My Very First Article

This piece landed me a job as a Web Copywriter. Posted on my previous company's Intranet, about 7,000 employees have seen it, about 30 actually read it.

Here it is.

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"Indie, the Alternative"

We all love Hollywood. If you work of GSIS then you might say no, but then again in this industry that were in, its almost a sin not ot be updated on Paris Hilton's latest social blunder or not getting acquainted with the newest member of the "Brangelina" family. If you haven't seen the latest Hollywood blockbuster then most probably you're going to end up all ears dumb amidst the gossip exchange during lunch.

Now I ask, how does this excessive advocacy of foreign films affect the country's local film outfits? Well just by observation, I would say that its effect has crumbled if not decayed the Philippine Film Industry. Local patronage has waned a long time ago and many of us already shunned our local movies.

The reason for all this non-interest, is alternative.

Our major film producers here don't offer that. On our end, local movies still features the classic "love team" tandem to the delight of every yaya in the country. Consider the slapstick comedian with his ever so stupid sidekick, cracking jokes that Dolphy, Panchito, Chikito and Pugak came up almost 50 years ago. Who do star in your latest film that guarantees to fill cinema seats? Of course the cutest teeny bopper-turned-front-page-I'll bare it all-as long as it will catapult me into superstardom-cover girl. All has been done before so no wonder we turn to Hollywood now more than ever.

But there is an alternative. We have Indie Sine.

A theater devoted exclusively to local independent movies, which according to the countr'y top voices, are "the best movies you've never seen". Situated in the center of Robinson's Movieworld, Indie Sine exhibits the finest independent digital movies ever made. Definitely indie films has broken the barrier that typecast the genre as "experimental" art films made by students as some form of revolt against the typical mass produced films.

Take for example "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros". A story about family tradegy vividly told in the most simplistic way. Life as you know it. With a stunning showcase of acting and storytelling brilliance, the film won 14 international awards and made a leap from the confines of university theaters to our local cinemas thus paving way for a new wave of digital film making. Let not the poster fool you, the cheerful layout is nowhere to be found in the movie.

I recently saw the film "Compound" at the Bagong Agos Film Festival held at Indie Sine. I tell you this, never have I seen a local movie so dark and warped yet clear and concise at the same time. The movie mixes sex, drugs and paranoia of a complex atmosphere with a sense of transparent stillness that resides in every character. Then just when you think you've figured it all out, just when you've arrived on a conclusion on how the story ends, the director blasts a scene so haunting you'll feel your lungs choking as you grasp for air. Then black, the film is finished.


I won't dig much into the details of both films. The point here is that our local indie film makers, out of their conviction and literally out of their own pockets, created extra-ordinary films that not only art students and film critics appreciated. These films reached international shores and more importantly, received awards and critical acclaim for the genuine talent that we, in the vast world of movie making, inherently possess. It has always been there and all it needs is an audience.

This is exactly what Indie Films aim for, to strike the untapped consciousness of moviegoers whose perception of entertainment is clogged by the fantasy delirious, money making cliche of the big time industry giants of our country. Independently and with conviction, a new wave of digital filmmakers continue to expand horizons by contributing provocative films for a new generation of viewers.

Socially stimulating, politically suggestive and significant of the times, here is the alternative we should turn our eyes to. This wave may not turn the whole film industry upside down, but its current is sure to swipe the stereotype, curving a stream of variety to quench the innovative thirst of an equally unconventional audience. Here and now, let us catch the wave of Independent films, movies in the tide of change.

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It's been like 7 months since I wrote it. I sure miss writing this kinda stuff. It makes you think, not just how to approach the article, but really really think.