CINEMALAYA 2012 : NOTES, SHOUTs OUT& AFTERTHOUGHTS…

Since the media pass was not yet ready when I visited the CCP Public Relations office of Irene Rada last Friday;  and was advised to call her na lang the following Monday (I called but she doesn’t pick up, what the heck); I instead took the initiative to prick out definitive reactions from FB friends who are regulars of Cinemalaya so here goes : (UPDATED according to feeds)

ARCHIE DEL MUNDO , Writer, Director/Producer .

Cinemalaya: FEARLESS FORECAST
New Breed:
Best Film: Requieme
Special Jury Prize: Aparisyon
NETPAC: Diablo
Audience Choice: The Animals
Best Director: Marie Jamora [Ang Nawawala]
Best Screenplay: Rody Vera [Requieme]
Best Cinematography: Rommel Sales [Oros]
Best Production Design: Aped Santos [Sta Nina]
Best Editing: Chrissel Desuasido with Tara Illenberger [Sta Nina]
Best Sound: [needs further review]
Best Music: Teresa Barrozo [Aparisyon]

Directors Showcase:
Best Film: Kalayaan
Special Jury Prize: Posas
NETPAC: Posas
Audience Choice: Bwakaw
Best Director: Jun Lana [Bwakaw]
Best Screenplay: Jun Lana [Bwakaw]
Best Cinematography: Albert Banzon [Kalayaan]
Best Production Design: Daniel Red and Cesar Hernando [Kamera Obskura]
Best Editing: Law Fajardo [Posas]
Best Sound: Ditoy Aguila [Kalayaan]
Best Music: Diwa De Leon [Kamera Obskura]

On performances: Best Cinemalaya Performances so far. Leading, Supporting, or otherwise.
1. Art Acuna – Posas
2. Kristofer King – Oros
3. Shamaine Buencamino – Requieme
4. Ama Quiambao – Diablo
5. LJ Reyes – Intoy Syokoy
6. JM De Guzman – Intoy Syokoy
7. Eddie Garcia – Bwakaw
8. Pen Medina – Kamera Obskura
9. Anthony Falcon – Requieme
10. Armida Siguion Reyna – Bwakaw
11. The Entire Cast of Requieme
12. Princess – Bwakaw

– (UPDATED PERSONAL CHOICE) Best Cinemalaya Performances,

New Breed:
Lead Actor – Kristofer King [Oros]
Lead Actress – Olga Natividad [Mga Dayo]
Supporting Actor – Anthony Falcon [Requieme]
Supporting Actress – Fides Cuyugan Asensio [Aparisyon]Directors Showcase:
Lead Actor: Eddie Garcia [Bwakaw]
Lead Actress: [no winner]
Supporting Actor: Art Acuna [Posas]
Supporting Actress: Agot Isidro [Mga Mumunting Lihim]

-My [updated] Best Cinemalaya Performances so far:
1. Art Acuna – Posas
2. Kristofer King – Oros
3. Shamaine Buencamino – Requieme
4. Ama Quiambao -Diablo
5. Fides Cuyugan Asensio – Aparisyon
6. Jodi Sta Maria – Aparisyon
7. Mylene Dizon – Aparisyon
8. LJ Reyes – Intoy Syokoy
9. JM De Guzman – Intoy Syokoy
10. Eddie Garcia – Bwakaw .
11. Agot Isidro – Mga Mumunting Lihim
12. Ronnie Lazaro – Ang Katiwala
13. Pen Medina – Kamera Obskura
14. Anthony Falcon – Requieme
15. Coco Martin – Sta Nina
16. Anita Linda – Sta Nina
17. Armida Siguion Reyna – Bwakaw
18. The Entire Cast of Requieme
19. Annicka Dolonius – Ang Nawawala
20. Princess – Bwakaw

On attendance : Years ago, the Cinemalaya event had been well attended, in fact, so crowded you couldnt even pick your nose. In this year’s edition, the people are so few you could somersault in four corners.

On Conduct :  Students, enjoy maturity and refinement when inside a national/cultural theater. Shut up already when the movie starts playing #cinemalaya

On Intoy Syokoy : Mom and Dad: Intoy Syokoy is NOT a movie for kids. Dont take them with you just to see JM De Guzman.

On Requieme /Posas :  (As Rated 1-5 , 5 the highest;on Pinoy Film Buffs ) CINEMALAYA Day 2: Rody Vera’s screenplay of Requieme is masterful.
Tech glitches aside, “Requieme” is a winner.The best film so far.BRILLIANT SCREENPLAY! No need for a proper rewatch, its a 5/5

Art Acuña is superb in “Posas”. He gives off brilliant subtlety which the film’s material ironically is so deficient of. 3/5

-CINEMALAYA DAY 4
Kalayaan – 4.25/5 Picturesque madness
Sta Nina – 3.5/5 What would happen if Himala were created for TV?

-CINEMALAYA DAY 5
Ang Katiwala – 2/5 Confused narrative
Ang Nawawala – 3/5 Dominic is yum!
Mumunting Lihim – 2.5/5 Mahusay ang cast. esp Agot

-CINEMALAYA DAY 6
Aparisyon – 4.15/5 may loose ends eh. tho very intense and very strong performances. music rocks!
Ang Mga Kidnaper Ni Ronnie Lazaro – 3.85/5 Entertaining. Engaging. Inding-indie. the old school kind of way.

-CINEMALAYA DAY 7
Mga Dayo – 4/5 The emotional consistency of your film is passionately felt. Stellar lead performances. The film’s message got across very well
Substance over form

The Animals – 3/5 This Carlo Cruz has huge potential. Gino Santos, you make us all who know you so proud. Hindi namin kinaya ang aerial shots mo.

 EDUARDO DAYAO from Pinoy Film Buffs :  Mga Mumunting Lihim (Joey Reyes) 2.5/5
Turns out a Joey Reyes artfilm is no different (at least tonally) from a Joey Reyes mainstream film, right down to the totally inaccurate advertising agency milieu (a medium-sized ad agency, itself an endangered species these names, saddled with a name like Brainstorm Trooper is not exactly the sort that goes A List, and it wouldn’t hurt to fact-check really) while trying out a handful of indie tropes as if on a whim , from shakycam (which would’ve worked for the entire film reaslly) to the dead-person-talking-to-camera that comes out of nowhere. Having said that, there is potentially volatile material here about the benign treacheries that transpire between friends sabotaged only by the need for pat closure and a not exactly insightful or profound resolution (“everything will be allright in the end” huh?). Having said that, the dialgoue is often crisp and smart and the acting is impeccable, particularly Juday.

-My first Cinemalaya blindside. sometimes it really helps to know nothing about the film before watching it. didn’t expect this would amount to much but in many ways this is an even more accomplished film than Nino. Or at the very least a hell of a lot more fun. The last shot . . .yes. I’ll elaborate more when I write about it but this was a blast.

-Very quiet, sometimes intensely so. My precise flavor of obtuse (“may pa-obtuse obtuse pang nalalaman” according to the dis of the week. love it!) I’ll keep this brief as I’m writing about it now. I love Teresa Barrozo’s eerie score. And I also love how it feels like a different Vince Sandoval directed this. As far away from the pulpy melodrama of Senorita as you can get.

-Bwakaw 3/5
weighing in on this even if i’ve seen it before (sans a few bits of sound design). has several narrative threads and nuances worth honing in on, particularly the Armida-Eddie romance and the saint in the bedroom, that I sort of wish it honed in on more. and any film about a man and his dog automatically gets a star from me, no matter how schmaltzy it gets. this doesn’t get half as schmaltzy as it could’ve. some of the acting and the comedy bits (the heart attack) gets a little grating but for the most part, it’s funny and affecting. Eddie’s perf is a no-brainer. conventional and harmless, on the whole, though.

SHAMAINE CENTENERA-BUENCAMINO , Actress. ON her film Requieme : I am still amazed at the worst technical glitch I experienced yesterday in REquieme’s premiere. My heart goes out to our director Loy Arcenas and his family. And to all the staff, the cast, and their families who came to watch the film. To the audience, I feel so apologetic – they shouldn’t have been made to sit through a black comedy where they had to strain just to follow the storyline. It is a testament to the film maker’s skills that the audience were still able to laugh despite the fact that the set-ups were.

NICO QUEJANO – PINOY FILM BUFFS:

-Let This Film Serve as a Manifesto for a New Cinema – Bumibilib ako kay Nick De Ocampo more and more. Who would have though na in 1990 he was already predicting, and rightly so, what would happen to Philippine Cinema in the 21st Century. And what a freaking great window to the indie movement of the 80’s. Amazing!!! 5/5-Recuerdo of Two Sundays and Two Roads that Lead to the Sea. – Poetry, Imagery. Death. Music. Navotas. Sea. How news reel can really become art. Again, Amazing!!! 5/5-Ang Magpakailanman – It confounds me that in 1982, using very little technology a seventeen year old made a movie that would still be considered great and perhaps, even subversive today. And because of this, my rating for Kamera Obskura has dramatically dropped. 5/5-Interesting tidbit, tho. Nick De Ocampo explicitly said that he has been purposefully avoiding Cinemalaya for years. – I think one reason is that people tend to forget their indie movement, a lot of people think that indie movement only started in Cinemalaya. and;-Raymond Red did say that the struggles from their generation may still be same today, but at least, now they have a venue and somehow an awareness and audience. Unlike during their time.

-Ang Nawawala – This movie i love. In spite of it being too stylized, – fashion, rooms, bars, – it never forgot to look in as well. To go the heart/s of the characters and situations. It may suffer for being too familiar, but only because it wears its heart on it sleeves. The irony is that even with a silent lead, its storytelling is excellent and that it was able to show its soul. Unlike Rakenrol, music in this case was used well, incidentally, and does not become the focus. In fact, the movie never lost its focus in spite of everything around it. Marie Jamora should do more movies. – 5/5

-The Story of Negros Sugar – May be the best film i have seen so far in Cinemalaya. Informative. Exhaustive but engaging. Entertaining but Interesting. The story is familiar to me, growing up in Quezon. But although Quezon and Negros are similar in terms of what happened, the outcome is different. And even that was explained by this documentary. Must-See. 5/5

– Mga Mumunting Lihim – Ako lang ba nairita sa “Those” ng english title niya? haha. Pero it’s hard to love this film. I wanted to tell Joey Reyes that we already have 6 seasons and 2 movies of Sex and City, we don’t need another one. Oh, and Joey Reyes, why the shaky cam? What i love about a Joey Reyes movie is the wit, which unfortunately is missing in more than half of this movie. Acting saved the movie: Juday – great in making her moments, but english does not really suit her, Agot – who fits her character like a glove, and Janice – who stole every scene without Juday. But don’t get me started with Iza’s Eye-Mo School of Crying. But i do love this line (paraphrased) “I don’t give a flying fuck of what you think of me, because i am rich” 2.5/5

– DIABLO :It doesn’t have the usual emotional pull that i’m used to in a Mes De Guzman movie. Maybe Mes is better with non-actors or younger actors. But, somehow, i find this movie the most revealing out of all his movies. Is this the first movie of Mes with a parent present? Have not seen Bato and Balikbayan Box. – 3/5

-Intoy Syokoy sa Calle Marino – Or Cavite sa Kuko ng Liwanag. I hope it delves more into Doray’s illness or Intoy’s business, wish white tide was explained further, wish Atalia and Gracio focused more instead of throwing every known cliche from the second golden age of Philippine cinema in the movie. This was more a melodramatic failure than anything else. But i do admit, i loved the ending 1.5/5

-REquieme – Now this is a great movie, i love how it showed homophobia envelopes every facet of life here in the Philippines. And how we have a false sense of pride as a nation. Great writing, amazing cast. 5/5

-HARANA :Wow,made me cry. haha. Crowd gave Benito Bautista a standing ovation. It is an amazing documentary! Instead of crying for the lost art of Harana and dwelling on the problem, it became a very hopeful and thoughtful tribute. A true homage. 5/5

-Mga Kidnapper ni Ronnie Lazaro – the first half was fun and really funny, the last half became preachy. And i think it won FDCP by sheer advocacy, especially Ronnie Lazaro’s speech. I still prefer Peque Gallaga’s Pinoy Blonde which is wittier, and Los Sponggols. 3.5/5

-Kalayaan – wow, this is a gorgeous, gorgeous movie. Postcard after postcard. and a score to die for. I wouldn’t mind going mad if it would be this pretty. 4/5

RONALD RAFER , Film Producer/ Entertainment Writer

-On STA NINA’s gala : Di magkamayaw ang mga fans ni Coco Martin kanina sa gala opening ng STA NINA sa CCP. Halos di na makagalaw ang hottest drama actor dahil pinagkaguluhan siya ng mga tao. Patunay lamang na si Coco na ang pinakasikat na aktor sa buong Pilipinas.
Dumating din ang mga top execs ng ABS CBN 2 upang sumuporta kay Coco at sa pelikula like Mr Deo Endrinal, Ms Cory Vidanes, Coco’s manager Biboy Arboleda, Aaron Domingo, Movie Queen Ms Susan Roces, Tonton Guttierez, G Toengi, Jake Cuenca, Shaina Magdayao at marami pang iba.
Siyempre pa, kumpleto ang cast ng pelikula gaya nina Allesandra de Rossi, Ms Irma Adlawan, Leo Martinez, and the legendary Ms Anita Linda na binigyan ng standing ovation sa loob ng CCP Main Theater.
Nagustuhan namin ang pelikula, sa texture nito, ang istorya plus of course the brilliant portrayal of the cast especially Coco, Alesandra and Ms Anita Linda. Maraming revelation na sa bandang dulo ay gigimbal sa lahat.
Pambihira ang ganitong klase ng pelikula na hindi magagawa sa mainstream. Maayos ang direkyon ni Emmanuel Quindo Palo.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

JONISON MONES FONTANOS , Film Director

-just came from watching Cinemalaya film, “Sta. Niña. I’m giving the film a 3/5 rating. The film is reminiscent of Bernal’s Himala. In fact, it could pass as a modern-day version of Himala, with a male lead. Coco Martin provides a solid performance but in some scenes, he’s using a “soap-Opera” acting technique (nagda-dialogue habang nakatalikod sa kausap or tumitingin sa malayo habang nagda-dialogue ang ka-eksena). Parang nagsisimula na siyang kainin ng mainstream at nawawala na ang raw acting na nagustuhan ko sa kanya before (Think: Brillante Mendoza films). At some point nga habang nanonood, i thought I was watching Walang Hanggan. Well, it’s more of the blockings siguro. Sana tama ako. On the other hand, Alessandra de Rossi, Anita Linda and Irma Adlawan, as always, delivers sterling performances! Intense ang scene nina Irma at Alex sa loob ng simbahan. Pukpukan! As with Angel Aquino, hindi ko siya naramdaman dito. Hindi effective ang kanyang passive performance. Over-all, malinis ang pagkakagawa ng pelikula. Passable ang editing, cinematography at directing. Story-wise, nailahad ng maayos ang kuwento. Yun nga lang, nakakasira ng moment ang spoonfeed dialogues na hindi na binigyan ng room para mag-isip ang mga viewers. Ang mga argument at exposition ay idinadaan lahat sa dialogue. Whereas, sa Himala, ang bawat arguments ay nakikita sa sitwasyon at gawa ng mga characters. Remember, Nora face to face with Gigi Duenas sa isang scene? Less dialogue, subtext yet very effective. For the Noranians, go watch it, not to compare Himala from this, but to see once more Maria Leonora Theresa, the doll… as Marikit. 🙂