Female-directed short film projects led the winning circle of a new online film festival, which aims to highlight stories that focus on the idea that Filipinos deserve better, during its virtual awarding ceremony last March 18.
Giulia Saavedra’s “Looooongest Line,” Maria Del Carmen Villapol’s “Bitin,” and Diana Galang’s “Classroom 2022” topped the Micro Short (60 seconds or less), Mini Short (films with running time between one minute and two minutes and 20 seconds), and Super Short (films which run between two minutes and 21 seconds and five minutes), respectively, of the inaugural edition of the IKLI: Super Short Film Festival by bagging the So Short But So Good—Best Picture Award.
Saavedra and Galang are both De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde film students, while Villapol is a member of the film and theater organization SineDulaang Agustino of La Consolacion College Manila.
Inspiration behind the Event
Organized by the integrated ticketing and video platform Ticket2Me in partnership with social news network Rappler, the Movement for Good Governance (MGG), Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed), and YouthVote Philippines, IKLI is inspired by other microfilm festivals around the world.
Atty. Darwin Mariano, founder of Ticket2Me and one of the founding members of MGG, explained that they “wanted to use the platform and the inaugural film festival as an opportunity to showcase the creativity of these young filmmakers to tell and be able to support the message ‘We deserve better.’” He also stressed that the festival adheres to the motto, “The simpler, the better!”
People Power Premiere
The selected entries premiered on the YouTube channels of Ticket2Me and Rappler last February 25, the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. They are still available on the said platforms.
Saavedra tackled people lining up for “ayuda,” or assistance from the government during the pandemic, in “Looooongest Line.” She represented them by household items in a setup familiar to us—a parlor game. However, unlike those at parties, the people are not playing for fun but are fighting for a living.
The concept stemmed from the time relief was distributed to Saavedra’s neighborhood after Typhoon Ulysses struck. “Around that year as well, a politician got viral on the internet for giving away a small amount of food while their name is plastered on every single bag. This inspired me to fuse real-life scenarios with something we knew well during childhood—the parlor game ‘longest line’,” she shared.
Saavedra added that she wants to show in the one-minute film the frustration of waiting and waiting only to receive something so little and unexplainable. “I believe our concept perfectly fits the theme of IKLI Film Festival—we truly deserve more and better things for us. At the end of the day, we don’t want another ‘trapo’ to lead us with their ‘looooong’ list of promises—and only giving not even the bare minimum of their jobs.”
Villapol and her team from LCCM, on the other hand, interviewed real people for their film “Bitin.” She revealed that instead of creating a story from scratch, “we invited real people and asked them to share their stories with us.” Although the interviewees shared the struggles they face and the hopes they have for the future, the young filmmaker believes the problem is that we never get to hear their full story.
Twin Victories
“Classroom 2022” emerged as a double winner by also bagging the You Have to Watch This—Fan Favorite Award in the Super Short category. Alecx Julianne Literal’s “Recurring Dream” took home the same award among the Mini Shorts while Francis Ner Marañon’s “Submit” won in the Micro Short group.
The comedy-drama depicts the country’s political environment through a classroom election that takes place after the end of the global pandemic. In the first week of face-to-face classes, Ms. Pallan, adviser of Grade 10 Section Maharlika, asked the students to elect a new class president.
The student candidates unveil their distinct characteristics by sharing their plans if ever they win the classroom election. With this, their classmates get to know more about the nominees, namely Joshua, Clarisse, Louisa, JC, and Toni. Three candidates are eliminated until two nominees—JC and Toni—are left. As they are counting the final votes, they realize that both nominees end up with the same number of votes. They find out that one student did not vote during the election. As Ms. Pallan asks the class who that certain individual is, the said student stands up and shows her vote to the class.
Galang revealed that she wrote the script of “Classroom 2022” a week after she registered as a voter last year. “Back then, I used to avoid discussions about politics because I simply thought it would not bring me any good. However, the past two years of this pandemic proved me wrong. I realized how heavily we all should be involved with it. I realized how we deserve a much better administration for everyone to benefit during these trying times and gladly, this realization fits with the theme of IKLI.”
Pandemic Routine
Meanwhile, in “Recurring Dream,” an unnamed woman falls into a deep dream-like cycle, unsure of what the future brings. It follows the perspective of the character accomplishing her daily routine within the confines of her home. Days seem to go by quicker and quicker, yet she still finds herself in the same place, forced to do the same routine and practices.
Literal, who is also a Benilde film student like Saavedra and Galang, dedicated her film to people who are fatigued and weary of this routine and everyone who wants to break this cycle. “Although the concept began from a very personal place, the tightness and strain that the pandemic and the administration’s slow-moving pandemic response had brought upon people is not unfamiliar. It is an entity that accompanies us throughout our confinement where we are left unprepared, dispirited, and mentally debilitated without control of the days that we’re facing,” she emphasized.
“Time waits for no one to catch up to it and in our current society, people have been finding themselves lethargic and mentally debilitated while still trying to get through the day ahead of them. With no clear vision as to where our country’s people may end up tomorrow, we carry our disbelief with us day after day—Is this really happening? For how long will all of this go? And when will it end?” Literal posed these questions through her film. “Recurring Dream” is a personal reflection of how I felt with intermittent lockdowns and the intervals of COVID-19 surges throughout this pandemic,” she added.
Although “Submit” is directed by a male filmmaker, Marañon’s winning entry features two girls competing against each other online for a coveted college scholarship.
The Future is Female
“We are amazed that the creativity, quality, and content of all the entries shared the realities of our citizens and sent the message that the Filipino people truly deserve better,” Ching Jorge, YouthLed’s Chief of Party, said during the virtual awarding ceremony.
Meanwhile, Tristan Zinampan, Head of Brand Integration of Rappler Inc., stressed that a film festival like IKLI “not only encourages filmmakers to hone their craft but also for a new generation of filmmakers to start creating films, to start picking up cameras.”
“When we think of short films, there’s also a gateway into the larger world of Philippine cinema. Creating a new generation is really important in showcasing those works,” Zinampan, who is also one of the founders of Act One, Rappler’s online platform for Filipino short films, added.
“I hope our film—as short as it is—serves as a wake-up call to people who don’t realize what we deserve yet. In the upcoming elections, let’s line up to a path towards better governance,” Saavedra shared.
“We hope that the film serves as a reminder for everyone to not settle for less, especially this election. Remember, we deserve better,” Villapol concurred.
If these female filmmakers are part of the future of Philippine cinema, the future is indeed brighter.