Ben Madilynn
Walong pelikula ang pinagpilian para maging aspiring entry ng Pilipinas sa kategoryang Best International Feature Film ng 97th Academy Awards o Oscars.
Ito ang isiniwalat ni Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman Jose Javier Reyes sa closing ceremony ng 4th Philippine Film Industry Month nitong Setyembre 27, 2024, Biyernes ng gabi, sa Seda Vertis North, Quezon City.
Ang napili ay ang documentary ni Ramona S. Diaz na And So It Begins.
Mahigpit nitong nakalaban ang isang feature film na kalahok sa Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
Pangatlo sa ranking ang isang pelikula mula sa Cinemalaya Indie Film Festival.
AND SO IT BEGINS SCREENINGS
Ang 113-minute documentary na And So It Begins ay official selection sa 2024 Sundance Film Festival noong Enero sa Park City, Utah, USA.
Ito ang pang-apat na documentary—kasunod ng Imelda (2003), Motherland (2017), at A Thousand Cuts (2020)—ni Ramona S. Diaz na naunang nag-screening sa Sundance International Film Festival.
Bahagi rin ito ng Dokyu section ng Cinemalaya Bente: Loob Lalim Lakas, at ipinalabas noong Agosto 9, 2024, Biyernes ng 8:30 P.M., sa Cinema 2 ng Ayala Malls Manila Bay, kung saan dumalo si Leni Robredo (in photo).
Ang logline nito: “Amid Filipino elections, a grassroots movement emerges to protect truth and democracy from growing threats.
“People unite in joyful acts of resistance, kindling hope while the autocracy expands.”
Ang tagline: “Mahirap ba talagang mahalin ang Pilipinas?”
Kabilang sa cast sina Rodrigo Duterte, Leni Robredo, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Maria Ressa, Leah Navarro, at Manolo Quezon.
Nag-commercial release ang And So It Begins sa piling sinehan ng bansa umpisa Agosto 21, 2024.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Hanggang Oktubre 2, 2024 ang pagsusumite ng aspiring entry para sa Best International Feature Film ng 97th Academy Awards.
Sa Disyembre 17, 2024 ihahayag ng Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) ang shortlist ng 15 pelikula na puwedeng ma-nominate.
Sa Enero 17, 2025 ia-announce ang final five nominees.
Sa Marso 2, 2025 gaganapin ang 97th Oscars sa Dolby Theatre ng Los Angeles, California, USA.
Bale Marso 3 iyon sa Pilipinas.
AND SO IT BEGINS: How it WAS CHOSEN
Ipinagtapat ni Direk Joey Reyes na mahaba ang diskusyon bago napagpasyahan ng Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) na itong And So It Begins ang magiging aspiring entry ng bansa para sa Best International Feature Film category ng 97th Academy Awards.
“Actually, I didn’t have a vote. Because as chairman, I only vote if there’s a time,” pahayag ng multi-awarded scriptwriter and director.
“But then the members of the panel ahhh…it was a choice between two films.
“And they decided to choose And So It Begins because the two films are of equal value, but they felt that And So It Begins has a greater chance of making it to the Oscars.
“Ahhmm because of three big reasons.
“One is, the familiarity of the director with the AMPAS, with the Academy.
“Secondly, the familiarity of the director in an international market because Ramona is known in the U.S.
“And then thirdly, we all agreed last year, we sent an animation [Iti Mapukpukaw]. This year, let’s send a documentary.”
Lalapit ba sa gobyerno ang Team And So It Begins para humingi ng tulong na mai-promote ang pelikula sa Hollywood?
“FDCP is committed to help, okay, this film. And the government has no response negative about the choice of this film,” lahad ni Direk Joey.
“So I think that’s a good sign that despite the nature of the film—and the context of the film—we are still living in a democracy.”
Sa kasaysayan ng Oscars, wala pang pelikula ang Pilipinas na pumasok sa kategoryang Best International Feature Film, na dati ay Best Foreign-Language Film ang tawag.
Ano ang chance ng And So It Begins na mapasama man lang sa shortlist?
“We’ll see. Well, God knows. It’s all chance, it’s all marketing. Ahhm the Oscar race is not necessarily based on just the quality of the film you sent, but also the strategy that you do for you to be noticed, hindi ba?” sabi ni Direk Joey.
“Ahhh maybe our advantage with this film is that ahhh it was produced by the public broadcasting service. So may network na iyon doon, okay.
“So sinabi namin, it will not require that much of Philippine pesos to be invested to promote the film.
“Noong nakaraang taon ay first time na animation [Iti Mapukpukaw] ang ipinadala ng Pilipinas sa Oscars. Ang sabi namin, o sige, documentary, may laban ba ito? E, kung last year, nag-animation tayo…napansin!” bulalas ni Direk Joey.
“Okay, hindi lang nga nakapasok doon sa Top 5, hindi ba? Kasi talagang madugo! Pero why not file a documentary, kasi, tanggap diyan ang documentary for Best International Feature.”
Naiiba ang aspiring entry ng bansa!
Dagdag ni Direk Joey, “Tamang-tama naman din, bahagi din ng campaign ng FDCP is to encourage documentary filmmaking and animation.
“So, even if I did not have, you know, the vote, because of chairman… ahhh I don’t see anything wrong with sending a documentary.
“Because it will send a good signal to documentary filmmakers that it is a recognized genre.”
What does this mean for the movie industry and the society at large?
Mabilis na tugon ni Direk Joey, “Oh, a lot. Okay, what does this mean for the industry? That documentary filmmaking is a recognized and respectable and competitive genre.
“And that young filmmakers may not only focus on feature films, but you can do documentary, you can do animation, and you belong in the same rank as the feature filmmaker.
“What does this mean? Ahhh Ramona Diaz is known to be a competent and internationally recognized documentary filmmaker.”
Inaasam ni Direk Joey na marami pang Filipino filmmakers ang bubuo ng documentary films.
“Saka I sincerely believe that now, most especially now in the age of alternative truth, the documentary filmmaker is so important,” pananalig ni Direk Joey.
“Because the documentary filmmaker speaks of the truth.”
