CINEMALAYA 2009: The New Kids on the Block (Part One)

We asked this year’s batch of filmmakers three simple questions, ala Facebook. This is what they answered:

PEPE DIOKNO of “Engkwentro”
Tell me something I don't know about you.
Somewhere inside of me, there is a "Mano Po" film waiting to be made.

What is your film all about?
In 2008, 269 people were killed by the Davao Death Squad, a real-life vigilante group allegedly backed by the city mayor. At least 20 have been killed so far this year. Many of the victims are children. "Engkwentro" tells the story of two brothers who are in the middle of all this.

How did you come up with the idea for your flick?
I found the story at a jail in Davao, while doing research on a documentary. There, I met two brothers, whose situation inspired this film.

GB SAMPEDRO of “Astig (Mga Batang Kalye)”
(through his “over-all in-charge of production”, pressman Noel Ferrer)
Tell me something I don't know about you.
GB may have nixed his earlier dream of being in showbusiness via being an actor as he was once a ficture in theater productions and was once part of the very popular talent show on television --- "That's Entertainment," but all his efforts to excel in production work have paid off.

He started out as assistant director for local television shows and later became the most sought after director for music videos and later, major concerts of major artists like Sarah Geronimo, Kyla, Jaya, Rachelle Ann Go, Mark Bautista, MYMP among others. He has to his credit, an Aliw Award for Best Major Concert Director for Sarah Geronimo's "THE OTHER SIDE" concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

He is presently the director of the award winning talk show "BOY & KRIS" at ABS-CBN and has megged a lot of tv dramas and commercials and major ad campaigns, too.

Now. with ASTIG (MGA BATANG KALYE),GB crosses over to filmmaking which is a logical progression in his well-planned and well-carried out career. "I am simply blessed with the right projects and I intend to do my best in everything that I do especially in this Cinemalaya entry," said this young but very promising director!

What is your film all about?
"ASTIG" is an episodic tale of four young men whose stories parallel and contrast with the landmarks and various images of Manila--- where GB grew up in.

It is wriiten by multi-award winning writer Jerry B. Garcio ---and tells the story of ARIEL - a conman who has to leave his girlfriend upon learning that he is in love with her; BOY, an expectant young father who has to sell his body to pay his wife's hospital bill; RONALD, a Chinese mestizo who is coming to grips with his identity; and BASTE, an overly protective son of an OFW who has to avenge his sister. The film tells the stories of tough guys of Manila and their resolve to survive the dirt and filth of the "Distinguished and Ever Loyal City."

How did you come up with the idea for your flick?
GB has always coordinated with producer Noel Ferrer ---in search for the right vehicle for his debut film. He always wanted to tackle the stories that he himself observed, experienced and believe in --- thus, came ASTIG which is a composite of all the Manila stories of GB, Noel and Jerry Gracio,

How the film got to Cinemalaya (submitted at the last day), and how it progressed to be quite an ambitious but well-planned first venture with Tito Boy Abunda (GB's manager), ASTIG promises to be a very exciting film debut to watch out for!

VIC ACEDILLO, JR. of “Ang Nerseri (The Nursery)”
Tell me something I don't know about you.
I wanted to take up horticulture kaya mahilig ako sa nursery or forestry sa U.P. Los Banos kaya lang I ended up sa U.P. Fine Arts sa Diliman.

What is your film all about?
About insanity, drugs, sex, mental hospitals, wards, lying, telling the truth and orchids.

How did you come up with the idea for your flick?
Based on a personal experience. Pero madami ako binago kaya fiction na siya. Alam ko kasi na magagalit sa'kin ang family ko dahil kinuwento ko 'to kaya help me God.

Tatlong kwento sinubmit ko, buti na lang ito napili. Now, I'm actually facing my demons.

JERROLD TAROG of “Mangatyanan (The Blood Trail)”
Tell me something I don't know about you.
To me:
Writing is the most difficult part of the filmmaking process.
Directing is easy if you work hard on the casting.
Editing is the most exciting part. Sound design and scoring are the most delicate and pose the biggest risks.Coloring is simply tedious.

What is your film all about?
MANGATYANAN tells the story of a female photographer with a tragic past who goes to document the harvest ritual of a dying tribe. But when the ritual falls apart from familial conflicts that echoes her past,
she unwittingly continues the symbolic rite on her own, forcing her to confront her own personal demons.

MANGATYANAN is the 2nd film in a trilogy about people with cameras. The first film is CONFESSIONAL, the third is yet unproduced but its screenplay is done. As with CONFESSIONAL, MANGATYANAN paints a portrait of Philippine society through the eyes of a single character. But while the 1st film is more ironic and in-your-face, MANGATYANAN is more allegorical and surreal.

How did you come up with the idea for your flick?
The whole thing's made up of fragments of research in college and a handful of events I witnessed that all came together to form a screenplay. There wasn't one BIG idea. I only knew two things when I started writing: 1) I wanted a serious drama, and 2) I wanted a surreal climax. The rest just came flowing out after the first sentence.

ALVIN YAPAN of “Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe”
Tell me something I don't know about you.
I don’t know how to respond to this: that sometimes I think I have a green thumb?

What is your film all about?
Let's just say it's all about faith, love and redemption. And how Filipino consciousness got so screwed up with years of colonial experience.

How did you come up with the idea for your flick?
The idea really came from what I have been writing about in my short stories. So I guess people would have to read my novel and short stories to get an idea how this film is thematically continuous with my literary output. You can buy them at the Ateneo De Manila University Press, and I think it's still available at Powerbooks. Plugging here. Hehehe.