this competition.

- The organizers of this competition and the City of Mandaue reserve the right to refuse or disqualify any entry it deems have not completed the requirements mentioned above.

- Winners of the competition will be notified and are required to attend the awarding ceremony.

As soon as things get finalized, I shall post the dates and the final guidelines as well as some information regarding the competition.

The Anthology

Sit down, listen to the piano, have some cognac (a.k.a. Fundador) and maybe some chocolates in the living room of a Jewish mother and his son as they tell you their obessesion of Music and the Jewish people, relive the horrible past of the holocaust.

This is "The Anthology", a very entertaining interactive play that was staged at the Marcelo Fernan Press Center by the Cebu Arts Council.

I was amazed at how interactive this play was, it broke down the imaginary wall usually taught to isolate the actors from the audience as both characters walked around the theater, served cognac (actually, it was Fundador) and chocolates, and even went all the way to the console booth. While they talked about the Jewish people and how it was to live during World War II.

The ending was a surprise. As the lights dimmed, the mother was playing the piano and the son asleep on top of it, she asked that the audience leave the theater quietly as to not to disturb the sleeping son. It kind of reminded you of visiting a relative with an overactive son.

The Marcelo Fernan Press Center was a perfect choice for this play.

EGG by Ramon Del Prado

EGG, a 2-D animation short film by De Lasalle graduate Ramon Del Prado.

The story revolves around a chicken egg who is misplaced into a duck egg tray and outcasted by other eggs.

The treatment of this animation is very Filipino,even how the dialogues are delivered was very Filipino. This is the type of animation that filmmakers should be aiming for.

From a recent discussion with the director, he says that he is thinking of redubbing the film to Cebuano.

EGG by the way won best film during the Indeo awards last Oct. 2004 and was the director's first attempt to create a 2-d computer generated animation for his undergraduate thesis.

A Challenge to Cebuano Filmmakers

It's time that we all unify our efforts and promote Cebuano films as one. I dare you to take out your agendas and create what is good for the community and not just for your group. I also dare you to sit down and talk about what is good for the community without asking whether you or your group be exalted.

I also dare you to create :

1. Films for Children
2. Cebuano Animation
3. Feature Film

yes, I dare you, the community of Cebuano Filmmakers to act NOW!

Public Screening for SineBuano

I just came from a meeting with the manager of Handuraw resto/bar, she told me about her film showing on March 12, 2005 at 8:00pm. Expect "The Witness" and "Colon: The Documentary" to be shown.

Also, I will be talking to the Brgy. Captain of Talamban, Cebu to give cebuano films participation on their libreng Cinemax project. This is a free film showing every friday for the months of March and April at the Talamban Sports Complex.

SineBuano films on DVD soon!

yes folks, we just had a meeting today and we all agreed that SineBuano should release a compilation of its best short films on DVD. Its purpose is to compensate the actors and hopefully pay for the upcoming productions of SineBuano.

There are no definite plans on how to market as of writing.

Right now, all SineBuano efforts will concentrate on the upcoming action/comedy short "CodeName:Bugoy".

Festival Angst (?)

Imagine a festival in a 180 seater cinema with only 20, maybe less, viewers. And half of those were the speakers themselves, the volunteers and staff of the event and 2-5 paying viewers.

Why did this happen?
It's finals week. The base market audience, the students, are too busy thinking about failing from their subject than wondering what the symbolisms of a particular shot meant. With at least 600+ mass communication students from all over Cebu City, losing them will mean certain death for a festival.

Now, do this 7 times. That will mean definite business loss for the cinema complex.

2 weeks preparation was not enough. This should've been thoughtout well before the job of organizing was even accepted. It's not enough that you were able to do this, what's important is whether or not the goal was achieved.

.Mov Festival Today

.Mov press release

Filmless Films, Inc., the leader in digital film revolution in the Philippines, in cooperation with Cebu Filmmakers’ Society (Foundation), Inc., is holding the 2nd .MOV: International Digital Film Festival at SM City-Cebu on March 2 to 8, 2005.

The “Queen City of the South” was chosen to be the host city of the much-awaited event in hopes of promoting local tourism alongside digital filmmaking.

.MOV is proudly the FIRST Digital Film Festival in the Philippines. Its aim is to establish digital cinema as the near future of Philippine cinema. This is the Filipino’s response to the call of the Digital Revolution, which has been altering the terrain of World Cinema this new millennium.

The first ever .MOV, in cooperation with Ayala Theatres Management, Inc., was staged last January 23 to 30, 2002 at Greenbelt Art Film. It was a huge success and soon, thereafter, became a much anticipated event by savvy cineastes made up of students, professionals and, of course, filmmakers.

.MOV will showcase both foreign and local full-length digital films. It will also feature short films (narrative, experimental, animation, documentary, and music video) by local and foreign filmmakers, workshops on digital filmmaking and SILVERSHORTS –an independent short film competition.

For this year, a new partnership between Filmless Films and SMART Communications, Inc. will emerge through SMART CUTS, a 60-minute short film competition.

Two Cebuanos, Kristoffer Villarino (“Piso” for SMART Cuts & “Binaliw” for Silvershorts) and Victor Louie Villanueva (“Bitin sa Pagmamahal” for SMART Cuts) emerged as finalists. Awarding will be on March 7, 2005, 7pm at SM Cinema 1.

Cebu Film Society, which also iniated the campaign to help revive the Cebuano film industry, saw this event as an instrument and another venue in its continued effort towards its cause. There will be Cebuano works which will be shown in the event, including the grand winner of the First Annual Sinulog Documentary Competition held last January during the Sinulog Festival.

.MOV will extend the Film Festival to Megamall-Manila on March 9 to 15, 2005.

For more information, pls. contact Chits Jimenez at 0917-8211093/info@movfest.com or Ron Heri Tan at 09277129205 or call Cebu Film Society Office No. 032-2563162.

Note: I was taken aback by CFS's claim that they initiated the campaign to help revive the Cebuano Film Industry. As I recall, CFS didn't even think about the "campaign" before Sinebuano's initiative through its TV show.