"Itong frontal nudity, Check! Itong sex scene na may actual penetration, Check na check! Gagawin ko ang lahat… wag nyo naman akong palusungin sa tae.”

The attention grabbing line of the hilarious Eugene Domingo in the Cinemalaya 2011 winner Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. One would wonder, will she do it and be shown on screen? :)



I was invited by my sorority sis Emyat to watch the movie. "The movie is hilarious sis!"she assured me. I went without any idea what it is all about except that it won awards.

From Cinemalaya's website, here's the synopsis of the movie:

"It chronicles a day in the life of three ambitious, passionate but misguided filmmakers as they set out to do a quick pre-prod at Starbucks, a courtesy call to their lead actress, Eugene Domingo, and an ocular inspection of their film’s major location, the Payatas dumpsite. Director Rainier (Kean Cipriano), Producer Bingbong (JM de Guzman) and Production Assistant Jocelyn (Cai Cortez) are well-to-do, well-educated film school graduates who are dead set on making an Oscar worthy film. They believe they have a winning script, the energy and the drive to make their dreams come true. Like most filmmakers they know, they have devised a screenplay that will show the real essence of our culture: poverty. In the course of one day, they brainstorm and exhaust all possible treatment of their project: the story of Mila (Eugene Domingo), a mother from the slums, who out of desperation to survive, has sold her child to a pedophile. As they discuss the possible executions of the story, the movie-within-a-movie gets reborn in Jocelyn’s imagination several times. As a gritty no frills neo-realist film, as a glossy musical, as an over-the-top melodrama and as a docu drama using non-actors. For their last task of the day, they visit the dumpsite for the first time. As filmmakers gunning for authenticity, they get excited with the ”beauty” of the squalor around them. Soon enough, they are faced with reality as they come face to face with the real effects of their chosen subject. Babae sa Septic Tank is a comedy about misguided ambitions, the art of making art and the romanticization of poverty."

Coming from the writer of humorous Here Comes the Bride and Kimmy Dora, this is humor on another level. A parody. Uge (Eugene Domingo) played a larger-than;life version of herself. She played a caricature of herself; a celebrity who wants to do " something for the soul", an actress who wants to make a movie that will not earn her lots of money. This is a parody of many celebrities who feel that they are worthy of being called as "actor" when they appear in an “indie” film regardless of how bad the material is.

The story revolves about three friends who goes through story-telling process of wanting to tell a story about poverty but knows nothing about the subject itself. Poverty is how they see it in "indie" films. Poverty that abounds "indie" films and being picked for international festivals because that's what the festival organizers wanted to see.

As Cris Martinez said in one of the interviews, the idea came up when he do rounds of "100" (another indie movie he directed) about a 100 things a middle class woman wants to do before she dies. The woman was played by beautiful Mylene Dizon, lives in a posh condo and owns SUV. The audience abroad was surprised to see "beautiful" things about the Philippines. They expect movie of poverty porn! It's the movies that filmmakers do because it's those kind of movies being picked up.

Harsh reality here is, you'll never make it here in the country not unless your film/s is screened abroad!


And Babae sa Septic Tank showed these ironies. Budding filmmakers dream of making it big by writing about poverty. Except they really know nothing about poverty, Poverty for them is like what they see in the news and "indie" films they wanted to emulate (or even surpass! Oscar material, they say!). These people who talked about poverty in the comforts of Starbucks, whose problems are about iPad charger and fellow directors who made it to Venice festival yet could not differentiate "expresso" from "espresso", new famous director colleagues making the rounds international festivals abroad yet doesn't know where Vesoul is. What these filmmakers want is just to be famous abroad. To f*ck with poverty and depression of the poor!


The movie started with seriousness that you'll ask, "did I come to the right movie?" but as the story unfolds, the moviegoers howled with laughter at the right parts and feel silent while pondering at the parts that made us wonder, "what is the state of the Philippine cinema? What is "indie"? " Indie films wanted to break away from commercialism of mainstream movies only to be trapped by new set of conventions.

Maybe we should no longer ask what differentiates "indie" from 'mainstream'? But rather filmmakers should ask, "what makes a good film"? We have to make compelling stories; good films that our audience can truly think AND enjoy! Babae sa Septic Tank is one of those films.



PS. I hope more Cinemalaya movies will be shown nationwide! Hail to the rebirth of Philippine cinema. Hail to more thought provoking films! :)

Proud to be part of the Harry Potter Generation

1090739 words. 3363 pages. 199 chapters. 7 books. 17 hours and 14 mins. 8 movies. One generation: The Harry Potter Generation until the end.

Rowena Angela Salanga (Roan) was the culprit (in a good sense!). We were in second year high school when she gave me a book. "Maych basahin mo. Maganda ang story. Wizard ang bida. It's addicting, " she told me. She knows how I devour books. Her aunt sent her a copy of that book that changed the landscape of my (and yours!) adolescence.

The first book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was already famous abroad and Warner Brothers got the rights of adapting it into the silverscreen. It was one of the most successful movie franchise that involved our generation.

Came December 2001, Harry, Hermione and Ron debuted in the movies and we felt like we were part of that magical world. Many got interested to read the book. Roan's book suffered the eagerness of students from two classes. It passed from one hand to another until it got lost.

We were bewitched. Every time the new book was released, I watched out who got it first and has to ask him/her to let me borrow it first. I offered Roan to cover the second book for her. We were poor and I could not afford to buy the books, so I have to be a good borrower. :))

When a friend got the Chamber of Secrets, I only got one day (and it's a school day!) to read it since the list of borrowers are loooooong. Instead of listening of Ma'am Ocate's lecture on how to name the organic chemicals, I accompanied the trio in their adventures to find the basilisk.

J.Rowling is a master story teller, weaving a new magical world for our generation. We feel like we are Muggles who wanted to have a taste of Hogwarts. Harry Potter is not only for children. I knew a professor who got hooked on it too. And I was not surprised that even one of my boss, is also a fan.

It's a book that crossed beyond borders, age and religion. Some said, HP encourages witchcraft and occultism. Nah! While the previous generations had Star Trek, Star wars, Lord of the Rings, well, our generation enjoyed Harry Potter.

So when Twilight by Stephanie Meyer was released, comparing it to HP is inevitable. And Stephen King (one of the best suspense writers) compared both authors. He wrote: "Both Rowling and Meyer, they're speaking directly to young people... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good." (emphasis mine)." And this picture also circulated.

(He got a point somehow! hehe)


I wrote about this on my other blog and my friends and I had an interesting discussion. Harry is Harry. And Edward the vampire is another matter. For as long as this generation will read! :))

Harry Potter spans years of waiting - from high school to college. I even saved my allowance (that entails no merienda and just writing notes, no photocopying just to save! hahaha!) just to buy my first ever HP book- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I awaited his adventures and transformation. I feel like they were our friends I grew up with. I cried when Dobby was killed. I cringe at the thought that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will rule again. I analyzed and speculated who'll probably be Harry's love interest in the end- Luna or Ginny? I giggled when Harry and Ginny finally kissed. (And I know you have felt these too!)




And last night, was the second part of the last movie. As early as Monday, we booked our tickets at Abreeza. And as expected, it was almost full. While lining up, we were surprised that the ones on the line were already grown-ups. No High school students in sight. And then we laughed. Of course. The loyalists remained, it was our generation, most are now working or even have their own families.



The thought that we would be saying adieu to this wonderful trio made us all sad. Tears started to fall when professors were muttering spells to protect Hogwarts. It was the start of the Ultimate battle between good and Evil. As the credits roll, I cried as if I'm losing a friend. OA na kung OA.



To JK Rowling, Thank you for making us experience the magic. For the actors, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe, thank you for growing up with us. As you leave Harry, Hermione and Ron behind, it is not the end. The magic continues. :))


And to my perennial date, Ate Lizzy thank you for being a good company. Thank you for the donuts that cheered me up.

Before going home this Christmas, my suitor (tehee!! ('0') and I agreed to meet before I went home for the Christmas break. Avatar is the movie that came to my mind. As I was already trying to nap for not to miss the good scenes of the movie on last full show when I remembered I promised a friend to attend her spaghetti party.Oh no! I almost forgot! So I was hesitant to pursue watching Avatar since dinner and videoke after was the plan.

It’s already the start of the holidays, parties here and there, friends did not arrive to the spag party. And since I’ll be going home the next day and surely my suitor will miss me (haha!), so I excused myself for the videoke session. Three friends already watched the movie during the day and they were raving bout it. Worth your time and money, they said. Hmmm…I really need to see it for myself then.

9:45PM. There was already a line in Cinema 3 in NCCC for AVATAR. Young and Young once. It’s a good sign. We got a good seat at the center and after sitting, two kids sat beside us. When the story started to unfold, I was in awe. I can relate to the struggle of the Na’vi, fighting for Pandora and the rich resources they have that the Earth people desperately needs. This is what I have been writing about ancestral domain struggle of indigenous peoples and I am watching it on the big screen!

The time is set on 2154 wherein Earthlings has already used up the resources and is now on the look-out for another sources. Pandora, a moon roughly the same size as Earth contains minerals worth $20 Million per kilo! That’s a lot of money so a corporation is set to conquer it at all costs!

At first they have tried “peaceful” means to ‘subjugate’ the Na’vi’s by ‘educating’ them, teaching them English (reminds me of American's benevolent assimilation..hhmm..). But they could not let them say yes for their project to extract the precious minerals. To do it, they found another brilliant military strategy. By the aid of science, they were able to clone and create mind-controlled avatars that resembles the Na’vi’s in every way.

Here comes Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington), a paralyzed ex-Marine who tried to fill his brothers’ shoes and wanted to make his own mark; took his brother’s avatar and was encouraged by Col. Miles Quaritch to study the ways of the “savages” and help them to gather information to make a direct and ‘easy’ strategy of extracting the minerals.


Sam Worthington as Jake Sully


In the end, after taking all the necessary lessons to learn the Navi’s ways, Jake learned they are not ‘savages” at all. He fell in love with Neytiri (the daughter of the Navi’s head chief) and was in dilemma to pursue his promise to Col. Quatrich (and Quatrich's promise of new legs for him) and for the Earth people or to fight for The People of Pandora. He was already accepted to the tribe and he's in quandary. Is destroying Pandora will be worth for the new legs? Can he betray The People? The information he gave was used. He betrayed the Na' vis. He regretted it and to repay their good deeds, he led the Navi armies during Col. Quatrich's attack. He even hunt the great dragon and led other Na 'vi hunters for the war.

Good thing, Jake is being supported by other good-natured scientists and pilot (played by Michelle Rodriguez, a Fil-Am actress).


Jake and Neytiri


The minerals is located at the heart of Pandora, under the oldest and ‘Tree of Souls’ that is the source of life of all life forms in the forest. Dr. Grace Agustine, the head researcher and writer of a book about the Na’vis understood the interrelationships of lifeforms in Pandora and tried to stop Parker Selfriedge (Giovanni Ribisi), the corporate guy from destroying the forest. But greed and profit is strong. Military were deployed and attacked the area. But the Na’ vi’s never stop fighting. The Na Vi’s organized the other tribes and fought hard. So many lives were lost. But through The People, The Na’Vi’s strong resistance and unity of tribes and even animals to be affected by the destruction, they won.

Despite the three-hour rolling, there are no boring scenes. The filming of the movie itself was delayed since James Cameron, the director waited for the technology to be perfected. He wanted to use a photo-realistic computer-generated characters by using motion-capture animation technology. The film also used the newly developed stereoscopic camera. And the output is really excellent. The illuminating tree where Eywa (the Na’Vi goddess) and the ancestors reside is spellbinding. It showed a more enhanced cinematography.

"It's this form of pure creation where if you want to move a tree or a mountain or the sky or change the time of day, you have complete control over the elements."
—James Cameron on virtual filmmaking

The movie has an overt message against extractive industries that caused global climate change. Jame Cameron is an environmentalist and he said in an interview that “industrialist society’ has destroyed societies faster than we are able to identify species. He also referred to the war that United States had waged to Iraq, Vietnam and its colonial period to emphasize the fact that humans have a "terrible history" of "entitlement" in which we "take what we need" from nature and indigenous peoples "and don't give back." (Yahoo Movies interview)


The movie is also a reflection of the struggle of the indigenous peoples and rural communities in the hinterlands of Mindanao. Mining and other ‘development projects” is lnked with militarization and human rights violations; pitting lumads against lumads. The movie also showed the military and corporations cooperation to pursue the destruction. In our case here in Mindanao, this current administration is guilty of using the military in “protecting the interests of the investors”- Oplan Bantay Laya, Investment Defense Force, EastMinCom-AFP, 10th Infantry Division-AFP, and Task Force Gantangan.

I’m thankful for James Cameron- for the visual treat and for mainstreaming social issues like global climate change, human rights violations and indigenous peoples issues on land and mineral resources ownership.

AVATAR is an activist’s dream movie. I strongly recommend it for kids and the kids at heart.