Alessandra de Rossi sees film industry moving towards indie practices amid pandemic

Like other industries, filmmaking has to adapt quickly to the changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Practices considered as par for the course before now pose a challenge to directors, scriptwriters, and producers alike—intimate scenes, crowd scenes, scenes involving minors and senior citizens.

In the latest episode of “Quarantined with Howie Severino,” veteran actress Alessandra de Rossi shared her thoughts on how the film industry can reshape itself amid the pandemic.

“Siguro the lesser stars, the better. The lesser locations, the better,” she said, citing her projects “Through Night and Day,” “Kita Kita,” and “12” as examples.

All three movies involved only two actors interacting with each other in a limited setting—a scaled down production typical of independent films.

Indeed, this is where Alessandra thinks Philippine cinema is headed.

“Papunta na 'to sa indie films, e. 'Yung nakasanayan ko na sa sobrang konti namin, ako na mismo ang minsan nagbubuhat nung stand ng camera para matapos na,” she said.

Asked about her main critique of Filipino films, the actress observed that the industry keeps repeatedly relying on whatever formula works.

Once again citing her film “Kita Kita,” which became the highest grossing indie film when it was released in 2017, Alessandra said films with something new to offer can achieve success.

“Nag-hit siya dahil hindi siya formula,” she said. “Bago siya sa panlasa. And then all of a sudden everyone wanted that kind of panlasa. So everyone followed that formula. Parang 'yun 'yung problema, e.”

Alessandra said it is similar to the issue of typecasting actors in certain roles or creating characters in the pattern of a popular trope.

“Every time may something, nagiging formula siya, naba-box ka doon sa formula na 'yun and paulit-ulit na ganu'n,” she said.

“E kaya nga naghi-hit kasi hindi siya formula, e. Out of the box siya. So let's continue making out of the box films,” she added. —MGP, GMA News