5 Pelikulove short films in exhibition at Cinemalaya

The “Shoutout PInas 2022” anthology features five short films. Present during the special media screening are (from left) producer Khaye Rebeta; actors Desiree Joy Briones and Yian Gabriel, writers Quiel dela Cruz, Ralph Morales, Raymund Barcelon and Dada Grifon; actress Danica Duno, Shoutout fest 2022 board of festival directors Issa Manalo Lopez, Raffy Tejada and Pelikulove founder Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil.

“They made my imagination come to life,” said Quiel dela Cruz, who wrote the screenplay of director Roman Perez Jr.’s latest short film, “How to Make an Effective Campaign Ad,” which is now included in an anthology titled “Shoutout Pinas 2022.”

The anthology, which features four more shorts—”No Trespassing,” “Libro for Ransom,” “Quarantine 5” and “When a Manananggal Loves a Man”—will be screened at the 19th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival on Aug. 10.

“It’s a story that’s no longer merely on paper. I was so happy because what used to just be in my mind is now projected on the big screen. I felt genuine kilig while watching it for the first time, even though the topic is quite sensitive and dark. Actually, it wasn’t just brought to life, it was also made even more beautiful for the screen,” said Dela Cruz during a special screening organized by a group called Pelikulove.

Socially relevant content

Pelikulove, founded in 2019, is a multiarts portal that aims to provide arts education and a platform for artistic and socially relevant content. Its pilot project in 2021 was a series of online classes with National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee and Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards Hall of Famer Rody Vera as speakers.

In September 2022, Pelikulove organized the “Shoutout Pinas Festival (Maghayag at Lumikha)” online film festival as a culminating activity of the enrollees of their master classes. The works were produced in cooperation with regional theater and film organizations.

“How to Make an Effective Campaign Ad,” a production of Pelikula Indiopendent, is about two ad makers working for an imprisoned politician. It was one of four shorts that emerged as winners in the online festival.

“Libro for Ransom” is written by Ralph Morales, directed by Gab Hernandez, produced by Giya Studios. “No Trespassing” is written by Dada Griffon, codirected by Julius dela Peña, and produced by the University of La Salle Bacolod

Raymond Barcelon wrote “When a Manananggal Loves a Man,” which was directed by Niel Azcuna and produced by the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (Ipag). Andrew Estacio wrote “Quarantine 5,” which was directed by Sari Saysay and produced by Sineng Banwa.

Morales said his 20-page script on “Libro for Ransom” went through dozens of revisions before it was transformed into a short film about media people featuring the history of stolen national treasures. “Its treatment and theme are now different. What used to be a male character ended up being female. It used to merely talk about love for books, but later it became something that also tackles fake news,” Morales added. “It evolved because the mentors were really engaged in honing me and making sure that the material was good.”

‘All about the story’

Griffon, a documentarist and NGO worker, collaborated with Dela Peña on “No Trespassing,” which follows the experiences of two filmmakers documenting the violence in killing fields. “Directing it was like finding an ally and an adversary in myself all at the same time,” she said. “This is really personal for me, but after watching it with a small group of people, who claimed they were able to relate to the farmers, I realized that it was no longer about the creator anymore. It has become all about the story.”

Barcelon said his first intention was for “When a Manananggal Loves a Man” to end up being a stage play. “This was why the piece is kind of wordy. When I started collaborating with the theater group from Iriga, Albay, I was surprised because it became a hybrid. This made the project more exciting,” he began. “It’s always a high whenever you successfully produce something. This is also Ipag’s first short film. This is a big accomplishment for us. I’m grateful that they took a shot at it. When Pelikulove started screening the films in schools, I felt so thrilled to finally hear the reaction of its audience,” said Barcelon.

Pelikulove creative head and filmmaker Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil explained: “When we were asking for material, we didn’t specify any theme or genre, but we had Ricky and Rody as their teachers. We know the quality of the works of these two, as well as the way they teach. These were the material that came out. Also, we were in a pandemic lockdown at the time, a very political time.”

“Another good thing that came out of the project was the anthology. It wasn’t planned,” she pointed out. “They all signed contracts with us. They can submit the films anywhere. Individually, they are free to organize screenings. They produced the films with very little effort from us.”

The writers were guided by artist-mentors Lee, Vera, Marfil, TV and film director Jeffrey Jeturian, University of London professor Cristina Martinez-Juan, University of the Philippines director and educator Issa Manalo Lopez, and Harlequin Theater Guild artistic director and Pelikulove program director Raffy Tejada.

“Shoutout Pinas 2022” will be shown at 6:15 p.m. today at the Bonifacio Room of the PICC in Pasay City.