‘Bacollywood’ to showcase the regions

BACOLOD CITY—He comes from a landed family in Negros Occidental and has worked as a sugar farm manager for his father.

Jay Abello thought he knew everything about the sugar industry, whose systems he perceived as modern-day slavery. His view changed when he began filming a documentary that took him three years to finish.

“The sugar industry cannot be defined by one person or by a few,” Abello said. “The moment you think it can, you are screwed.”

His work, Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar, is one of 68 independent films to be screened at “Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012.”

Filmmakers from various parts of the country are expected to attend Bacollywood, an independent film and video art festival that will run February 8-11 at Robinsons’ Movieworld Cinema in Bacolod City. The theme: “Empowering Regional Cinema.”

Venue for discourse

The event is meant to serve as a venue for discourse and creative learning that will bring together stakeholders, professionals and students of the growing independent filmmaking movement.

“The whole point of holding festivals such as this one outside Manila is for the people in the regions to realize their own impact,” said festival director Manny Montelibano.

Extensive research

Pureza… is a 105-minute documentary on the struggle of the sugar industry on Negros Island and how it affects the island of 2.7 million people. It traces the history of the industry from its glory days to its plunge from the proverbial pedestal into its current state.

The film is a product of extensive research and interviews of more than 200 people involved in the industry — from landowners to sacadas (sugar workers).

“It is a fair film on the history of the Negros sugar industry that does not make any conclusions or pronouncement. It just tells it as it is,” Abello said.

Various cultures

The other film entries in Bacollywood reflect the cultures of various regions where they were produced, Montelibano said.

On February 8, films from all over the Visayas will be shown: Waray in the City from Samar; Sada, Paraiso and Pagtuo from Leyte; Small World and Mugna from Bohol; Suga and Paper from Negros Oriental; Tarangban from Iloilo; and Wer Nah U from Antique.

There are nine entries from Cebu: Saranghae: My Tutor; Ang Gugma ni Olivia; Undo; Mga Istorya sa Katingalahan ni Lola Inday; Umpas; Ukit; Regenesis; Di Inogon ’Nato; and Biyernes Biyernes.

Short films from Bacolod include: The Last One; Makina; Tamawo; Departure Area; Conscious Adaptation; Promisa; Hiwit; Roger; Halad; Pull Up; and Amok.

To be screened on February 9 are films from Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan and provinces in Bicol. Entries from Mindanao will be shown on February 10.

Pureza… will be shown on the festival’s last day, February 11.

Visual arts

Bacollywood will also feature works from the visual arts.

A video installation, “Killing Time,” created by internationally cited artists, will run at the Negros Museum February 7-29. An art exhibit titled “Ginlubong ang Akong Pusod sa Dagat,” by Martha Atienza, will be ongoing at Gallery Orange in Bacolod February 9-29.

Masters of cinema, like Peque Gallaga and Celso Ad Castillo, will speak in the festival forums, Montelibano said.

Since December last year, Bacollywood has been showing independent films for free in barangays (villages) in the city to create awareness and appreciation of what can be made in the regions.

“The empowerment of regional cinema is a victory for our community,” Montelibano said. “Our stories should never be silenced. Let us support the way of the storyteller.”