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New Philippine cinema

Philippine cinematography is currently having its renaissance. The films made in the country located in the South-East Asia have become the centre of attention, during the biggest international film festivals. The newest productions by such directors as Brillante Mendoza or Lav Diaz have been highly acclaimed in Cannes and Venice, and they are currently considered be among the most intriguing and interesting films in the world.

It was back at the end of the 19th century that people in the Philippines first became interested in cinematography. The first show was organised in Manila, during which a number of European entrepreneurs presented films by the Lumiere brothers, to the audience. A few years later, American colonisers brought silent films and Spanish officers presented their own film collection. The contact with cinema encourages local inhabitants to do something on their own. The beginning of the 20th century saw the building of a cinema in Manila and first filmmakers began to emerge. The “father” of the Philippine cinema is considered to be Jose Nepomuceno, who made Dalagang Bukid, back in 1919. The first film studio was established by Julian Mananansala and the first film it produced was Patria amore. In 1920s, films became one of the primary sources of entertainment for the Filipino people and there were also first film stars, famous actors and directors. The majority of films were copies of American and European productions. The Second World War brought about the occupation of the Philippines. The Japanese invasion put an end to the filmmaking activity and the invaders commandeered valuable equipment for their own purposes (mostly propaganda films). The Japanese made war stories, which first and foremost glorified the services of the Japanese army. In his essay Main Currents in Filipino Cinema, Patronilo Daroy emphasizes that: “World War II left its scars on the Filipino’s imagination and heightened its sense of reality”.

The post-war period contributed to the reconstruction and development of cinematography. There were as many as four film studios established (Sampaguita, LVN, Premiere and Lebran) and each of them had its own directors, actors and producers. The film crews brought about an artistic breakthrough. 1950s are considered to be the “golden era” of the Philippine cinema. In 1952, Manuel Conde and Lou Salvador make Genghis Khan, which is the first Philippine film to have been screened at the International Film Festival in Venice. In 1953, Anak Dalita by Lamberto V. Avellan wins the Best Film Award at the Pacific Meridian Film Festival.

The successes made in 1950s are followed by a decade of artistic downfall and commercialisation of cinematography. Hollywood blockbusters, westerns, thrillers and new film genres that glorify American heroes and rebels become the new idol of the Philippine audience. The situation changes in 1970s. President Marcos Ferdinand Edralin, who was elected directly after WWII and introduced total dictatorship, forced filmmakers to express their voice of dissent. The artists had to make independent films, because of the more and more oppressive censorship, imposed ideology and the acceptance for propaganda films, exclusively. The period that followed was later referred to as the second “golden era” of the Philippine cinema. Many experimental films were made during that time, including among others Oro, Plata, Mata and Scorpio Nights by Peque Gallaga and Perfumed Nightmare by Kidlat Tahimik (which won the FIPRESCI Award at the IFF in Berlin, in 1977). The films focused on the political regime and exposed the mechanism of oppression and tyranny. The Philippine film industry saw its crisis in 1980s and 1990s. The dictatorship was collapsed in 1986, which caused an economic decline and deprived the film industry of money for new productions. Filmmakers produce only amateur films of little artistic value and the national cinematography is in total decline.

The Philippine film industry sees it rebirth, as late as in the beginning of the 21st century. It is made possible, thanks to the greater availability of equipment, channels of distributions and the popularisation of new media. The already mentioned Patronilo Daroy makes the following observation, in his essay Main Currents in Filipino Cinema: “Philippine cinema, in short, appears to have reached full circle: it is at the stage of refining and formulating its own conventions, getting in close contact with the ferment in the other arts. This is inevitable; as an art form the cinema in the Philippines can no longer remain isolated from the main current of sensibilities and ideas that shape other artistic forms.” The cinematography of this island country is currently having its renaissance. Every year, a number of new productions are selected to enter competitions at the most prominent international film festivals, in Cannes, Berlin, Venice of Toronto. One of the representatives of the New Wave of Philippine Cinema is Lav Diaz — a director, screenwriter, producer, actor, writer, composer and even a fashion designer. This experimenter and “spiritual father” of the New Wave debuted with The Criminal of Barrio Concepcion, in 1988. Next, he made such films as Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004) and Melancholy (2008). His films touch social problems and the political situation in the Philippines. They have a form of essays and messages to the audience.

Brillante Mendoza is another widely recognised filmmaker from the Philippines. In 2005, he made his debut film Masahista, which gave him the first international award at the IFF in Locarno. He has made as many as 12 films, since that time. His Kinatay (2009) won the Best Director Award at the IFF in Cannes. The same year, Lola was acclaimed the best film in Dubai. The director is looking for the soul of the Filipino nation and is considered to be the heir of the Italian neo-realism. Just as Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica before him, Mendoza points his camera at ordinary people, who struggle with everyday life. Mendoza’s shaky visual style (hand-held camera) demonstrates the height of humanity in the Philippine reality. His films were often censored and banned in the Philippines. In his interview for CNN Asia, the artist said: “I want people to know what is happening in their own country. It is part of our culture. The essence of cinema is to present the reality and the truth.” In 2010, Mendoza won the Visionary Award at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival, whose organisers considered Mendoza to be one of the most important filmmakers of his generation. The audience of TOFIFEST will have an opportunity to see Brillante Mendoza’s Captive, which was presented in the Main Competition at Berlinale 2012. Marlon Rivera, who debuted with the feature film The Woman in the Septic Tank and Adolfo B. Alix with his Kalayaan are yet another worthy filmmakers of the New Wave of Philippine Cinema.

The cinematography from the archipelago in the Pacific is described as the most exciting in the world. “The new Philippine cinema is a conglomeration of various film styles, versatile narrative possibilities, as well as documentary and experimental techniques. The banal clichés that present the Philippines as a land of poverty, prostitution and crime are just one face of this complex country. It will become obvious, once we have seen films made in the diverse Philippines”, says Joel Shepard, film curator from New Filipino Cinema. Thanks to the retrospective of the New Wave of Philippine Cinema at the IFF TOFIFEST, the Polish audience will have a unique opportunity to become acquainted with this fascinating cinematography.

2012 Programme

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