It was 2005 and the platform for independent films widened through the introduction of Cinema One Originals, an independent film festival. Cinema One was a one of the few TV channel that regularly show and celebrate Filipino films. The aim of the festival is to encourage filmmakers to be more creative and bold with their storytelling and have their stories be shown to a wider audience.
Its November 2019, 14 years later, and the festival gave birth to commendable films such as Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay by Antoinette Jadaone, Violator by Eduardo Dayao, 2 Cool 2 Be Forgotten by Petersen Vargas and Changing Partners by Dan Villegas (and many more!). All are highly praised and elevates the standard of filmmaking in the Philippines.
For this year C1 Originals, 4 first time filmmakers, 3 C1 Originals alumni and 1 newbie to the festival but a sophomore in filmmaking takes the challenge to tell their story.
Sila-Sila
Directed by: Giancarlo Abrahan
Starring: Gio Gahol & Topper Fabregas
Sila-Sila is a story about relationships. It tells the story Gab (Gio) and how his break-up with Jared (Topper) changed him.
Relationship comes in many forms. In Sila-Sila It was portrayed to be intimate and passionate, oftentimes fun and exciting, and sometimes accepting and loving. It also showed the heartbreak and pain of it and our many ways to cope with the absence of it. Sila-Sila showed that a relationship is the reflection of one's growth.
Gab's journey resonate to all of us and that is why this film is one of the best this year. Its a film that everyone can relate to. It talks about love as if were a friend of the protagonist. It was that feeling, that feeling of being part of the relationship makes Sila-Sila effective and moving.
Kudos to the amazing team behind Sila-Sila. The brilliant screenplay feel so genuine and true. The authenticity and the top-notch performance of Gio and Topper proved that budding artists is as good as mainstream artists, perhaps even better.
Sila-Sila won the Best Picture award at the C1 Originals awarding ceremony and its, no doubt, a well deserved win.
Sila-Sila won:
Best Picture: Sila-Sila
Best Screenplay: Daniel Saniana
Best Supporting Actor: Topper Fabregas
Audience Choice: Sila-Sila
O
Directed by: Kevin Dayrit
Starring: Anna Luna, Lauren Young, Sarah Carlos & Jasmine Curtis-Smith
O is the story of Maria as she gets caught up in the messy life of Matilda, a vampire drug lord.
There's a lot of pieces in cinema that are interdependent to one another. Meaning if everything is not well planned, it may lead to disastrous result. The topic it wants to touch, the message it wants to deliver, the visuals and even the lights needs to be coherent. O excels in story but ends up messy and incoherent.
Sadly, there is I have nothing much to say about Kevin Dayrit's O as the film is incomprehensible both in point and story for me. I find it hard to grasp the story and the people snoozing around me didn't help at all. Dayrit admitted that they haven't finished the film which is heartbreaking as I think that the aesthetic, the sharp cuts and the exciting music by IV of Spades provide an interesting take and energy to a dark comedy about drugs.
Though poorly executed, I still think that O has a great concept and the guts to touch serious topics creatively. The Philippines need more filmmakers to bravely tackle the issue of drugs, its cause and its effect. It shows how a person can endanger himself and take the odds despite being educated for the sake of living or feel like living. Its a commentary about the messed-up world of drug dealing and the downside of being a vampire.
I wish that O will be given a second chance.
O won:
Best Music: Kevin Dayrit*
*Multiple winners
Tia Madré
Directed by: Eve Baswell
Starring: Janna Agoncillo & Cherie Gil
Tia Madré tells the story of 10 y/o Camille who slowly get convinced that her mother was an 'Engkanto'.
Abused by her mother, Tia Madré showed the effect and trauma of mistreatment to a child. It treat a child as child, vulnerable and impressionable but with a twist by incorporating the Philippine folklore and Ari Aster-ish twists. Tia Madré also took jabs on bullying and how it shaped the people fallen victim of it. To be honest, Tia Madré is not a horror film for me, per se, its a melodramatic slash depressing journey to a child's mind who's beaten and deprived of love by her own mother.
Eve's Tia Madré is my personal favorite for being able to maintain an eerie atmosphere all throughout and finishing with the most mind bending and emotionally filled scene ever, despite the backlash for its under utilized characters and unimpressive effects. Nevertheless, Tia Madré was able to deliver the message across and aware the audience about its message, that alone makes this film one of the best in the festival.
The film also showcased the talent of Janna and Cherie. The past and future of cinema working together to brought forth an incredible art.
Tia Madré won:
Best Cinematography: Carlos Mauricio*
Utopia
Directed by: Dustin Celestino & Dustin Uy
Starring: Enzo Pineda, Joem Bascon, Ahron Villena & Karen Toyoshima
Utopia tells the story of how the fate of a number of characters in Manila changed because of a comet.
Utopia is the most entertaining film throughout the festival as it dares to tell a complicated story, with many moving pieces, that eventually snowballed to one huge mess. Utopia does not hold punches in taking one current issue after another, picking it one-by-one and ridiculing the incompetence, stupidity and shallowness of the people involved. I can't help but, compare the absurdity of the story to the current state of our country and, cry to find a lot of resemblance between the two. The greedy and abusive police officers, the insensitive shows people patronized, the mistaken identity issue, the vain lawyer and the discouraged whistleblower are few of the many things that the film mirrored in reality.
Utopia is definitely a must watch but moviegoers should be minded that, despite its many funny moments, it has a message to deliver.
Utopia won:
Best Production Design: Eero Yves Francisco
Jury Prize: Utopia
Yours Truly, Shirley
Directed by: Nigel Santos
Starring: Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Dennis Padilla & Rayt Carreon
Yours truly, Shirley is the story of Shirley as she got convinced that a young male artist is the reincarnation of her late husband.
Yours Truly, Shirley is a straightforward narrative of grief, love and acceptance. Shirley's denial of the death of her husband leads her to find solace in drawing meaning to Jhameson Khervyn's incidence and features ensuing her obsession to the artist. The film draws a picture of the fangirling culture that is very apparent today. However, its disappointing to see that the film decided to swerved away from the topic and settled to tell the typical story of Shirley.
The film is special as it sees the return of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid on the big screen. Her and the rest of cast delivered within expectation and there is not much expectation for the film. Lighthearted and pure, Yours Truly, Shirley is an okay movie which can, actually, be more.
Lucid
Directed by: Victor Villanueva, Natts Jadaone & Dan Villegas
Starring: Alessandra De Rossi & JM De Guzman
Lucid is about the mundane life story of a lucid dreamer named, Ann and how she makes it interesting through her dreams.
Lucid dive on the topic of depression and the escape people do to cure it. The film is melodramatic all throughout and I find it hard to find hope to its poignancy and seriousness. Its bleak portrayal of depression can lead to a myriad of interpretation however it should be noted that Lucid might not be the best film to watch if you're suffering for depression.
In essence, the film is a visual stunner, the scene transition smoothly through its excellent editing and the film is arguably De Rossi's best performance yet. Lucid is not the worst nor the best film in the competition, but its one of the film that leaves a trail after watching it.
Lucid won:
Best Editing: Benjamin Tolentino
Best Music: Emerzon Texon*
Best Actress: Alessandra De Rossi
Metamorphosis
Directed by: JE Tiglao
Starring: Gold Aceron, Ivan Padilla, Iana Bernardez, Yayo Aguila & Ricky Davao
Tiglao's Metamorphosis tells the story of the sexual exploration of Adam, a boy born with male and female genitalia.
Brave and new are the two words I can associate to Metamorphosis as its the first intersex story ever featured in Philippine cinema. Its remarkable to see that despite the struggles of Tiglao to finally tell the story of Adam, from his attempt to feature it in Cinemalaya as Maselang Bahaghari to MTRCB blocking it, the film finally was delivered and gained praises for its gallantry. It gently provide comfort to the LGBTQIA society and aware people the struggles they went through just to be accepted. Metamorphosis break grounds and walls with its story, a clear proof how powerful cinema is.
The film benefited heavily from the performance of Gold Aceron and Iana Bernardez. The two delivers and demands attention every time they appear on screen. The film however is more suited for Cinemalaya rather than Cinema One Orginals but nevertheless, I'll take any film as bold as this.
Metamorphosis won:
Best Director: JE Tiglao
Best Sound: Immanuel Verona and Vince Banta
Best Cinematography: Tey Clamor*
Best Actor: Gold Aceron
Best Supporting Actress: Iana Bernardez
Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo
Directed by: Denise O'Hara
Starring: JC Santos & Jane Oineza
In Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo, couple Alex and Carlo struggles to come into terms to whether what their relationship is.
Denise O'Hara second film is dip into the modern open relationship and the issues associated with it. Contrary to its long title, the film is recognizably short which is somehow the reason why the film feel sparse. The non-linear storytelling is not that hard to follow but I feel that there is a need to navigate about the backstory of the characters more. The film itself offer nothing new to the table and pretty much rely on the hugots and one-liners of Carlo, which is sometimes a hit-or-miss.
Hugot films such as this are very problematic though as it can go nowhere from where it is. Its sometimes not that interesting and formulative. Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo lacks the depth compare to the films in competition but surely gained attention to the performance of its two leads. Beyond that, nothing is truly special about the film.