‘Unrest’ ends journey, comes home

Pia Portiz as a girl caught in the tumult of Edsa 1.

It was a fitting homecoming for the award-winning short film, “Unrest,” which finally made its Philippine premiere at Greenbelt in Makati recently.

Produced by Manila-born Marie Pineda, “Unrest” won the best short film jury award at the 15th Stony Brook Film Festival in New York last year. A graduate-level thesis film at the American Film Institute, “Unrest” was also declared best student short by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Los Angeles (Bafta) last year.

“It was voted as the top student film by Bafta members in LA,” the Hollywood-based Pineda told the Inquirer.

The past year witnessed a circuitous journey for the film—which participated in various festivals in New Orleans, Bendfilm (Oregon), New York (Asian American International Film Festival) and Cannes (Short Film Corner), among others.

She felt strongly about screening it in Manila and sharing it with family and friends, Pineda said.

“The journey of the film ends here,” she pointed out.

Marie Pineda

After all, it was a film that tackled a crucial chapter in the history of the Philippines. (It’s set on the eve of the Edsa people power revolution in 1986. Present at the Greenbelt screening were Irene Marcos-Araneta and Antonio P. Tuviera, producer of “Eat Bulaga.”)

“The story was originally set in Indonesia, during the fall of Suharto, but I suggested the Philippines instead,” Pineda recalled.

Los Angeles substituted for Manila during the “tight, six-day shoot.”

She recounted, “We shot in a mansion in Beverly Hills and in the alleyways and streets of LA.”

A crew from all over the US gathered to make the short film.

The producer (Pineda) was from California; the director (Christina Rubenstein) from Texas; the cinematographer (Kevin Cannon) from Pennsylvania; the production designer (Monica Leed) from Arizona; and the editor (Brian Wessel) from Missouri.

It was a universal story, in more ways than one.

The American crew could relate very well with the story, though it was uniquely Filipino, Pineda said.

“We made it a point not to get distracted,” she added. “All of us were focused on the emotional core of the film which celebrates a mother’s love.”

The production also benefited from the Filipino-American actors in the cast, said Pineda.

The most familiar name in the ensemble is Giselle Tongi, currently based in the United States. “It was fun. They were all excited to make the film,” Pineda said. “A lot of them wanted to get reacquainted with their Filipino roots.”

What’s next for Pineda? Though she has earned plaudits for her master’s thesis, she’s not really raring to add a PhD to her résumé.

“My PhD will be a feature film,” she said.

She’s amazed by the bustling local indie scene. “I’ve been educating myself about Filipino films. I love ‘Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros’ and ‘Imelda,’” she confessed.

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photos by Arnold Almacen