My Trip to MOWELFUND

In the middle of research and mourning over David Cook's defeat over Archuleta in the finale performance on American Idol, I found pictures during my visit to Mowelfund. Sounds familiar? Let me take you inside the Movie Welfare Workers Foundation a.k.a. MOWELFUND :)

Mowelfund is the leading film and resource center manned by competent, creative and compassionate staff, workers and officers working under a visionary and value-based leadershipthat ontributes to the overall improvement of the Philippine Film Industry and the Empowerment of the communities it serves.

The foundation aims to develop and uplift the state of Philippine culture through educational and developmental initiatives, responsive welfare programs, local and international linkages and partnerships, and resource generation.

(Source: Mowelfund Vision-Mission)

As I enter beyond the gates, I saw this lovely wall of stars in a film strip indicating the famous stars in the industry through the years.

That's not all... The main reason why I came here is to interview one of my resource persons that has to be involved in foundations for the movie industry. 

Meet.. Mr. Emilio Dollete, Assistant to the Executive Director (Boots Anson Roa) of MOWELFUND :)

Sorry for the poor resolution. 

Anyway this is the transcript of our interview: (I'll only be including the important questions so as not to bore you :p)

JG (Justine Galvez): It was in the early years of the 50's , 60's and 70's when Filipino movies were much at its peak. There were a lot of cinematic breakthroughs and much talent were being honed. What do you think hindered the growth of the Philippine movie industry after those decades?

ED (Emilio Dollete): Politics, Inordinate Taxation, Greed, Commercialism, Culture and Tradition, Religion, Perception of Film as a form of amusement, Film Piracy or Violation of Intellectual Property.

JG: Can you say that veteran actors and actresses do not get the same treatment as they should in other countries? If you agree, how come?

ED: In other countries, veteran actors and actresses are treated with utmost respect as an accomplished artist and not as an actor/actress. This is because of our country's orientation and the way filmmaking industry is perceived. Filipinos are geared towards financial security and not financial freedom. We want to work in high-paying jobs to be able to do what we want. However, we fail to realize that this high-paying job is like a chain that links to us to our material needs.

In filmmaking, you are free and if you do an excellent job, you earn a lot too.

JG: Movie preservation is a serious concern in the industry. What specific movies do you think should both government and private sector undertake to increase movie preservation and restoration? And how will this contribute to the movie industry as a whole?

ED: The government should increase its budget for education and the promotion of culture and the arts. A law must be passed to include in the General Appropriations Act allocation for the preservation and restoration of our old films. Just like what Thailand is doing.

JG: Piracy is another serious concern. Is the government doing enough against piracy? What other efforts do you think should be done?

ED: It is difficult to answer the question of Piracy because there are those who allow these things to happen for profit. They say when money talks everybody listens. Also in my opinion there are already too many government agencies tasked to handle piracy. They should maintain only one and provide full support to that agency.

JG: What do you think of film festivals? What is the coverage of a classic film festival?

ED: Film festivals are fantastic because it is thematic in nature. You get to watch films hving a common theme expressed differently. Classic films can be based on the genre or the films of a specific actor/ actress up to a certain period.

JG: What other events does Mowelfund sponsor? What do you think of Mowelfund sponsoring a classic film festival?

ED: Mowelfund has two advocacies: Welfare and Education. In the welfare aspect, Mowelfund provides the medical, surgical, hospitalization and funeral assistance which the state cannot give to the workers in the movie industry because of the contractual nature of their work. Also, we provide alternative livelihood for them in the light of the current slump in the film industry. The Foundation also came up with a housing project in cooperation with LGU's and NGO's. 

Mowelfund has been doing film festivals for 15 years in cooperation with NCCA and private corporations.

JG: How do you feel about the current state of our movie industry?

ED: There is hope. If the members of the industry are united, they can reclaim lost glory. The Foundation has again taken the initiative to revive the industry by inviting mainstream and independent practitioners to teach during its ongoing intensive filmmaking workshop.

And that's about it.. to end this entry, i'll be showing more pictures inside their wonderful museum. :)

When we were influenced by the Spaniards we used these terms for the movies

The first release of camera meant for only one person

The Mother Lily of the Golden Age Dona Sisang and her LVN productions

The earliest film productions to close shortly after the war

The Golden Age - My inspiration for my event

Manuel Conde as Genghis Khan - Did you know that this movie was the basis for America's own version of not exactly Genghis Khan but something like it. See? We, Filipinos have the potential for major growth.

Last but not the least:

Me portraying Anita Linda

Hope you enjoyed that mini trip. Sorry I can't upload everything. :o

Til next time,

Justine :)

Going Back

Hello again! This is your time traveler Justine and i'm back to dive into the depths of Philippine Cinema. I mean, of all the topics to discuss about movies.. Why Philippine Cinema? and what is Cinema in the first place? Let me remind you with a twist of Philippine History. :)

"No medium has had more impact on the 20th century culture

than the motion picture. The meanings and

 themes of films are endlessly analyzed and debated, styles and 

techniques of filmmakers are earnestly dissected and studied,

and the actors and actresses who star in movies live their

public lives in fishbowls."

-- Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, 

Urban Legends References, 2005

Motion picture as an art and as an enterprise has been permanently established in the Philippines. The Philippines was one of the countries in Asia who ventured in moviemaking. The industry was the offshoot of the Zarzuela, the vaudeville and the stage shows. In 1919, Jose Nepomuceno, a wealthy businessman, ventured into the film industry and directed the first Filipino film entitled "Dalagang Bukid". (Source: Motion Pictures in the Philippines, Vicente Salumbides, 1952) This was when Philippine Cinema began. 

Our movies say a lot about 

what we are as a people. The characters we see on the silver screen often serves as our role models and our inspiration. Thus, it is sad to think that our industry is alrea

dy in a declining stage. Before the Second World War, theatre sprouted out and most of these were American theatres (State, Lyric, Galaxy, etc.) But only two theatres catered to the Philippine movies. Dalisay and Life. Unfortunately, film producers cannot make more films because they cannot be accomodated by two theatres. That is why the Philippine movie industry did not grow as fast as the modern films and at the same time, foreign technology were growing at a turtleneck pace. Foreign Film Technology is growing by leaps and bounce while we are still in the infancy stage. (Source: Dona Sisang and Filipino Movies, Monina A. Mercado, 1977; Picture taken from: http://senorenrique.blogspot.com)

Although the Big 4 productions namely: the Vera-Perez' Sampaguita, Dona Sisang's LVN, Lebran Studios and the Santiago's Premiere Production tried their best to cope up, still cannot compete with foreign films abroad but also technicians and consultants. That is why our films are more costly than foreign films. (Source: Motion Pictures in the Philippines, Vicente Salumbides, 1952)

In spite of all the problems, we have produced good movies that even won in film festivals. According to Carmelita Masigan, "In the constantly changing world of the Filipino film industry, film festivals have become windows through which the Philippines lets the world see its screen images". There has been a number of locally produced films that have received international recognition. 

Beginning from the Golden Age were the famous:

Anak Dalita (1956) and Badjao (1957) was LVN's pride because they were the first Filipino films that were screened at the Asian Film Festival.

(Source: http://video48.blogspot.com and 100 Acclaimed Tagalog Movies by Mel Tobias, 1998)

Factors why the world saw the country's potential growth for films was that actors and actresses were disciplined and practiced professionalism. This also improved employment by creating more jobs for Filipinos. But most of all, it gave the Filipinos identity, nationalism and lesson to improve life.

Today, in spite of all this, producers have shied away from producing good-quality movies due to these factors:

1. Escalating costs of film production

2. Exorbitant taxes

3. Falling box-office receipts/domestic films to bigger budgeted films

4. FILM PIRACY (Please.. we have got to stop doing this to our movies)

5. Film censorship

6. Star syndrome

7. Cable television

(Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/)

Therefore almost everybody resorted into sex, crime and violence, which was the trend in moneymaking films.

You know, we could produce good movies that can compete in the world market. Just like the Golden days, we have good actors, actresses, directors, cinematograhers and scriptwriters. 

"What could help solve the ills of the industry is for

Filipino producers to branch out into the world market"

-- Kane Lynn, Can Filipino Films Sell Abroad, Mirror Magazine, 1965)

This was said 43 years ago. If only there will be mre government support incentives, produce classic film festivals in comparison to the annual MMFF to acknowledge and give recognition to the film industry that once brought prestige to our country, this in return can promote Filipino movies and once again become one of our highly income export that will help us rise from this economic crisis.

So i'm going to stop here because I don't want to post everything in one entry. :) 

Til next time,

Justine

My Cinema Beginnings

I look up to the stars and imagine the world they are in. Fans supporting them, critics who bring them either to stardom or kingdom come and of course, the industry who pays them both fame and fortune. I even wonder how they manage to portray their roles without filling the character with their own trademark. Being a star is a tough job. And to be honest, they serve as our inspiration. They portray the nation's reflection of its own personality. Just like the movies. 

When I was young, I thought of the movies as a simple means of entertainment. My grandfather would pick me up at school and bring me to the cinemas for a feel-good quality time with each other. It was then at the age of 5 when I started admiring 'Da King' Fernando Poe Jr.'s moves and 'the King of Comedy' Dolphy's sense of humor. Thus, it became a daily routine to escape the harshness of reality until there came to a point where my week isn't complete without seeing any movie. This is where my love for cinema began.

I never thought that movies would play a bigger role in my life. I was raised by my mom's job as a scriptwriter to the industry. I was influenced by my grandfather who think of movies as a daily habit. It served as my creative juice for ideas to be applied in college. And most of all, as I celebrate my last year in college (hopefully), it is my chosen topic for my thesis in partial fulfillment to the University of Santo Tomas. Thank you Sir Velez the support you've given me and to the team. :) 

So what is the purpose of this blog? It will serve as my online journal for every facts I discover, goodies for my event and a reference for future researchers. Through this study, we will soon realize what Philippine cinema is all about, how the Golden Age has contributed to the industry, why we must take care of our movies and how we can market this by creating an event to help save the movie industry.

I'll be posting the beginnings of cinema and its arrival in the Philippines on my next entry.

Til next time ;)

Justine, 

P.S. Here's a pic of Papa (my grandfather) while waiting for the next showing:

isn't he adorable? :p