Lav’s wish for PH cinema

Lav Diaz

Lav Diaz, an acknowledged leader of the Philippine independent cinema movement, has a very detailed and specific request for the government to prioritize on behalf of the movie industry.

Diaz, who won the Golden Lion for “Ang Babaeng Humayo” in Venice last year, wants comprehensive laws and programs to benefit Filipino filmmakers.

He said: “A subsidy program must be created; even a protectionist law/program. There is urgency to do this. The Metro Manila Film Festival fiasco informs this zeitgeist. But caution is needed in the creation of these bodies or laws. An extensive and earnest perusal must be conducted first. The government agencies that have cultural concerns/responsibilities like the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Metro Manila Development Authority, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Department of Education, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, the House of Representatives and the Senate, film producers and distributors, filmmakers’ groups and some concerned citizens’ groups, the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund), and the Film Academy of the Philippines must band together to create a body that will focus on helping Philippine cinema.

“This is akin to a constitutional convention. There are models for this … the controversial screen quota law in South Korea and the Television Without Frontiers Directive of the European Union. These policies helped their cinemas. From this, a research body must be created to conduct studies on these programs and promulgate some proposals, and then, eventually, members of the House must sponsor the enactment of a bill. —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR