Last December 13, Fully Booked U-View, in cooperation with Juan.com.ph, kicked things off into high gear for the latest batch of New Wave Student & Animation Shorts as it hosted the premiere screening of all 11 films in competition. Director Paul Soriano graced the event and gave a warm welcome to all the aspiring filmmakers who made it through unscathed in the grueling selection process (106 entries between the two sections!), gently reminding them of the rare opportunity they’re afforded by having a commercial run* of their short films this early in their respective careers. Talk about pressure!
Now in its 4th year, the Metro Manila Film Festival’s side slash superior section, New Wave, continues to open our eyes to vivid singular visions dreamt up by our young, independent talent. Alas, ‘Awakening’ seems to be this edition’s running theme.
WOMAN AWAKENING
Hannah. Bimyana. Rosa. Monik. Esmeralda. And a mountain (arguably female). These are the central characters in this year’s student shorts (4 of which were directed by women). Let’s get to know them one by one:
The titular lead of Bimyana (Kim Zuñiga – De La Salle, College of St. Benilde), named after the wonderful child actress (a real find!) who portrays the role, is a young Ayta girl caught between two mountains, so to speak: that of her duties as a daughter of her own tribe (as well as a mother who can’t read and write) and her desire to expand her knowledge about the world outside. Zuñiga keeps it local and adds a dash of whimsy by carefully interweaving pop-up storybook-like animation (which rivals those in the Animation category, mind you!) where necessary. Yes, it is another triumph of the human spirit movie. Yet it also sheds some light on the state of education in the so-called fringes of our society and offers a fresh perspective on how the old stories of our own people keep us grounded as they ironically lead us to roads less traveled. Bimyana makes black beautiful, transcends it even. ★★★☆☆
While we’re on the topic of mountains, Bundok Chubibo (Glenn Barit – UP Diliman) makes great use of metaphor and visual poetry as it relates to the roller coaster relationship between two mountaineers. It may be a little too on the nose at times, leaving not enough room for subtext, but the achingly authentic acting of the two leads elevates the unapologetically wispy/wistful/melancholic material. Teetering eversoclose to the edge of merely being an extended prologue to a UDD or Hale MV, Bundok Chubibo may be deemed too sappy and over-sentimental (or dismissed as a first-time director’s forlorn love letter) by some but it makes the business of remembering and forgetting and remembering to forget a breeze, it’s hard not to fall in and out of love, in and out of love while watching it. “Because it’s there,” went the famous retort of George Mallory. Right on the screen. ★★★★☆
Memory plays an essential part in the fundamental narrative of Kalaw (Immy Rempis – Asia Pacific Film Institute), a powerful film which aims to put a spotlight on a sexual taboo that has now become commonplace yet remains hush-hush, camouflaged. Lensed mostly on location in picturesque Puerto Galera, it tells the story of Monik (Japo Parcero) as she returns to her childhood hometown hoping for a shot of salvation. Armed with a tight, unyielding screenplay and a keen attention to detail, Rempis thoroughly captures the drama with just the right degree of subtlety (Parcero– without a doubt, this year’s overall shorts’ MVP– for instance, registers regret on her face so well, her pain leaps out of the screen). Still forgiveness of one’s self doesn’t happen overnight. That even when you try to wash away the past, its repercussions only further muddy the waters. And oftentimes, you just have to live with that. ★★★★☆
Kubli (Regine Ynieto – Far Eastern University), Kalaw’s homely stepsister, treads the very same waters. But with its heavy-handedness weighing like a hammer on its pocket, it straightaway drowns. The script’s predilection for mystery is undermined by an awful sense of foreshadowing and by making it all about the “big reveal”, the film’s impact is tempered, its main advocacy obstructed. The ensemble’s amateur acting certainly didn’t help either and the girl who played Hannah couldn’t quite carry the whole picture on her shoulders. The loss of innocence, the lurid familial bonds as well as the blurry line between girlhood and womanhood it tried to depict could’ve made for a great Greek tragedy. However, in the end, it’s just a tragedy. And, like its English title suggests, should’ve remained kept. ½☆☆☆☆
There’s nothing worth keeping in Ang Soltera (Arielle Louise Naguit – De La Salle, Lipa), supposedly about a “sophisticated maiden who finds it hard to forgive”. And you’d find it hard to forgive, too, if you had to wear that wig. The short opens with an antique phone ringing (you’d be justified for thinking this was a period piece) and our spinster being bitchy about it. Grumpy-old-person-who-eventually-softens-up-with-the-arrival-of-a-precocious-kid stories are a dime a dozen and Naguit brings nothing new to the table. Esmeralda’s (Crecee Roldan) atrocious acting, no, posturing, juxtaposed with Biboy’s (Melvin Llubit) bibo kid schtick ends up being as tiresome as the ceaseless refrain of a ditty the latter uses to peddle his goods. No one could’ve been #TOTALLYReady for this. But we needn’t have suffered through all ~15 minutes of it had she just picked up the phone in the first place. ☆☆☆☆☆
It levitra properien next page also improves strength to perform better in bed. Customer satisfaction is our #1 generico viagra on line priority. Nonetheless, 3.7 million are expected to hit the doughnut hole this year, and many will face unpalatable choices: Do without basics or do without medication. viagra australia this page Erectile dysfunction (ED) or else male impotence is the inability of a cialis pill online man to ejaculate during sex. 
Siyanawa (Gio Alpuente – Southern Luzon State University) surprisingly excels in almost all its technical aspects: a truly effective sound design; visually arresting cinematography; and a provocative patchwork of images in its editing. But like Ang Soltera, it fails where it matters most: the acting. Lacking the required gravitas to convincingly characterize an overtly zealous femme fatale-in-the-making, Rosa (Dorothy Grace Pe) single-handedly brings the sensual (those voiceovers!) “sinner or saint” concept down a couple of notches. While I’m not fully sold on its seemingly feminist argument where strength is equated with conquest, there’s still a lot to be admired with this hedonistic homily. Plus, there’s a cat involved. Indeed, sometimes, that’s everything a girl could want. A FRIGGIN CAT. Amen. Siyanawa. ★★½☆☆
********************
ABRE LOS OJOS
Five animated shorts were also screened, a great eye-opener as to how far Philippine cinema has come with regard to animation creation and how much further we still have to go. Below are my brief thoughts on them:
Cherry (Dustin Uy) – Evoking early era Studio Ghibli animation, Cherry’s a cute little tribute to man’s best friend which makes it virtually impossible for your heartstrings to not flinch an inch. ★★½☆☆
Shifter (Jerico Fuentes) – Did Paul Greengrass direct this? Because I couldn’t really grasp some spatial sense in the barrage of fight scenes. Which was kind of the point. That soundtrack tho! ★☆☆☆☆
Gymsnatch (Eric Dequitos) – A light and riotous appraisal of self-worth and nostalgia dressed up in an unassuming yet memorable character design. P.S. The portmanteau title is a clue. ★★½☆☆
An Maogmang Lugar (Mary Espedido) – The ghost of Ghost is apparent in this one. Ditto (heh) Up‘s prologue. But the dead-eyed Coralines are saved by the winsome manok ni San Pedro. ★½☆☆☆
Isip-Bata (Eugene S. Ceriola & Kieth Bercero) – There are no words. See for yourself. ☆☆☆☆☆
* Bundled with a full-length feature, these shorts will be shown until December 24 at Glorietta & SM Megamall theaters.
