‘Enteng’ director assails dichotomy in local cinema

Marlon Rivera

The exclusion of the usual blockbuster fare from the lineup of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival has ignited discussions and debates among show biz observers: Has it become a competition between indie and mainstream works? Or is it simply a matter of having good or bad taste?

Marlon Rivera, director of the snubbed “Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers” and of the successful entry “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: Forever is Not Enough,” voiced out his thoughts on the issue:

“I watch cinema because I love cinema. And it breaks my heart when people talk about whether one’s better than the other … I personally don’t think I’m in a position to tell someone that his or her taste is baduy,” pointed out Rivera, who said he grew up watching the “Shake, Rattle and Roll” horror franchise, comedies by Panchito and Chiquito, but also, classics such as “Itim,” “Karnal” and “Sister Stella L.”

“I’ve always said from the start that everything has its place. There are different kinds of tastes; we don’t have to like the same things,” the writer-filmmaker added. “I can’t force people to watch my indie or mainstream works.”

Asked about some few people holding the belief that having a preference for mainstream fare is indicative of bad taste, Rivera said: “Eh hiyang-hiya naman ako sa ginagawa namin! I love watching summer or popcorn flicks. To tell me that my taste needs improving because of that, teka lang naman.”

“There are good and bad stuff both in mainstream and indie,” he stressed.

But if he could have it his way, Rivera said he would like to eliminate this perceived dichotomy in local cinema. “Ideally, I shouldn’t have to refer to myself as either an indie director or a mainstream director,” he said. “I’m a director, period.”