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Film director Rodina Singh weighed in on the ongoing debate over Filipino films being compared to Hollywood productions, arguing that such comparisons often overlook the huge differences in budgets, resources, and infrastructure.

Rodina directed Dreamboi, which stars former Binibining Marikit actor Tony Labrusca, EJ Jallorina, and Migs Almendras.

She also directed the vertical romance series Almost Lovers, which stars Migs Almendras and Karina Bautista and was produced in partnership with a contraception product.

In a Facebook post, the filmmaker shared screenshots of posts from Filipino netizens comparing the quality of locally produced films with international productions, including American movies.

According to Rodina, the comparison is not exactly fair, considering the huge budgets that Hollywood films have at their disposal for production and marketing.

“Hindi mo pwedeng sabihan ang isang industriyang gumagawa ng pelikula sa ilang milyong piso na tapatan ang Titanic, Spider-Man, o The Odyssey, mga pelikulang ginagastusan ng hundreds of millions of dollars at suportado ng napakalaking infrastructure for production, VFX, distribution, marketing at global recoupment.

“Hindi talent versus talent ang comparison na iyan. Resources versus resources, infrastructure versus infrastructure, market versus market,” Direk Rodina stressed.

She continued, “For perspective, The Odyssey reportedly has a budget of around US$375 million. That's roughly ₱23 billion. Twenty-three billion pesos. For one film.”

“Para magkaroon lang tayo ng sense of scale, that's roughly three-fourths of the Philippine government's annual budget for the entire Department of Science and Technology. At kung ₱5 million ang budget ng isang pelikulang Pilipino, that amount could theoretically fund around 4,600 Filipino films.

“So kapag tinatanong ninyo kung bakit hindi natin kayang gumawa ng pelikulang mukhang The Odyssey, ano ba exactly ang kino-compare natin?”

“Talent? Craft? Imagination? Or capital? Because obviously, a film with ₱23 billion at its disposal can do things a ₱5-million film cannot. Ano bang tingin ninyo sa filmmakers, nagmamagic?”

“Every frame costs money. Actors, crew, locations, cameras, lights, production design, music, editing, color, VFX, marketing. Kahit AI may gastos. Hindi pwedeng ang ₱5 million na pelikula ay susukatin mo sa parehong production expectations ng pelikulang may budget na hundreds of millions of dollars, tapos ang conclusion mo ay mas magaling gumawa ng pelikula ang Amerikano.”

In her lengthy post, Rodina then shared an observation about Filipinos who make “sweeping claims” about local films.

She questioned whether those making the loudest criticisms are still part of the “primary audience” for Filipino cinema.

“Kaya curious din ako kung sino talaga ang nagsasabing 'pangit ang pelikulang Pilipino,'” Rodina Singh wrote.

“Because I suspect many of the loudest people making that sweeping claim aren't even the primary audiences of Filipino cinema anymore.

“They are its non-audiences. Maybe they have better education, better access, streaming subscriptions, exposure to Hollywood, Korean cinema, anime, European films, prestige television.

“That's great. But access to the West does not automatically make someone a sophisticated receiver of art. Exposure is not comprehension, consumption is not criticism, and familiarity with expensive cinema is not cinematic literacy.”

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