Positive effects of Cinemalaya 12 highlighted

 

 

 

We were stunned,” said film producer E.A. Rocha of the short film “1-2-3” that its director Carlo Obispo released in 2004. “I said we should expand it because its story is lamentable and has to be told.”
Twelve years later, the full-length version of “1-2-3,” about human trafficking, became the opening film of the 12th edition of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.
On Friday night, Rocha and coproducer Fernando Ortigas went up the stage of the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) with Obispo to encourage the audience to watch the film “that reflects the true state of our nation.” “We need to develop an audience (for indie films),” said Rocha.
Also present at the event were cast members Therese Malvar, Barbara Miguel, Bong Cabrera and Carlos Dala. Malvar told the Inquirer: “We had to do immersions and to really internalize. Doing the film was difficult because it was based on the experiences of real people.”
In her speech, Cinemalaya Foundation president Laurice Guillen pointed out the positive effect of the 12-year-old indie festival to the industry. She said: “Now, new players have joined the industry. Indie films are now screening in commercial theaters. Those who started out in this venue are now active in the industry as directors, cinematographers, producers… With the emerging alternative distribution system, films are now watched on demand.”
The event, which opened at 6 p.m., began with a screening of an advertisement that features Edu Manzano and Jun Sabayton. The video, which pokes fun at Filipino action-fantasy films and their recurring plots, is produced by Leo Burnett Manila and directed by Joel Linchuk.