2016 MMFF line-up is ‘final and unanimous’
Following the announcement of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) official line-up of films last week, differing opinions were and continue to be raised. But as far as the selection committee is concerned, the decision on which films made it to the Magic 8 is “final and unanimous.”
It was announced that the eight finalists are Ted Boborol’s Vince and Kath and James, Jun Robles Lana’s Die Beautiful, Erik Matti’s Seklusyon, Arturo San Agustin and Real Florido’s Kabisera, Baby Ruth Villarama’s Sunday Beauty Queens,
Marlon Rivera’s Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2: #ForeverIsNotEnough, Alvin Yapan’s Oro and Avid Liongoren’s Saving Sally.
The MMFF executive committee headed by Metro Manila Development Authority GM Tim Orbos called the reforms in this year’s selection process as a “new beginning” and a “change for the better.”
“The direction I think our selection committee members are looking at is to make a mark in the global arena or cinema. We give them our support and we respect their independence in their selection,” said Orbos.
For his part, academic and film critic Nic Tiongson, who chaired the selection committee, described them as “real and meaningful changes” in the festival “to disprove the myth that quality indie films will not earn money and vice versa, commercial films cannot possibly have quality.” Among the eight movies, only one came from by a big film production studio, Star Cinema’s Vince and Kath and James.
During a presscon, selection committee members stressed that the films were chosen for their quality over commercial viability or their stars, who in the past had proven to be a major if not main attraction of the films when they rolled into cinemas on Christmas Day.
In finalizing this year’s line-up, Tiongson said that they simply followed the guidelines set by the executive committee, beginning with the criteria (40 percent for content; 40 percent for technical aspect; 10 percent for global appeal; and 10 percent for Filipino sensibility.)
During the Nov. 2 deadline, 27 films were submit- ted. According to Tiongson, “In eight regular screenings which at least five or more committee members attended and later in additional screenings of certain films that some members requested for them to make a better, informed decision, the committee members gave secret ratings for each of these films that they saw, with 65 percent as the lowest and 100 percent as the highest.” He said that it was agreed on that only films that received 75 percent and above will be considered in the first deliberation.
In the deliberation, the committee went for “No. 1, only those films that exhibit quality, as reflected in the graded evaluations. No. 2, the selection (committee) should consider representations of different genres — comedy, drama, horror, fantasy as well as documentary and animation.”
The committee was happy to note that the films that got the highest marks were “unanimous” and “acceptable to all.”
“When we averaged our individual scores, lumabas kaagad yung eight. In other words, there was a consensus immediately on the eight. On that point of view, the (selection) process was so easy. No objection. I think we were all looking at the same direction. We were all concerned primarily with the quality of the films. One cannot say that there was anybody who influenced any other judge because were were not talking to each other.”
“The results are final,” said Tiongson, echoing the statement of Orbos that the executive committee is backing its choices.
The MMFF is hoped to perform well in the box-office because its earnings will go to beneficiaries such as the Movie Workers Welfare Fund (Mowelfund), the Motion Picture Anti-Piracy Council, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP). The annual filmfest reportedly earned P1B last year.
“We sincerely hope with the help of an aggressive and systematic publicity scheme, and most of all with the generous and enthusiastic support of the movie-going public, the films of the 2016 MMFF will mark a turning point in the history of the festival and start a ‘renaissance’ of quality films in the Metro Manila Film Festival... We’re confident that anybody who will watch these films will find them worthwhile,” Tiongson said.
Other screening committee members were Mae Paner, Allan Allanigue, Ping Medina, Lawrence Fajardo, Krip Yuson, Joy Belmonte and Crispina Belen.
Here’s how the selection committee described the “multi-genre” Magic 8 in a primer furnished to the media:
Babae sa Septic Tank 2 is a “pointed but hilarious commentary on the pretentions and machinations” on the mainstream movie business.
Sunday Beauty Queens, on the other hand, is a “wellresearched... and engaging documentary on overseas Filipino workers,” specifically Pinay domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Vince and Kath and James is a rom-com that “reinvents the teen movie with its fresh approach and fluid narrative.”
Kabisera is a socio-political drama that tells the story of a “tightly-knit family coming to grips with abusive elements of Philippine society, specifically the hooded perpetrators of extra-judicial killings.”
Saving Sally is an “atypical youthful love story replete with childlike fantasy elements as applied through 2D animation.”
Oro is a socio-political film about a faraway mining community whose way of life is disrupted by an armed group misrepresenting government.
Die Beautiful is a “heartwarming gay film” that fuses comedy and drama “to chronicle the glamour, gloom and glory of one transgender’s short, short life.”
Seklusyon provides the horror in the line-up, exploring “the difference and conflict between religion and spirituality.”
The 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival will run from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2017.