Five curated short films take center stage as part of this year’s edition of the Cinemalaya Festival.
Billed Shoutout Pinas 2022, the anthology will be screened as an exhibition film on August 10, 2023, at the PICC Bonifacio Room at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets are available on Ticketworld or contact 09233596286.
The collection opens with How to Make an Effective Campaign Ad – written by Quiel dela Cruz and directed by Roman Perez Jr. — featuring Soliman Cruz portraying an incarcerated politician eyeing to run anew for public office. He taps two ad-makers to help craft his campaign ad to lure voters.
No Trespassing follows two media practitioners documenting the sad plight of farmers and threats of violence they face from wealthy and powerful authorities. Dada Grifon wrote the story and co-directed the film with Julius dela Peña.
A Gen Z manananggal smitten with a pickpocketing mortal? This is the gist of When A Manananggal Loves A Man written by Raymund Barcelon and directed by Niel Arkhe Azcuna.
A long-running show tackling Philippine history is on the verge of being axed because of poor ratings. Will an episode about the infamous National Library of the Philippines heist in 1961 involving the original manuscripts of Jose Rizal’s works be enough to save the show? Libro for Ransom was the brainchild of Ralph Morales and under the direction of Gab Hernandez.
Inspired by the pandemic lifestyle, Quarantine 5 tells the story of a group of friends who find themselves reconnecting through video chat. Are they the same old people? Or have age and responsibilities shifted their idealist outlook for better or for worse? Director Sari Saysay gave life to the story penned by Andrew Estacio.
MENTORED BY GREAT MINDS
Shoutout Pinas 2022 is the culmination of the vision of Pelikulove, an online platform that highlights Filipino culture through film and art mediums.
Part of its initiative was a workshop for aspiring scriptwriters and playwrights mentored by esteemed screenwriter and National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee, and Palanca Hall of Fame awardee Rody Vera.
Read: Ricky Lee offers writing course for only PHP299
Thus the writers of the above-mentioned films were students of the training managed by Ricky and Rody.
“Nagsisimula ang taong 2021, kasagsagan ng pandemya, habang naka-lockdown tayo, may nagaganap na isang online playwriting screenwriting mentoring workshop. Pinangunahin ito ni Ricky Lee at Rody Vera,” shared actor Raffy Tejada at the special screening event held recently at Sine Pop! in Cubao, Quezon City.
He added, “Ang mga courses dito may title sa ‘Loob ng Kahon,’ ‘Pagbangga sa Kahon,’ ‘Lumikha Ka ng Mundo’ at ‘Ang Kasinungaligan at Pagbuo sa Sarili,’ ito yung ilan lamang sa mga modules na pinagdaanan ng mga participants sa nasabing online course.
“Layunin ng Pelikulove, sa kaisipang pinantay ni [writer, producer, director] Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, na maipadanas sa mga manunulat na maipakitang buhay sa entablado at sinehan o telon ang kanilang mga obrang matatapos.”
Raffy and Ellen were part of the board that screened and helped flesh out the scripts into finished products.
They were joined by director Jeffrey Jeturian, actor and theater director Issa Manalo Lopez, and actor-writer and director Bibeth Orteza, among others.
Collaborations were also made with people working in the field of production, film, and theater, in and outside Metro Manila — a tough task considering that these films were made and produced during the pandemic.
Speaking of which, Ellen acknowledged that the mood at the time —the pandemic and politics brought about by the upcoming national elections — shaped the narrative of these films, and it showed glaringly.
This gave the works a measure of coherence, prompting Ellen to stitch them into anthology form, with each film seemingly complementing one another message-wise.
“I am really thrilled about this as this [anthology] was not part of the plan. Except that, the shorts were good and have much to say which is why I strung them into an anthology,” explained Ellen.
“I am thrilled because from shorts, the set of film and theater works is now a full-length film that hopes to reach and impact more.
“The first inspiration really was the three Asian film anthology Southern Winds with Mike de Leon’s Aliwan Paradise decades ago. Kakatapos lang natin ng SONA [State of the Nation Address]. This one is like SONY – State of the Nation’s Youth.”