Erik Matti clarifies observation not dissing Nadine Lustre’s ‘Ulan’

Image: Facebook/Erik Matti

Filmmaker Erik Matti, who has been taking to social media to air his sentiments regarding Philippine cinema, clarified to a fan he was not shading Nadine Lustre’s latest film “Ulan.” This was after one of Lustre’s fans mistook Matti’s recent tweet as a diss to the film.

“Ulan”, a foray into Philippine lore and magical realism, stars Lustre and actors Carlo Aquino and Marco Gumabao. The film was directed by Irene Villamor (“Sid and Aya: Not a Love Story,” “Camp Sawi”) and it was reported Lustre was personally chosen by the director to portray the character of Maya.

Matti’s post via Twitter came last March 25, where he expressed that a little quirk or weirdness in a film often gets mistaken as good cinema, when it should not necessarily be so.

“A little of the weird, the quirk, the strange, the abstraction, the offbeat, the crazy, the meta, the esoteric or the mystical can often be mistaken as brave filmmaking or good cinema,” he said. “Not necessarily. Sometimes it could be just a thesis film disguised as serious cinema.”

A little of the weird, the quirk, the strange, the abstraction, the offbeat, the crazy, the meta, the esoteric or the mystical can often be mistaken as brave filmmaking or good cinema. Not necessarily. Sometimes it could be just a thesis film disguised as serious cinema.

— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) March 25, 2019

A Lustre fan, who thought the tweet was directed at “Ulan,” retweeted Matti’s post and wrote that directors should uplift one another.

“[Directors] should uplift each other not drag the other one down when his/her works were being appreciated,” wrote the netizen (@luminousnadine).

Ah…but I was talking about films in general and not really something specific. Don’t jump to conclusions please.

— Erik Matti (@ErikMatti) March 25, 2019

Matti replied to the fan, saying he was not referring to any specific film and was talking in generalities.

“But I was talking about films in general and not really something specific,” he said. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

When the netizen asked him if it was all a coincidence then, Matti seemed dumbfounded.

“Ahm… coincidence san?” he wrote back. “I dunno what you guys are referring to?”

The netizen pointed out that Matti apparently blocked another netizen who said the director was “shading” the film. Matti appeared exasperated that some took his tweet as a diss to the film and told the fan he had not seen “Ulan” himself.

“I hate people presuming something they have no clue of,” said Matti. “I’ll block you too if you keep on insinuating I am referring to your film. If it’s Nadine’s movie ‘Ulan,’ I haven’t seen it and I dunno what it’s about.”

Matti, back in February, lamented the Philippine film industry’s dire situation after recent movie releases were met with low box-office sales. In the same month, he addressed the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), asking what he and other filmmakers would do with their trophies if 98 percent of the country has not seen their films. He has also given his sentiments on the uncertainty of film production, citing the many constraints producers face.  /ra

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