What are the chances of ‘And So It Begins’ making the Oscars shortlist?

Ramona S. Diaz’s documentary film “And So It Begins” has been selected as the Philippines’ official entry to the 97th Oscars. Image: Facebook/Fap Orig

Ramona S. Diaz’s documentary film “And So It Begins” has been selected as the Philippines’ official entry to the Best International Foreign Film Category of the 97th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. But what factors truly determine a film’s chances of making it to the awarding body’s shortlist, and could the Philippines emerge as a contender for next year?

Ahead of the Oscars 2025, Cinegang Inc. and the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) held a panel discussion on Monday, Nov. 25, as a way to help boost the Filipino actors, filmmakers, and producers’ chances to break through the Hollywood awards season.

During the discussion, dubbed “How to Award Your Film and TV Project,” the distinguished speakers, Filipino-American publicists David Magdael and Annalee Paulo, who are also recognized voters for the Academy Awards, reflected on the chances of “And So It Begins” to make it to this season’s shortlist after the PH entry “Iti Mapukpukaw” fell short of making the cut last year.

“And So It Begins” tells the journey of former Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential run during the 2022 election and provides an in-depth look at the complexity of Philippine politics.

Magdael explained that it’s an “edge” that the Philippines has been submitting different genres of features. 

“The great thing is, this year’s submission to the Oscars from the Philippines is a documentary called And So It Begins from Ramona Diaz. So it’s exciting this year when we found out that the international submission to the Oscars from the Philippines was actually a documentary, which is a first for this country, and it’s a rarity for a lot of the countries that are submitting films to the Oscars,” he said.

Magdael shared that they are in the process of holding screenings abroad for the documentary to boost its presence for the awards season. 

“If Leni, Ms. Leni Robredo comes to LA or something, we can, like, set something where she can meet them. It’s a very special film because we started at Sundance in January. Then it just kept going and kept going and kept going,” he said.

Magdael also stated that they are trying to market “And So It Begins” through the lens of referencing it to Kamala Harris recent U.S. presidential run so the global audience could relate. 

“And you see that, if you watch that movie now, her campaign and what the filmmaker was able to capture are exactly what happened in America with Kamala Harris. It almost is all; it’s so weird. It’s so weird. As you’re looking at this, you had a vice president running for presidency against a nationalistic, you know, president. I’m not dissing; I’m just saying, No, really. And then you see how it happened. She galvanized, like Leni had galvanized all these people, right?” he explained.

“And you see in this movie, the festivities, and I mean, the way that movie opens And It So Begins, you think you’re at a Taylor Swift concert, because folks were so excited to be to support Leni. Same thing happened in America. So when you watch this movie now, it just mirrors, kind of like what that is, especially in other countries around the world, are faced with the same thing. So I say all that to say that what we’re trying to do now is play that angle with the voters and say this is what mirrors happens here, because that will be familiar to them. It’s no longer the story way over here. This is a story that’s happening, and it’s global,” added the publicist. 

Meanwhile, Magdael noted that since the Philippines was late to announce its official entry, it could possibly play a role in its campaign and chances to make it to the shortlist. 

“If they had decided earlier, it would have been great. Because then they’d have a longer runaway. They were one of the last [to name their entry]. The people could [have the chance] to watch it earlier,” he stated.

“Specifically to And It So Begins, they didn’t decide until September; that’s late. Actually this year in August, trying to lobby, we’re hoping. What happened was that when they made the announcement, it didn’t become; it could have been a news item. But because it was so late, they already listed 85-90 in, and here comes the Philippines,” he added.

Paulo stressed that “strategy wise,” it’s preferably to name or prepare an official entry one year before the announcement season, giving the country the leverage to properly campaign for it.

While it’s true that a big budget is needed to run an Oscars campaign, the speakers noted that one’s presence during the awards season and participation at other film festivals will dictate the direction of their Oscars campaign.

The 2nd MIFF will take place in Hollywood on Jan. 28 to February 2, which will screen the film entries from the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).