The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Days after the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) announced its eight official entries to its 42nd edition on November 18, the producers and stars of the movies that failed to make this year’s cut, particularly the big-budget franchises that lorded over the annual event for many years, offered their two cents on their exclusion, with two of them admitting they were hurt by it.
During last week’s recent press conference for Mano Po 7: Chinoy, the latest installment in the series of movies dealing with Chinese-Filipinos that will come out on December 14, producer and Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde expressed sadness and disappointment over Mano Po 7’s exclusion from this year’s MMFF.
“When I heard about it, talagang umiyak ako [I really cried],” Monteverde, who’s more popularly known as Mother Lily, admitted in an ABS-CBN News report. She said she’s worried that ordinary Filipinos will have nothing to watch this Christmas season.
“Sana naman, after this year, they [the MMFF screening committee] should understand—it’s not that I’m teaching them, it’s that all these people—like [those in classes] C, D, E; like [the] carpenters, [people who] belong to this C, D, E—mayroon silang mga bonus [they have bonuses]. Once they get their bonus, they bring the whole family to the movies to watch the GP [General Patronage films],” Monteverde said in a report from entertainment portal Pep.ph
“Sayang lang, nanghihinayang ako sa mga bata [It’s a shame, I feel sorry for the kids],” she added.
Although the longtime film producer emphasized that she has nothing against independent films, also known as “indies,” she said the Christmas season is not the time to screen them.
“There is a time for indie movies. But not during the Christmas season. Christmas is for the family,” Monteverde said.
During the press conference of another failed MMFF submission, Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers, the 10th feature in the M-Zet Productions franchise that originated from the late-1980s television fantasy-comedy series OK Ka, Fairy Ko! (You’re OK, My Fairy!), producer and star Vic “Bossing” Sotto lamented that the chosen entries seem to reflect a lack of respect for the Filipino audience.
“Nirerespeto ko ang panlasa ng naging screening committee. Ang masakit lang para sa akin, hindi nila nirespeto ‘yung panlasang iyon ng manonood ng pelikulang Pilipino [I respect the preference of the screening committee. But what’s painful for me is that they did not respect the preference of Filipino moviegoers],” Sotto said in a report on the Coconuts Manila website.
Echoing Monteverde, Sotto said the Christmas season—and, by extension, the MMFF—is all about families and children.
“Alam natin lahat, pagdating ng Pasko, inaabangan ito [MMFF] ng buong pamilya [We all know that families look forward to this (MMFF) every Christmas,]” he added.
“‘Wag mo isubo sa amin ‘yung hindi namin gustong kainin pag dating ng Noche Buena [Don’t feed us what we don’t want to eat at the Christmas meal],” the ace comedian and singer said in a GMA network website report.
Enteng Kabisote 10 is scheduled to be shown starting November 30, the same day that another unsuccessful MMFF entry, Vice Ganda’s Super Parental Guardians, which reunites him with his Beauty and the Bestie co-star Coco Martin, will also start its commercial run.
For his part, the It’s Showtime co-host said he doesn’t feel offended by the exclusion of his latest film, especially after receiving messages of support from fans on social media.
“After reading the tweets [of support], I did not feel offended at all,” Vice Ganda said during the press conference held for Super Parental Guardians last week.
“Basta ako, naniniwala ako na when you give the people what they want to have and what they want to feel after watching the movie—iyong paglabas nila ng sinehan, nakuha ng tao ang gusto niyang makuha pagkatapos ng pelikula na ‘yun—iyon ang quality [For me, I believe that when you give the people what they want to have and what they want to feel after watching the movie—when they go out of the theater, they got what they want after the film ends—that’s quality],” the comedian said in an ABS-CBN News report.
“At nararamdaman ko, all my movies were all quality [films], dahil ang mga gustong maramdaman ng mga tao ay nakuha nila [And I feel all my movies were all quality films, because the people got what they wanted to feel],” he added.
As for the films that did make it to the MMFF’s “Magic 8”, Vice Ganda expressed support for them.
“Let’s give everyone a chance. Let’s be positive. Let’s support them. We were given a lot of chances before, at huwag nating ipagkait sa iba [and let’s not withhold this opportunity from others],” he said.
Swift reaction
Reaction to what Monteverde said was swift and earned the ire of some people in the film industry.
One of them was actress Mercedes Cabral, one of the stars of Alvin Yapan’s MMFF entry Oro (Gold), who accused Monteverde of mistreating employees and used an expletive to describe the producer.
“Nakakaawa ang mga bata??? Sabihin mo lang, e ang habol mo lang e kita ng pelikula mo. Saka bayaran mo nang maayos [ang] mga tao mo. Ni hindi ka nga makapagbayad nang matino sa mga taong nagtatatrabaho sa ‘yo, e. At kayo lang ba ang may karapatan magpalabas ng pelikula tuwing Pasko? Fucking idiot [The children are pitiful? Just say that you’re only after your film’s profit. Also, pay your employees properly. You can’t even properly pay those working for you. And you’re the only one who has the right to release a film every Christmas? Fucking idiot],” Cabral wrote in a now-unavailable Facebook post that was shared on news website Interaksyon.com.
Cabral received flak from several industry insiders and observers, including Manny Castañeda, who told her in a Facebook post to “beware of hubris;” screenwriter Senedy Que, who called her disrespect toward Monteverde “foul;” and Philippine Star entertainment editor Ricky Lo, who said the producer “deserves respect” and called her “a pillar of the industry” in his column on Saturday.
Another was director Erik Matti, whose horror film Seklusyon (Seclusion) is an official entry this year and whose Honor Thy Father and the controversy surrounding its exclusion from the MMFF Best Picture race last year prompted sweeping reforms in the festival. He cautioned against denigrating the term “indie”.
“Hinay-hinay sa paghamak at paginsulto ng salitang ‘indie’ na parang ito’y may ketong na dapat layuan. Ang indie at mainstream ay parehong pelikula rin lang at huwag na po ihiwalay sa isa’t isa [Be careful in expressing contempt and insulting the word “indie” as if it has leprosy and should be avoided. Indie and mainstream are both films, and let us not separate them from each other],” Matti said in a Facebook post.
“Ang indie, tulad ng mainstream, ay pwedeng malalim o mababaw, matalino o stupido, nakakatawa o nakakaiyak, commercial o artistic, pambata o pangmatanda o panghugot, cheap o big budget. Pareho pong pelikula ‘yan, [Indie, like mainstream, can be deep or shallow, intelligent or stupid, funny or sad, commercial or artistic, for children or adults, cheap or big-budgeted. They’re both films],” he added. ALVIN I. DACANAY