Cinemalaya 2011

magastos na bisyo, pero okay lang.

Cinemalaya has been around a long time but it’s just this year when I had the time and company to go to CCP. After I read the schedules and synopses and also watched the available teasers of the participating films in the website, I initially have only two movies in mind that I have to see, Ligo na U, Lapit na Me(for the 100% possibility of sex content) and maybe Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Paa(because the screening is right after Ligo na U and for the gay content, the real indie).

We wanted to see the movies the very first Saturday, July 16 and the available screening was in Greenbelt 3. Early that day, we were already in Roxas Blvd, seeing a Japanese exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum. We only need to cross the boulevard to see a cinemalaya entry but we did get a cab to go to Greenbelt. Too bad there are no tickets available. We just have to try again the next day.

The next day Sunday, we barely made it to the screening of Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Paa. We had to queue in line for tickets together with college students and a rich-looking old couple. The couple did watch the same film but they were there to see the Eugene Domingo movie.

For the first movie I watched, I think it works as a closet gay movie. Jean Garcia’s acting sucked. Chast said she seem stiff and serious most of the time for an unknown reason. I enjoyed the poetry though. It reminds of the poems in a lesbian movie, Rome and Juliet. I think it is very artistic how gay and lesbian make those poems especially when there is something vague, hidden between the lines. Think Sappho.

After the movie, we ate lunch at the nearby Mang Inasal then wait for the screening of Teoriya. We had issues with our tickets because the ticket lady sold us the ticket for the day before, on the wrong theatre but good thing the ushers sort the thing out easily and let us in anyway.

We loved Teoriya. One of my personal measures of how good a movie is how much questions the movie left lingering in my mind after I see it. This movie has a lot. I guess also because of the writing why it had a lot of questions. The title itself "Teoriya" is a giveaway that I have to assume a lot. The main actor Alfred Vargas is not appealing. His Chavacano is minimal and not convincing to be a Zamboangeño.

After the film, Chast and I meet up with my high school classmates. This was when we saw Paolo Bediones and a really hot chick. Honestly, I did not see the TV personality but the babe by his side. Kudos to you, Paolo Bediones.

While waiting for I don’t know what(tambay mode sa CCP), there’s this director (Benito Bautista) and a producer(Emma Francisco) from San Francisco promoting their movie Boundary. We thought it would be exciting because he mentioned the magic words "psychological thriller". Well yeah, we bought tickets for this movie and return for the gala premiere Tuesday. We also bought tickets for next Saturday's schedule, Ligo na U, Lapit na Me and Rakenrol. 

the funny "paparazzi" shot of us after cinemalaya

Tuesday came and we were just on time for the screening. Emma was there on the entrance and she did remember us.haha.. We went inside and saw Eric and Chriselle already there.

Boundary was a great film. Chast is annoyed because Eric and I are a little chatty because the setting of the movie way very familiar. It is a cab ride from Makati to Antipolo on the way of Ayala Ave. – EDSA – Araneta Cubao – Aurora Blvd. It would be very easy to critique the film's setting. The vivid colors are awesome, very high tech. Ronnie Lazaro is on it so acting would be awesome, Cinemalaya worthy. We genuinely loved it and not because we knew the filmmakers behind it. The psychological part of the movie stays in my head for days. Brilliant.  I can’t even try to describe the film without spoiling it. There are questions about some aspects of the film but I guess, it would be left to me to answer it as I would be the one to interpret it at the end. We greeted the filmmakers again after the film. It feels good to personally know good filmmakers on this film festival.

after movie photo op with Emma

On Saturday, we return at CCP for another day of indie film watching. Ligo na U, Lapit na Me is first. This movie got the main ingredient on how to rack all this film goers (who are mostly college students) to see this film: Sex. Hell yes. Sex comedy. The movie is really funny yet very predictable. Some lines are really catchy, it makes me feels like I’m watching a normal Star Cinema movie but more daring that I hear the word "kantutan" on one of the dialogues. I didn’t have any hangover about the movie or the story. The only question that may be left hanging in the mind of a person who see the movie is the line "Bakit ako?" which of course is easily answered by any a guy who in their young adult life was also a loner.

Chast with Cinemalaya Best Actor Edgar

Our next movie to see is Rakenrol at 9PM. There is about seven hours of waiting time. For that we planned to have a picnic outside but the rainy weather is saying otherwise. We just eat our packed lunch of beef steak and some blueberry chocolate pancake at the side of the CCP. At least we didn’t have to spend money for lunch and don’t have to walk in the rain.

Chast's yummy blueberry pancake

When 8PM arrived, we already queue in line outside the main theatre. We at least want good seats for this one movie. We come across Benito and Emma again so we chat with them a little and discussed how sick their movie was. They told us to add them up in Facebook. Hahaha. Their movie will emerge as Best Picture. Congrats to them. We also run into Rina, another of our high school classmates who's an indie junkie. We let her and her attorney friend stand within our line so they can also sit next to us. It would be my first premiere night which sucked by the way because there’s too much reserved seats. Yes there’s a lot of celebrities but we don’t care about them really. We want seats with a good focal point on to the screen. That is why we queue on line that early.

Rakenrol. Allegedly finished within four years. A  feel good movie and eye candy. It showcases Quark Henares’s influence in showbiz and the music industry with all the cameo appearances of these musicians and celebrities in the film. People will clap at the sight of these people in the film.

It is a story of a fictional band called Hapipaks which is like fucked by luck (kinantot ng swerte, term na narinig ko nung high school) with all the good fortune they had on their journey to stardom. So lucky that every step of the way, a cameo appearance is inevitable. The movie made me feel good after watching it. Others said it was a time machine. It was four years in the making. OPM is alive back then, but not so much right now, so some events from the movie makes me feel nostalgic of the good times. Also, Glaiza de Castro is in this movie. One good reason to watch it. We saw her there and she looks skinny in person.hehe. 

There's a free gig after the movie but we did not see Hapipaks perform. There's too many performers and we are exhausted by 2AM. By that time also, news broke in that Amy Winehouse is dead. Not related but I just want to put it there.

The movies I don’t even think watch but they say were amazing were Babae sa Septic Tank and Amok. From the preview alone I knew that Amok would be a pinoy take on movie similar to Short Cuts, Crash or He’s Just Not That into You. Since there’s a lot a movie following the success of that format I guess I am not going to see another. I did not plan on seeing Babae sa Septic Tank neither because I guess I don’t like Eugene Domingo and the guy from Calla Lily.