Even with a far lower marketing budget this year, there was little doubt that Cinemalaya 2013’s first weekend was quite successful.
Upon arriving at the CCP, your correspondent was astonished to see that most screenings (other than the gala screenings, whose tickets are traditionally given to the respective films’ producers) were sold out that afternoon. Notable exceptions were the non-competition films showing that day, including three documentaries showing that evening.
The first film that I got to see was Sana Dati, Jerrold Tarog’s conclusion to his Camera Trilogy (the common thread, of course, being that the films all involved a camera). The film, which stars Lovi Poe, TJ Trinidad, Paulo Avelino and Benjamin Alves, is about a series of unfortunate events that almost derail a wedding.
The film was technically well-done, and I was particularly proud of the attention to detail the production design team took for this one. The acting had the appropriate measure of subtlety without the high melodrama that could have ruined such a story. And the story, though I had a reasonable—and correct—guess ten minutes in about the establishing conflict, was told in such a way that the viewer could easily (and gladly) be taken along for the ride.
I must note that this is the second Cinemalaya film in three years that Lovi Poe and an Up Dharma Down song appeared in the same context. The first was Dan Villegas’s 2011 film Mayohan, which now, more than ever, deserves another screening.
I decided to skip the next set of screenings and wander around the CCP. There was the Jason Dy exhibit that Coconuts Manila previously covered, and the parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish in Cebu might be pleased to note that all the bottles were full of notes from people seeking prayers.
There was also an exhibit honouring National Artist for Theatre Salvador Bernal’s stage design work, which I made a mental note to visit the next time. Visitors to Cinemalaya can visit these two shows and find a brief space for reflection in between watching films.
If visitors felt hungry, though, there were concession stands on the deck surrounding the Main Theatre. Popular food brands stood side to side with smaller food sellers, but almost right on the driveway was what might very well be Cinemalaya’s first ever food truck, a Volkswagen Kombi van selling Mexican food.
Meanwhile, groups of friends and classmates were seated in clusters in and around the Main Theatre lobby, while visitors were viewing the latest digital cameras a sponsor brought over.
The next in-competition film I got to see was the New Breed entry Purok 7, a coming-of-age story set in rural Tarlac. I decided not to review it here, as I hope to view it again in the relatively quiet environment of a non-gala screening. But it is safe to say that unlike last year, watching a film in the Main Theatre won’t be as terrible an experience as it was years back.
If this past weekend is anything to go by, it looks like this year’s festival might be more successful than last year, and word of this festival’s demise may very well be premature.
