MANILA, Philippines -- The Filipino film industry may still be struggling after all these years, but a new movement has vigorously made itself felt.Independent filmmaking, or making movies without the financial resources of a big company, is the bright alternative that has produced a growing number of celebrated works by young idealists driven by a desire to tell fresh and unique stories. Two of these Young Turks, Auraeus Solito and Jim Libiran, visited the Inquirer recently to take part in a roundtable discussion on the lively Pinoy indie film scene. Int’l acclaim Solito earned acclaim as director of “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” a film about friendship between a policeman and an adolescent gay that won Best Feature Film and Best Picture awards in several international festivals, notably in Berlin, Montreal, Toronto and Singapore. “Pagdadalaga” holds the distinction of being one of the few local digital films released in 2005 that did well at the box office. Solito’s latest film, “Pisay,” a semi-autobiographical tribute to his alma mater, Philippine Science High School, won for him the Best Director award in the recent Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Palanca winner Libiran turned “Tribu,” his Palanca-winning script about the new gangs of Tondo, into a full-length film which won Best Picture and Best Actor awards also in Cinemalaya. “Tribu” likewise won for its cast of real-life gang members the Best Actor trophy in the Cinemanila Film Festival. At the roundtable talks, Solito spoke of the importance of going back to one’s roots and fully knowing one’s subject in making a film. He also discussed the difficulty of explaining what Philippine cinema is during his travels as a participant in international film fests. Libiran bared the hardships of running short on funds while shooting “Tribu,” as well the current problem of distributing his film. But both expressed hope and optimism that they’re doing something right. Three questions The roundtable participants were asked to answer three questions: 1) What am I doing right; 2) How am I doing it; and 3) How can I do better. Apart from Solito and Libiran, the discussants were Fil-Am director Gene Cajayon; actors Gina Pareño, Cherry Pie Picache and Irma Adlawan; and post-production specialists David Jucom and Arleeen Cuevas. We start here with the insights of Solito and Libiran. *** Aureus Solito: Tell stories that you understand “Among the many film festivals I attended last year, my favorite is the imagiNATIVE Film Festival, which is for indigenous communities. I have indigenous Palawanon blood. “In that festival, I got some of the best reactions, very sincere reactions, to my films, ‘Basal Banar’ (my first documentary, on Palawan), ‘Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,’ and ‘Tuli.’ I’m trying to follow the path of my ancestors. When I was doing ‘Basal Banar,’ I asked my mother to translate Palawanon documentaries for me. I couldn’t understand the language because I had grown up in the city. “Ano ang naintindihan ko? Lumaki ako sa Sampaloc. Sa Gipit Street, Sampaloc, Manila, kasama ang mga siga, mga tindera. Naintindihan ko kung pa’no magkamalay, pa’no ma-in love sa isang military officer noong high school.” The right way “Minsan hinanap ko ang tribo ng aking mga ninuno at nakita ko yung mga katotohanan. At minsan din, dumaan ako sa mga lugar na hindi karaniwang nakikita ng tao. Dumaan din ako sa pagiging scholar ng Philippine Science High School. “Ano ba ang tamang paraan sa paggawa ng pelikula? Siguro ang tamang paraan ay ’yung sabihin mo ang naintindihan mo. Bumalik ka sa pinanggalingan mo. Ipakita mo ang kinalakihan mo. “The danger in attending film festivals abroad is, you get spoiled. You get to see many films that are being accepted internationally and you say, ‘Eto yung mga style na dapat gawin.’ “Ang hirap i-explain sa foreigners kung ano ang Philippine cinema. Pinipilit nilang ganito dapat ang Philippine cinema. Lagi ko silang pinagsasabihan na pwede tayong indigenous, at pwede ring iba sa alam nila. “Nang mapanood nila ang “Pisay,” akala nila fiction, because they couldn’t believe there is actually a Philippine Science High School. They said, ‘Oh, it’s a real school!’ “Magka-tribu tayo. Magtulungan tayo. We’re here to do great cinema, hopefully. Wala pa tayo sa kalingkinan ng mga kaya nating gawin. Marami pa tayong matutunang mas maganda.” * * * Jim Libiran: The Nora Aunor dream is still the Filipino dream “I think ganito rin ang dinaanan ng ibang sumali sa Cinemalaya. We thought we’d be given a lot of money to do our films. At least, magtitipid ka lang, cut some corners. Hindi pala. Ang projected budgetng ‘Tribu’ was P1.7 million. Ang na-receive ko lang, P500,000. “Doon ko nalaman na the whole Cinemalaya experience teaches you that you have to be very good sa craft mo, and at the same time realize that your craft is also a business. Paano nila pina-realize sa amin yon? Nangutang kami. ‘Yung iba may producer sa likod. Actually, ‘yung producer ko sa likod, tumakbo sa kalagitnaan. Since we are building a new industry, sana matanggal na ‘yung vestiges ng old industry na nabuhay sa intrigahan.” No food “In the middle of doing my film, kinakapos kami sa pambili ng pagkain. Late kasi ‘yung schedule ng labas ng tseke. But everytime you shoot, kailangan mong gumastos. Magpapakain ka ng tao, pang-taxi ng mga tao. Sa 10 years of experience ko sa diyaryo pati du’n sa mga racket ko sa labas na nagtatayo kami ng diyaryo sa mga NGOs, hindi namin naranasan yung ganoon. “Ibang klaseng animal ang filmmaking. Everybody is ‘infected’ with the dream of doing something great. Tama ’yung premise na the Filipino dream is Pepot Artista at napatunayan ko siya kahit sa mga hardened thugs ng Tondo. Ang poster na ginawa ko bago i-shoot ang ‘Tribu’ ay, ‘Miyembro ka ba ng gang? Gusto mo bang mag-artista?’ Community “Ang dumating, 52—lahat miyembro ng gang. ‘Siga ka ba?’ ‘Oo siga ako.’ ‘Gusto mo bang mag-artista?’ ‘Oo gusto kong mag-artista.’ “The Filipino dream is still the Nora Aunor dream. To rise from poverty. Kasi, parang from poverty to popularity, you are passed from one hand to another. Parang inuluklok ka ng sariling community mo. So ’yun ang feeling nu’ng mga bata nu’ng nanalo kami ng Best Film (Cinemalaya 2007). “Natutunan ko sa Cinemalaya ’yung business part. Sa TV kahit anong ipalabas, i-go-gobble up ng tao. We don’t have to sell it as hard, katulad ng pelikula. Para akong merong party gabi-gabi nu’ng sa Cinemalaya. Umaga pa lang, first screening ko, 10 a.m., nandoon ako. But before that, I had spent hanggang 6 a.m. sa Multiply at Friendster e-mailing people. Meron akong naka-chat, taga-New Jersey pala. Di raw siya makakarating sa CCP. “Imbitado kami ngayon sa mga universities sa Baguio, Ilocos, Bacolod, Davao, Cebu. Sabi ko, ‘Paano kung hindi tayo makakuha ng MTRCB permit, hindi natin madadala sa malls.’ Ang sagot sa akin, ‘Dito ho kayo sa universities magpapalabas.’” The target “Ang target talaga ng ‘Tribu’ ay ’yung mga hindi nakarating sa eskwela. Karamihan ng mga taga-Tondo at ’yung ibang mga hip-hop ay hindi nakarating sa eskwela. Nu’ng una akong binigyan ng CD ng mga taga-Tondo, gangsta-rap, pinatugtog ko sa kotse ko nang malakas. Pagdating ko sa stoplight, ’yung dalawang bata na nagtutulak ng kariton sumabay ng rap. “Kinuwento ko kay Popong Landero noong Manila Reggae Summit. Sabi ko, ‘Popong, ayaw kitang imbitahing manood kasi reggae ka e.’ Pero sabi ni Popong, ‘Sa Davao, merong seven years old na pulubi kakalabitin ka, ‘Manong pwedeng humingi ng pang-kain, mag-ra-rap ako sa harap mo.’ “Ang daming taong nagugulat na ganito pala ’yung rap sa Tondo. Simula pa lang ho ’yan. The rappers have been churning out so much good poetry na itinatago nila. Pero unang tutok ko pa lang, lumabas na. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang naghihintay sa amin pag naglakbay kami sa provinces, pero sinabihan na ako ng mga taga-Baguio. Sabi nila, ‘Ang mga hip-hop dito mahirap at mayaman. Many Tondos From Brent hanggang doon sa mga taga-Banaue at Ifugao.’ “Sabi ko, ‘Ifugao na hip-hop, ibang klase ’yun ’di ba?’ ’Yun ang nakikita namin. Tama yung pakiramdam namin, maraming Tondo sa mundo. “Ang freestyle rap, parang Balagtasan, kung anong topic ang ibigay mo, i-ra-rap nila. Sabi nga ni Teo Antonio, na isang prince ng Balagtasan at nag-cameo appearance sa ‘Tribu,’ narinig niya ’yung mga batang nag-rap at nag-tongue twist sa harap niya sa isang topic na binigay niya na napakahirap. Sabi niya, ‘Tumula ka nga rito tungkol sa dilaw.’ Ni-rap sa kanya ng anim na bata. Sabi ni Teo, ‘Ang bagal ko pala.’ “Two hundred words per minute. And to think na high school dropouts sila. Uma-attend sila sa UP ngayon ng isang poetry class. Ang nakakaharap nila mga taga-La Salle, Miriam, Ateneo. And the Tondo boys are at the top of that class. Hindi na sa akin nanggaling ’yun. ’Yung magic na nagsama-sama kayo at binigyan mo sila ng tiwala. * * * (On Wednesday: Indie actors.) | 
