Is Cine Still Malaya?

CINEMALAYA noun


1 : Cine (film; short for 'cinema') + malaya (free)
2 : An annual Independent Film Festival in the Philippines




INDEPENDENT FILM noun


1 : a professional film production that is produced mostly or completely out of the major film studio system (as defined by Wikipedia).
2 : alternative film;


     Synonyms: realistic, socially relevant, deep







Dont get me wrong. I only knew about Cinemalaya on its 6th year - when I was required to attend its opening for my Film Appreciation class. I never really had an idea on what it was when it first started or how it's changed over the years. But being taught the definition of 'indie', I had to doubt the buffet of films presented in this year's festival. Why? Because all the films, which claimed themselves to be independent, is very much studded of mainstream actors. And it doesn't end there. The entries are already being advertised in mainstream television. Which certainly defies the definition and the actual practices of independent films. Simply because they're supposed to be independent (that's why they're called 'independent films', duh!). Which leads me to question Cinemalaya's importance. I don't get the point, really. I was told that an alternative movie should be free from all the mainstream aspects. It shouldn't care about the money, or the number of its particular audiences. But why do you think would they get 'famous' actors to participate in their film? Why do you think would they advertise on national television? Is it because the tables are already turned? Is it now all about the money? Or is it because the independent industry is slowly dying and giving in to mainstream?

Looking at it from another perspective, I would say that the presence of 'indie' is dead. Indie films are supposed to make you feel reality. Make you experience reality through film. The use of mainstream actors would somehow mess with the idea and sole purpose of an independent film. Simply because they are already icons of mediated realities. Meaning, the mainstream industry has already defined them as something that the masses could/would relate to as seen on mainstream television.

Not until I saw two of the 25 films in this year's Cinemalaya. I watched Bwakaw and went out of the Tanghalang Huseng Batute theatre feeling refreshed. Like I just went through a 2-hour laughter session. One thing I noticed was despite the use of Eddie Garcia for an indie film, the story isn't as run-of-the-mill as mainstream cinema does. Same goes with Sta. Nina. Despite the star studded cast, the story isn't something you would find in regular movies. Yep. I used the term 'regular' for the mainstream films because the films presented in the Cinemalaya festival isn't just any regular movie. There's something different and special about it. I mean to say... There is STILL something special about it.

Honestly, before I saw Bwakaw and Sta. Nina, I agreed with what Director Joey Reyes said. That maybe we should all just take out the labels on all Filipino films. Take out the names Indie and Mainstream and just call them as it is - Filipino Film. But after watching 2 of the entries, I would have to say no. There might be some aspects where indie might be confused as no different than mainstream but maybe, that's the independent film industry's own way of evolving. Maybe that's its own way of surviving. I have to disagree with the taking-out-the-labels thing because there is still something in Indie films that differentiates it from mainstream films. Indie is still indie. Mainstream is still mainstream. There should always be a gap between the two.