RELIGIOUS movies and independent films made by Thomasian filmmakers were showcased in the fifth CineVita Film Festival last March 15 to 17 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium.
CineVita is the film program of the Varsitarian. It espouses film as a tool for meaningful expressions of life.
The festival was opened by Ikaw Ang Pag-ibig (2010), which was directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya and produced by the Archdiocese of Nueva Caseres and Star Cinema, ABS-CBN’s film outfit. The movie tells the story of how the family of a video editor, Vangie Cruz (Ina Feleo), struggles when her brother, Fr. Johnny (Marvin Agustin) is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The family then seeks the help of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
A documentary titled Edades: Victorio Edades and the Philippine Modernism in the Arts (2004) by Nick Deocampo was also featured on the first day. It is about Victorio Edades, National Artist for Visual Arts and the founder of the school of fine arts of UST.
Thomasian filmmakers
Two Funerals (2010), directed by Gil Portes, a Philosophy graduate of the old Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (now Arts and Letters), tells the story of a grieving mother’s road trip from Tugegarao, Cagayan to Matnog, Sorsogon to recover the remains of her daughter who had died in a bus accident. In an absurd twist of fate, the body of the daughter is substituted with that of a hired killer.
“(The film) is a journey to the heart of the country,” Portes said during the open forum after the film showing. “(In the film), you (will) see the country as it is.”
The film, which according to Portes is “a labor of love,” won Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, Audience Choice Award and Best Director in the 2010 Cinemalaya Festival.
On the other hand, Communication Arts alumnus and former Varsitarian literary editor Milo Tolentino presented his award-winning short films Andong (2008), Orasyon (2006), Blogog (2009) and P (2010), the best picture for short film category in Cinemalaya 2010
Orasyon tells the story of a widow’s lonely life as her only son leaves home. The film presents a test of faith between the religious grandmother and her domineering helper.
Meanwhile, Andong, Blogog, and P are funny scenarios about children, whose little problems ease the struggles of their oppressive surroundings.
Milo said their production usually gets actors whose real life attitudes are close to the movie characters. He added he tweaks the script to suit the child actors.
“I make the films about poverty, but you’ll never feel depressed,” Milo said. “I want to show that even (though the) Philippines is a poor country, people are attached to their family, and they know how to handle their situation with optimism.”
Also shown were the winners of UST Quadricentennial Short Film Festival—Anne, Behind the Scene and Takbo—directed by Marti Salva, Margo Flores and Varsitarian artist and photographer Karla Toledo, respectively.
Sacred light
The religious film, Dominic: Light of the Church (2010), directed by Fr. Marcelino Saria, O.P., concluded this year’s film festival. Dominic is an independent film produced by the Dominican Province of the Philippines as its contribution to the coming 800th year celebration of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order) in 2016.
“This is the first film ever produced on the life of St. Dominic de Guzman and the Dominican Province ventured on this project because we are preparing for the coming 800th year of the Dominican Order come 2015,” said Fr. Jeffrey Aytona, O.P., producer of Dominic.
Aytona also said that they wanted to make a “teacher’s film,” and this is their gift to the Dominican Order.
“This is also the first Filipino film granted by the French Film Commission. This (movie) was shot in France and Portugal and we [spent] two months shooting the film,” Aytona said.
Thirteen Filipinos were part of the film production abroad. Some 50 foreigners were tapped to help in filming the movie.
Meanwhile, Saria said some of the foreigners who helped them in the movie were agnostics and atheists.
“They said they are agnostics (and) they are atheists. But the thing is, they are attracted to the film for what reasons I don’t know. It must have been (St.) Dominic,” Saria said.
He also said that there was a time where a rain was predicted during one of their shooting days. Because of the limited time they had in filming abroad, the foreigners saw that the Filipinos offered eggs and danced for the rain to stop.
“They said (to us that they) don’t believe in God but they could see that Filipinos are trying to make things possible,” he added.
Also screened was the film Miracle at Fatima: The 13th Day: A Story of Hope (2009 a film about the apparitions of Fatima, Portugal.
Daryl Octavo, member of the Assisi Development Foundation that produced the film, told the viewers during the open forum that the movie was very timely and could be related to the recent disaster that happened to Japan.
“The message of Our Lady of Fatima is very relevant to the situation right now (which is) to pray for the sake of the whole world,” Octavo said.
The movie is based on the journals of Sister Lucia Santos, one of the three Fatime seers.
Also shown was Demographic Winter (2008), which shows the detrimental effects of family decline and decreasing birth rates around the world.
