This was the observation of multi-awarded film producer Ferdinand D. Lapuz at the media forum “Batirulan Quing Café Juan” at the Holy Angel University here organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp., Social Security System and the university last Friday.
Lapuz said a good number of Filipino-made movies that have been reaping awards in film festivals abroad in the last 10 years have not only attracted but also gained adherents among audiences here and abroad.
Lapuz attributed this to innovative and creative local producers and movie directors like Kapampangans Jason Laxamana and Brillante Mendoza as well as the late Lino Brocka among others.
Just recently, some independent-made films or “indie films” as well as those made by mainstream film companies have been attracting wide audiences, he said.
Lapuz said the extra ordinary talents of local filmmakers are among the positive developments that have helped the once moribund local movie- making industry to somehow gain a firmer foothold in crafting creative films suited to the current taste of a broader market of movie viewers.
Some of the films, he said, have been credited for spurring wider awareness on locally-made movies as well as the men and women behind the industry.
“That’s the good news in this local movie-making business,” he said.
But for the “bad news,” he admitted that, except for a few, the award-winning independent Filipino films have not been commercially viable or were “box-office flops,” not because of lack of viewers’ interest and appreciation but because of limited exposure due to a limited number of outlets.
“There aren’t enough movie theaters in the country to accommodate these creations, exacerbated by a dearth in active market promotion because of budget constraints,” Lapuz noted.
This was also the same sentiment voiced by Ruston Ocampo, another award-winning Filipino cinematographer, in the same forum also held earlier at the HAU.
Apart from his involvement in the production of award-winning films, like Bwakaw, Ekstra, Dementia, Manoro, and Barber’s Tales, Lapuz had also been actively distributing Filipino cinematic creations in overseas markets.
“The ROI (return-on-investments) from these efforts remain low and slow,” he quipped but he added that “in the long run things could turn for the better for Philippine movies both in terms of wider viewership and profitability.”
