The Making or Unmaking of Cebus Local Film Industry Cebu Cinema: Then and Now That the Cebu film industry is just not what it used to be is an observation made time and again by the regions film makers. Back in the day as they say, the queen city of the South had a healthy film scene. As early as 1906, movies were shown in public places where large crowds gathered. A cockpit owned by Pedro Royo evolved into a movie house called Cine Royo. Teatro Junquera, Cebus oldest theater having been established in 1895, was renamed Cine Oriente. And in 1927, another movie house called Cine Magallanes was opened.These early movie houses showed home grown films like Piux Kabahars Bertoldo ug Baludoy, which is considered as Cebus first talking film. Many titles soon followed and the years just before the Second World War became known as the first golden era of Cebuano Cinema. It produced movies like Gugmang Talagsaon, Mini, Tanso sa Ginto and Bulak sa Lunangan. Cebu Cinema in 1947 Cebuano Cinema was understandably idle during the war but in 1947, film making resumed with Manuel Velez Sa Kabukiran. Subsequently, the years between 1950 and 1957 became known as the 2nd golden era of Cebuano Cinema. More than 50 movies were produced in seven years by around 30 Cebuano film productions. In 1969, a Cebuano film called Badlis sa Kinabuhi won the Best Black and White Film Award in the 16th Asian Film Festival in Jakarta and was entered in the Berlin Film Festival. Salingsing sa Kasakit was also nominated in the annual FAMAS Awards in Manila for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director and even won the Best Child Actor Award. Golden Years Soon thereafter, Cebuano movie actresses Gloria Sevilla and Suzette Ranillo won the FAMAS Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Awards respectively, for the 1974 film Gimingaw Ako. In the same year, the Visayan Movie Producers association led by then Governor Osmundo Rama held the first Visayan Film Festival. The local industry was churning movies until 1979 and produced films like Bulawan sa Lapok, Ay Takya, ay Takya, Ulan Udtong Tutok and many others. The Decline In 1980, the local movie scene petered out. Due to financial difficulties, film makers shifted to television. To make matters worse, Cebuano actors were lured to Manila where the film industry gave hefty salaries and national exposure. This diaspora included other film industry players like Chanda Romero, looking for better opportunities. Without a source of funding, effective marketing and distribution strategy; making films in Cebu became a non-sustainable industry. Local historians would mark this year as the death of the Cebuano film industry. Cebuano Films Revived? However, there were people who tried to keep the fire in Cebuano cinema burning. In 1990, a film entitled Matud Nila was produced. Some video films were also produced at this time with titles like Ang Dili Kaniadto, Mahimo na Karon, Mama Maliya and Kalis. Fourteen years later in 2004, the award winning film Panaghoy sa Suba was shown in Philippine movie houses. Although the movie was shot in Bohol, it was recognized by some as a Cebuano film. At about this time, the International Academy of Films and Television opened in Cebu. The establishment produced a young and dynamic breed of movie makers. It is disappointing to the new breed of film makers that the school does not allow its students to make non English thesis films. Somehow, their English only policy restricts the creativity of local film makers whose mother tongue is not English. The cultural intersections and the abundant hybrid forms produced of Cebus uneven development coupled with dramatic and rapid changes of recent decades would have provided a Cebuano film maker with a rich mine of material. Cebuano Film Scene Today However, once outside the school, some of these new film makers went on to explore their cinematic creativity. A number of short films were produced by the Sinegang Collective, Sine Buano, Oddfield Productions, Dragon Productions and Panumduman Productions. Local universities also started to offer film making subjects. Cebu Normal University, University of the Philippines, University of San Carlos and University of San Jose Recoletos now organize their own film festivals. An inter-school film festival has also become part of the local film scene. The films produced here belong to the animation, documentary and short film genre. USC has just started their Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts major in films in 2011. The Sinulog Foundation Inc., with its documentary and short film contest, has also encouraged Cebuano film makers to some extent. Award Winning Cebuano Films The relatively high cost of film making is still one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the revival of Cebuano cinema. However, in 2007, with funding from Cinema One digital, the Cebuano full length movie Confessional was made. The film won 7 awards in the Cinema One Digital film festival and 5 awards in the PMPC Awards in Manila. It also garnered the Best Feature Film award in the 2008 Cinefan Film Festival in New Delhi, India. Queen Raquela, a film partly made in Cebu by an Icelandic production with a largely Cebuano cast and crew clinched the Teddy Award in Berlin and the Lino Brocka Award in the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2008. Today, as the effects of digital technology become increasingly pervasive within contemporary culture, Cebuano cinema is breathing again. A group of young and innovative film makers have emerged. We hope that these artists can be provided with a conducive environment and access to resources. Only then can the cinematic sense of Cebuano film makers be brought to their place in the national and international realm of great films. In 2010, the film Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria (The Dream of Eleuteria, won a grant from Cinema One Originals. Based on a story writeen by Maria Victoria Beltran, the film was directed by Remton Siega Zuasola. It won the Jury Prize at the CinemaOne Originals Film Festival and at the Junjeu Film Festival in Korea. It also won Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Music at the Gawad Urian Awards. This year, two Cebuano films are under production with grants from the Cinema One Originals. Dili Ingon Nato (Not Like Us), directed by Ivan Zaldarriaga and Brandon Relucio and My Paranormal Romance, directed by Victor Villanueva. Like we say in the film circle: Coming Soon: The Making or Unmaking of the Cebu Film Industry. Source: squidoo/the-making-of-a-local-film-industry
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 09:00:01 +0000
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