20th Cinemalaya Pays Tribute to Pathbreaking Films
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The cast and production staff of Jose Rizal on the stage of the Met Theater (Photo by Pablo A. Tariman)
Indigenous tribe’s fight for their ancestral lands in Iloilo.
A public-school teacher’s struggle to safeguard ballots during elections.
A sibling’s stirring documentary on his still missing brother.
A couple’s hard life trying to cope with an autistic child.
The 20th edition of Cinemalaya ended August 11, 2024 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay with above film highlights and themes culminating in an awards night.
The Balanghai Best Picture trophy went to Tumandok, a film with indigenous people as actors, directed by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico.
Tumandok was cited for “its focus on a marginalized sector of Philippine society, its nearly epic sweep of the life and landscape of a people disempowered by the wealthy and the powerful and victimized by government neglect and corruption, its highly convincing characters and effective ensemble acting by a cast of non-professional actors, and for its highly effective filmmaking in defense of the rights of indigenous people to their ancestral domain.”
Tumandok also bagged the Best Supporting Actor for Felipe Ganancial, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, and NETPAC Award for Best Film in the Full-Length Category.
Ganancial got the award for “his very impressive performance as elder and chieftain trying to keep his people together in their steadfast but non-violent fight to keep their ancestral land despite violence and intimidation by the wealthy and the powerful.”
Tumandok’s script, co-written by Arden Rod Condez with Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay, was cited for its subject matter which focused on a sector relegated to the margins of society, and its powerful tale of an indigenous people’s resolve to keep their ancestral land in the face of corruption and violence.”
Paulo Almaden and the Ati People of Kabarankalan and Nagpana won Best Original Score for “their highly effective use of ancient songs and ethnic instrumentation to complement its powerful depiction of an indigenous people’s fight for its ancestral domain.”
Tumandok was praised by the NETPAC jury for “its strong inner community voice of loving their land, and admirable representation of a strong young woman character who becomes a leader behind the men.”
The Special Jury Prize went to the documentary Alipato at Muog by J.L. Burgos. It was cited for “its effective use of the resources of documentary cinema to shed light on an actual case of enforced disappearance and reveal dark truths about human rights in the Philippines. Other winner was Pamalandong Sa Danow by Breech Asher Harani, cited for “its compelling evocation of the glories of nature as seen through the eyes of two Lumad youngsters and their struggle to protect and preserve the Agusan Marsh of Mindanao.”
(See complete list of Cinemalaya winners at the end of this article.)
Abaya’s Jose Rizal
One of the exciting highlights of Cinemalaya 2024 was the screening of the remastered version of the 1998 landmark film Jose Rizal by National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz-Abaya.
A critical and box office triumph, Jose Rizal won a total of 17 awards during the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival namely best picture, best actor (Cesar Montano), best director (Marilou Diaz Abaya), best supporting actor (Jaime Fabregas), best supporting actress (Gloria Diaz) best screenplay (Ricky Lee, June Lana, Peter Ong Lim), best cinematography (Rody Lacap), best production design (Leo Abaya) and best musical score (Nonong Buencamino) plus the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Awards, among others.
Cesar Montano and Marilou Diaz-Abaya on the set of Jose Rizal in the late 90s.
It should be noted that the monumental Jose Rizal produced by GMA Films transformed Abaya into a blockbuster film director. She followed up with the equally successful Muro-Ami and Bagong Buwan.
For the Rizal writing team, Abaya hired the services of Ricky Lee, Jun Lana, and Peter Ong Lim.
Ricky Lee, Pen Medina, Nonong Buencamino and the production staff of Jose Rizal at the Met lobby (Photo by Pablo A. Tariman)
Even as the discussions on how to approach the subject were tough, the strategy Abaya and her writers agreed on was a big challenge. They would write the film from the point of view of Rizal as an artist-intellectual in a web of flashbacks from his life and recreations from his novels, exploring the interconnections between his life and his works.
For the lead actor playing Rizal, (Montano), Abaya drew up a three-month syllabus which consisted of deep immersions in history, politics, poetry, fencing, penmanship, and Spanish diction.
Abaya also required her team to read or re-read the Noli and the Fili and do independent research on Rizal’s life.
At the Met screening, Abaya’s son, Marc, and Montano (who portrayed Rizal) were in tears after the execution scene.
As it turned out, José Rizal became one of Abaya’s most internationally seen films, invited to festivals and retrospectives from Busan to Tokyo, Madrid to Paris and Berlin, Chicago to New York.
Understandably, Abaya’s love for music translated well in most of her films.
For the musical scoring of Jose Rizal, multi-award-winning film scorer Nonong Buencamino used the services of cellist Renato Lucas and classical guitarist Lester Demetillo plus members of the PPO string sections and an eight-member male choir: “I rented the old UP Theater for two days and brought the studio recording equipment there. I also composed Agnus Dei, the piece for the all-male choir.”
The music Buencamino didn’t compose in Jose Rizal were the Marcha de Cadiz, which research showed was the actual music played during Rizal’s execution, the Christmas song sang by Fabregas, and the ballroom dance which came from a Spanish zarzuela.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Full house at the Met during the screening of Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Jose Rizal (Photo by Pablo A. Tariman)
Labors of Love
The cast and production staff of the Cinemalaya Best Picture, Tumandok
The story behind the making of Tumandok was pure labor of love.
The Gospel of the Beast, which opened Cinemalaya along with Love Child, and Tumandok—all came from the indie film outfit, the Southern Lanterns Studios (SLS). An active member of this film outfit is Arden Rod Condez, director of the 2019 Cinemalaya film John Denver Trending. In this year’s Cinemalaya, he put his director’s role on hold to be one of the co-producers and screenwriters of the three landmark Cinemalaya offerings.
Condez recalled how he got involved in the three featured films of Cinemalaya. SLS consists of Sheron Dayoc, Sonny Calvento, Condez, and three other people. Condez told this writer: “After John Denver Trending, we agreed that whenever someone in the company directs a film, the other members of the company will produce it. Sonny and Sheron produced John Denver Trending. Sheron and I are producing Sonny’s next film, which will be shot next year. Sonny and I produced The Gospel of the Beast with Sheron.”
For Love Child and Tumandok, Condez was approached by the filmmakers Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Kat Sumagaysay. They were part their online mentoring program for filmmaking during the pandemic.
The filmmakers behind Southern Lantern Studios: Arden Rod Condez, Sheron Sayoc and Sonny Calvento.
“The director of Love Child, Jonathan Jurilla, was my literature professor in college at the University of then Philippines Visayas in Iloilo City. They are very promising filmmakers from our region who are eager to create their full-length films. For this collaboration with new filmmakers, I couldn’t say no.
“It was a challenge managing these projects, from their development through securing logistics for production, especially Love Child and Tumandok, since they were both finalists of Cinemalaya with the same deadlines to meet. To be honest, I was hoping that just one of them would make it into Cinemalaya this year because I knew it would be a significant challenge.”
Condez was involved with both films from the stage when the projects were just ideas. He helped the filmmakers develop and submit them to Cinemalaya. When they were selected as part of the 20 semi-finalists, he was involved in script development, script revisions before production, and continued to be involved through production, editing, and even packaging the films for screening at the festival.
Without the help of other partners of Southern Lanterns Studios, it would have been much more difficult for him to secure funding for these projects, he explained. “Aside from financing, juggling both films were really difficult. During the script development stage, I spent one whole week with the Tumandok filmmakers, and the following week, I spent another week with the Love Child filmmaker. We worked on both scripts every day for two weeks.”
Condez was drawn to the projects mainly because of the stories they tell. “For Tumandok, I was drawn to its simple yet powerful portrayal of the ordinary struggles faced by the Ati community of Sitio Kabarangkalan. The film aims to raise awareness and raise funds to help the community process their ancestral domain. While some may view film as mere art, for us—and especially for these people—a film like this has the potential to make a real difference: It could save homes.”
Doing Tumandok was by far the most difficult shoot he was involved with. “We filmed for only seven days, five of which were spent in the mountains of Sitio Kabarangkalan in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. The area is accessible only by 4×4 vehicle and habal-habal. These mountains required us to carry heavy production equipment. Our team, consisting only of around 25 people, stayed in a small tribal hall while others slept in tents. We had just one toilet with a worn-out blanket as its door (we played Spotify to signal its occupancy, though the data signal was very limited). Our water came from a line connected directly to a spring. Sometimes, we found small fish swimming in the containers.”
The Tumandok shooting itinerary had the team moving from mountain to mountain. “The sun blazed during the day, but at night, heavy rain poured. We had to navigate the trails in the middle of the night, in pouring rain, to return to our quarters. We continued, unbothered by difficulties. As days passed, we fell in love with the community.”
More than anything, the shoot allowed them to experience life with the Atis and learn about their struggles. The script has kilometric lines and it required translation into three languages: Filipino, Hiligaynon, and the Ati language, Inati—only to find out that some of the actors couldn’t read or even count.
“This is because there were no schools in Kabarangkalan. Going to school to the nearest barangay, which is kilometers away, is only for the families who have the privilege of having a habal-habal. With the help of other Atis, these actors memorized their lines by ear. They were determined to see the film through because they understood what was at stake.”
During filming, even bystanders lined up for the food meant only for the production team. “We welcomed them because we learned that for some of them, it was their first time to experience eating three times a day. These are only some of the many encounters we had that really broke our hearts and made us realize the film’s value to the Atis. I feel the difficulty for them to memorize lines and perform in front of the camera. But they pushed through because of their collective dream—to have homes they can call their own. I have the biggest admiration for the tribe.
Nostalgia
Nora Aunor, Phillip Salvador and Dennis Marasigan during the screening of Brocka's Bona. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
It was full-blown nostalgia time when Brocka’s Bona closed the 20th Cinemalaya with lead stars Nora Aunor and Phillip Salvador in attendance.
Like the director of Jose Rizal (Marilou Diaz-Abaya) who died in 2012, the director of Bona (Brocka) wasn’t around as he died in a car accident in 1991.
The screenings of Jose Rizal and Bona are Cinemalaya’s tribute to the country’s cinema icons.
The 4k restoration of Bona was supervised by Carlotta Films and was screened this year at the Cannes Classic Showcase in France and at the Cinemalibero section of the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna, Italy. It will also be seen in the retrospective section of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Bona was cited as one of the 100 Best Films in the World, by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California. It was also screened at the 47th Vienna film fest where film historian Barbara Wurn described the lead actor as “the awesome Nora Aunor.”
Some years back on Brocka’s 23rd death anniversary, Cinema One gave him a special tribute with a pilot episode of a talk show “Inside Cinema Circle” aptly called Mga Anak Ni Brocka hosted by Boy Abunda.
Gathered for this occasion were Brocka’s proteges, namely, Phillip Salvador, Bembol Roco, Rio Locsin and Chanda Romero, among others. What the talk show revealed was that Brocka got the best performances from these actors some of whom happened to be personally close to the director.
Roco recalled he was a virtual beginner when he was tapped for the lead role of Maynila Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag after a chubby Ilagan was eased out from the part. But with the magic of Brocka, Roco said he was able to summon the best that he could give to the part even with his then nonexistent theater and film credentials.
The talk show turned into a veritable teleserye as Roco became very emotional and cried recalling what a wonderful person and a first-rate director Brocka was. This was echoed by Locsin and Romero who revealed they didn’t know they could act until Brocka came along and gave them self-confidence.
But the most revealing recollection was from Salvador who appeared in other landmark Brocka films like Jaguar, Orapronobis, and Bona, among others.
Salvador said Brocka was not just a director to him. He was also a big brother and a special friend. “I loved him and I love his family,” Philip declared.
Philip recalled: “The last time we saw each other after we reconciled, Lino (Brocka) kissed me on my lips in full view of construction workers in the neighborhood. He loved me, he said, and I told him, I love you, too. It didn’t occur to me that he would soon die and leave us forever.”
The art and life of Brocka are summed up in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) publication, Lino Brocka: The Artist and His Times edited by the late Mario Hernando.
For Tumandok, I was drawn to its simple yet powerful portrayal of the ordinary struggles faced by the Ati community of Sitio Kabarangkalan.”
In 1979, Brocka agreed to be the godfather of my late daughter, Kerima, who was named after our favorite writer, Kerima Polotan. He recalled that he read all Polotan’s articles in the Philippines Free Press and that he was a big fan. “One time,” he recalled, “I went to Fort Santiago where she (Polotan) was delivering a lecture. I attended that lecture and I couldn’t help staring at her intently. I wanted to hug her and say, ‘I love all your articles!’”
The last time I saw Brocka was when my daughter and I saw him crossing the Pasig street after a kidnap scene in Bayan Ko Kapit Sa Patalim starring Gina Alajar, and Phillip Salvador, among others. My daughter and I were aboard a jeepney and I called out to him: “Lino, this is your goddaughter, Kerima.”
He smiled looking at his goddaughter — who like him years later — would turn out to be another activist.
Here are the winners of the 20th Cinemalaya:
Best Full Length Film: "Tumandok”
Best Short Film: "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die"
Best Director for Full Length Film: Jaime Pacena II for "Kono Basho"
Best Director for Short Film: Sam Manacsa for "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die"
Best Actress: Marian Rivera for "Balota" and Gabby Padilla for "Kono Basho"
Best Actor: Enzo Osorio for "The Hearing"
Best Supporting Actress: Sue Prado for "Kantil"
Best Supporting Actor: Felipe Ganancial for "Tumandok"
Best Screenplay for Full Length Film: "Tumandok"
Best Screenplay for Short Film: "Primetime Mother"
Best Cinematography: "Kono Basho"
Best Editing: "An Errand"
Best Production Design: "Kono Basho"
Best Original Music Score: "Tumandok"
Best Sound Design: "An Errand"
Audience Choice Award for Full-length Film: "Gulay Lang, Manong"
Audience Choice Award for Short Film: "Primetime Mother"
Special Jury Award for Full Length Film: "Alipato at Muog"
Special Jury Award for Short Film: "Pamalandong Sa Danow"
NETPAC Full-length Feature Award: "Tumandok"
NETPAC Short Film Award: "Abogbaybay.”)
Pablo A. Tariman contributes to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Vera Files and The Diarist.Ph. He has covered the performing arts for 48 years and is coming out with his second book, Encounters in the Arts. He was one of 160 Asian poets who made it in the anthology, The Best Asian Poetry 2021-22 published in Singapore. He was recipient of the Philippines Graphic’s Salute Award for poetry in 2023 and the 2024 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards. Born in Baras, Catanduanes, he has three daughters and six grandchildren.
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