MANILA — In an open forum on Thursday after a screening of his Cinemalaya movie, Mariquina at the Lopez Museum and Library, filmmaker Milo Sogueco made this call to action.
Filipinos are starting to appreciate original, indie movies, according to Milo, as seen in the warm response to the annual Cinemalaya Film Festival. However, the fact remains the same–they are still having trouble entering and surviving commercial releases save for the P2.5-million budget movie That Thing Called Tadhana by Antoinette Jadaone which earned millions during its run.
We obviously need more of the tadhana phenomenon. More recently, the social media sphere has been abuzz about Jerrold Tarog’s Heneral Luna but in reality, it is still sluggishly making its way to more theatres, elusively securing a single, flimsy cinema slot with a measly three screenings at most per day, with each day threatening to be its last.
So, for those of you who keep on whining and complaining about how Pinoy movies lack the quality you are looking for, here’s a word from Milo: “If you really want better films, support great movies. Don’t support mediocre ones.”
With this in mind, Lopez Museum and Library through the help of ABS-CBN and filmmakers themselves, set up Replay, its first attempt at screening original Pinoy indie films to have these available to more people even after Cinemalaya.
Replay is a 4-day event that started on Wednesday with a screening of Last Supper No. 3 and then Mariquina on Thursday. Still up for screenings are Ekstra and Debosyon today and tomorrow respectively at 2:00 pm inside the Lopez Museum and Library.
While you’re there, you can also sift through the exhibition inside the museum featuring a collection of surreal and contemporary art housed in dimly lit rooms lined up along a bright pink hall reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, completing the surreal, dreamlike experience.
To cap the film viewing and intellectual discussions with the film director, organizers and fellow viewers, head on the the colorful chalkboard room by the entrance, sip a cup of freshly brewed coffee from Gourmet Farms and spread the word about the world class Filipino films we all ought to support.
