Independant Amateur Filipino Film Makers Film Studies Essay

“In the spirit of independent expression, the Cinemalaya Awards seeks to discover, encourage and honor the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.” – Cultural Center of the Philippines

As of today, we filipinos are very fond of Hollywood films. Cinemas in the Philippines are currently full of different Hollywood films. There are very few films that are recognized throughout the country. This is one of the reasons why the Cultural Center of the Philippines arranged “Cinemalaya”, an awards show giving Filipino independent films credit. We wonder, though, is it enough? We think that it is absolutely not. Most of the Philippines’ creative young minds are not recognized by as much people as that of Hollywood films. We also believe that independent films carry more true-to-life stories, and that it actually has more values instilled in it. We find it very disappointing that cinemas today show less of these, and show more of Hollywood films that make us fantasize more than make us realize the harsh realities of life, and how to deal with them in a realistic way. Also, Filipinos nowadays are supporting the movies of other countries more than their own. This is why we are forwarding our proposal that cinemas in the Philippines should showcase more Filipino independent films than Hollywood films. In this paper, we define independent films as films made by amateur Filipino film makers, films that are low-budget, or “home-made”. We define Hollywood films as films made in Hollywood, films that have high-budget productions, films that have professionals working on it and the like. We will be limiting our statistics to only Philippine Independent films. We will make surveys regarding the awareness of students of independent films, their stand (against it, for it, neutral) on independent films, their views toward independent films. We will also research more about independent films.

First of all, we believe that independent films are needed more than Hollywood films when it comes to education, especially for the children. From our observations, we’ve noticed that independent films capture a more realistic view on life. One

example of these independent films is “Idol: Pag-asa ng Bayan” (2007) which is about an honor student ending up cheating for the sake of his friends, portraying a reality of peer pressure, selfless actions, and of course cheating. Another example is “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” which focuses on the emotional damage a boy can undergo, as if he was a female. Lastly, the most dramatic and realistic example is “Magnifico” which shows us how hard life is especially when you’re poor. A young mind, Magnifico attempts to help out his family earn by working at such an early age. It shows the effects of poverty, the beauty of simple living or contentment, and the love for family. Whether it focuses on social issues such as cheating (“Idol: Pag-asa ng Bayan”,2007) or homosexuality (“Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros”,2005) or economic issues such as poverty (“Magnifico”, 2003) , independent films successfully presented actual happenings in our world today. Most Hollywood films, on the other hand, are fiction, a literary work, history, and the like. Some Hollywood films also depicted realistic stories such as “World Trade Center” (2006) which focused on the 9-11 bombing, “Kramer vs Kramer” (1979) which focused on the realities of marriage and family problems, and ” John Q” (2002) which focused economic problems, but these films don’t have much of a filipino sense. It is important to be reminded of our values not only as people but as Filipino people, so we should be seeing these realities set on the Philippine situation, the Philippine customs, the Filipino attitude. Another point is that sure, some Hollywood films like “Troy” (2004), “300” (2007), and “Beowulf” (2008), are very helpful in our studies, but then we aren’t planning on removing films like that from cinemas. We just need to have more Filipino independent films because we need more education about the realities of the present situation, as we’ve established earlier.

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We also noticed the difference between the objectives and focuses of Philippine independent films and Hollywood films. We’ve noticed that Philippine independent films seem to aim to open the minds of children rather than adults. Hollywood films seem to aim to open the minds of adults- parents, teachers etc. We’ve also noticed that Philippine independent films seem to aim to remind people of the mistake in actions, mistake in character, and mistake in society. It seems like these films focus on the problems present. Hollywood films on the other hand, seem to aim to make people see possible problems, though these problems are less likely to occur in the Philippines. Like racism, for example, there are fewer races here so the chances of racism are minimal. In terms of focus in target, through research, we were able to find out that independent film, as said by the online Wikipedia focuses on “niche audience” (Wikipedia, no page), meaning a portion of people, not the general public. Hollywood focuses on the general public. We researched more about art films in contrast with Hollywood films. David Bordwell, as Wikipedia said, wrote about the difference of the two kinds of films. According to an article in Wikipedia, Bordwell wrote in his article, “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice”(Wikipedia, no page) , that those of Hollywood films use stereotype characters, familiar settings, and wherein the protagonists’ actions lead to only one end point, sort of like a cause and effect. He also stated that independent films “often deal with an inner drama that takes place in a character’s psyche.” (Bordwell. no page). He also said that it’s more realistic, and it breaks away from the stereotype, mainstream structures. Looking at these facts, we saw that independent films have more value in content. This is one more reason why there should be more independent films in our cinemas.

In terms of appeal, of course the majority will go to Hollywood films. Hollywood films have a greater budget; so of course, they will have trailers that could capture an audience’s attention. Since Independent films are low-budget films, they can not advertise their works, or even if they could, they wouldn’t bother because as Bordwell said, independent films are focused only on a portion of the public. Hollywood films also have better effects and cinematography than that of independent films. But we don’t take this as a liability, mainly because if there is less quality of effects and cinematography, the audience is forced to focus on the main story, the lessons, and more importantly, the problems presented. If you’re thinking “how are cinemas going to earn money if you put more independent films, which are less appealing to the public?” there’s answers for that. First of all, there have been films that were made a hit, especially “Magnifico” (2003), and “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” (2005), though not in box office. Independent movies are also beautiful, and we believe that people would like to watch these films if they were aware of this. Also, in Malls, we see a lot of advertisements of films, and if independent films were to be put on big screen, with matching advertisement, people would be encouraged to watch. Lastly, since most people can relate to these films better, they’d be encouraged by people who’ve seen the film. Therefore, putting these films in theaters wouldn’t really affect the cinemas in terms of economy.

How many people are actually aware about independent films? Based on our surveys, the average ratios we got were the following: six out of ten people are aware of these independent films, one out of six is for independent films, four out of six are against independent films, and one out of six are neutral about it. This is another problem. The answers we got indicated that many people aren’t even aware of these films. So, all the more we have to show these independent films. As you can see with the statistics, more filipinos are against it, showing lack of nationalism. If you are wondering “What benefits would cinemas gain with this proposal?” our proposal has a lot. First of all, it encourages nationalism. By watching an independent filipino film, you support a group of filipino citizens. By supporting these people, you support the country. Second of all, more talent would be recognized. We are used to recognizing the same people as producers, directors, and especially actors. In independent films, since you have low budget, you get people who are either unprofessional, or people who have low talent fees, but of course, have talent. So, when the movie hits the theaters, the people who contributed there would be recognized. Also, was we said said in our introduction, there is something called the “Cinemalaya awards” which is an awarding ceremony for all independent films. If these films are shown in theaters, more people can vote/nominate independent films, plus this awarding ceremony will be given more attention by the public. Furthermore, showing these films in theaters help us showcase the talents of young filipino artist to foreigners. That is something to be proud about. Lastly, as we’ve said earlier, independent films have more value in content, and are aiming to enlighten or remind us about the realities or problems in life, therefore showing these films in the cinemas are also a way of spreading education to the youth, and even to the adults, especially filipinos.

As the world evolves into a more modern world, our values and nationalism goes down. Our talents, it’s hidden in one corner of the world, while stardom, it’s just across the theater doors. This is the problem we want to solve. That is why we exposed our views and points about our preposition: The cinemas in the Philippines should showcase more Filipino independent movies than Hollywood Movies. We need to raise our Filipino flag. We have to show them what we have. We have to educate the future of the country. We have to restore the values that were gone. If this proposition is approved, then maybe it’s another victory for me and you.