Cinemalaya short turns its gaze on ‘endo’ workers’ plight

Scene from “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss”

“More than make viewers laugh, its goal is to make them reflect on things,” said filmmaker Sonny Calvento when Inquirer Entertainment asked him what his goal was for creating the comedy short film, “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss.”

The film, starring Phyllis Grande and Angelina Kanapi, is one of the 10 short film entries in this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine International Film Festival, which will be held from Aug. 7 to 14.

“When I read comments about the film, I was happy to know that other than its comic elements, there was also the realization that a huge injustice was being done to Filipino workers,” Calvento told Inquirer Entertainment on Thursday. “That is what’s more fulfilling to me—that my audience understands the social issue that the film tackles.”

According to Calvento, the film is “a story of the common Filipino, who wakes up every day at 4 a.m., travels for two hours to get to work, then another two hours to get home. The monotony continues for six months—because most of these workers are only under contract for a short period.” This practice is called “endo,” short for end of contract, Calvento explained. “Big companies hire people only for a short while so they can’t be forced to regularize employees, who later struggle again to find another job.”

Phyllis Grande (left) and Angelina Kanapi

Calvento shot the film in August 2019, shortly before its premiere at the 2019 QCinema International Film Festival in October.

“The idea came to me when we were hiring staff members for a family business. Some of those who applied for work in our food stand business used to be sales ladies in department stores. I found their stories interesting,” he began. “Like, how strict their training was; why they aren’t allowed to wear skirts with pockets, how they would hide food so they’d have something to eat until their break time.”

Calvento added: “While on duty, they’re not allowed to sit down and have to be in high heels all the time. We just laughed about their experiences—just like it’s always been the mentality of most Filipinos to simply laugh their problems away.”

In terms of casting, Calvento said he doesn’t think there’s anyone more suited to play Vangie, the lead character, than Grande; with Kanapi as the branch manager. “I got lucky because I got my first choices to play the roles. I first saw Phyllis in ‘Billie & Emma,’” Calvento recalled.

As for Kanapi, Calvento said, “She was perfect when it came to showing the branch manager’s crazy antics. She didn’t read the script until it was time for us to shoot. She had explained that she wanted to improvise on the set.”

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cinemalaya will go online this year. All participating films will be viewed on Vimeo, and not in Cinemalaya’s usual venue—the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City.

Director Sonny Calvento

Asked for his reaction to the news that there will be no theatrical component to the festival’s 2020 edition, Calvento said: “I submitted the film to Cinemalaya on New Year’s Day. I received an e-mail from the organizers saying it got picked in May, when the lockdown was already in place. To be honest, I had been worried that it would get pirated if we go online, since almost all platforms get pirated, even Netflix. Cinemalaya said it will do its best to prevent that from happening.

“I also know that Vimeo is one of the safest platforms,” he declared. “And since my goal is for the film to be seen by as many people as possible, I agreed to join given that Cinemalaya’s reach gets wider each year. It even has exposure in the regions. It’s also good that Cinemalaya tied up with iWant and TFC (The Filipino Channel) this year. These groups already have the capability to take down illegal downloading sites.” MARINEL CRUZ INQ