SineBuano.com

In mainstream  Filipino  cinema, (as well as mainstream Filipino television), things have not changed much in the last couple of decades.

One might even propose that nothing has changed much in the last forty years.

Filipino film crews, led by producers, writers and directors, still depend on proven-for-profit film formulas, the recycling or rehashing of story ideas in making their films.

The same trend can be seen in independent filmmaking where Filipino independent filmmakers seem stuck to challenging conservative social mores, depicting sex and sexual orientation as fodder for their films.

Articles in the Film Academy of the Philippines website share the same observations. I’ll try to highlight a few of these Filipino film stale staples and offer some independently creative solutions.

Please, not another Pinoy Gay/Sex/Social Angst Independent Film

The reason for this trend is apparent. It is only through independent filmmaking can such stories be presented since these are “frowned” upon by the powers that be in mainstream Filipino cinema.

Almost becoming a “cliche”, this trend however makes it easier to spot  those few film gems like Jerrold Tarug’s “Confessional”, Dante Mendoza’s “Foster Child”, Dante Garcia’s “Ploning” from the rest.

SineBuano suggests that independent filmmakers should strive not toe the line made by others, to break away and challenge even themselves to be more versatile in selecting their stories.

Watch what they say

A constant irritation for the keen Filipino Film/TV observer is how “stale” many films and TV shows get with dialog. Often the dialog in scenes are so long that it’s torture to watch. Sometimes the dialog is inappropriate for a particular character or setting, other times the dialogs are just plain redundant.

SineBuano suggests that sometimes what your characters say is not more important as to what they do. It is better to show than tell.

Actors are meant to ACT their roles out. If they’re just meant to talk in order to relay their roles, then their job titles should be just SPEAKERS in the production credits.

The Roads Less Taken

Typical Filipino film genres are Romance, Horror, Drama while Comedy is becoming sparse recently, Action is now out of the picture (being boxed in by television) and Documentary is rising to be a contender.

Strangely there are other film genres that haven’t been tapped into much by Filipino cinema, mainstream and independent.

The Musical, for a country whose people are fond of song, music and dance–seldom we see a musical/dance film. Filipino filmmakers strive so much to emulate the Hollywood models of filmmaking, SineBuano suggests to turn attention to a film style closer to home: Bollywood.

Crime/Mystery, it is a challenge to write/direct a mystery film, especially one that engages the audience intellectually and emotionally but it is not as expensive compared to a fantasy action-adventure and when done right, can be as profitable as any good horror movie.