15 Filipino films take the spotlight in the Netherlands

Fifteen independent Filipino films take center stage at the first Filipino Film Festival (FIFF) in the Netherlands.

Held in June and July, the festival aims to introduce the culture, talent, and art of Filipino filmmakers in Europe.

“We want to give a platform to Filipino filmmakers to grow their audience in Europe with a focus on stories that uplift and showcase the Filipino life and culture,” festival director and actor Charlie Curilan says.

Curilan, who has been in the film and entertainment industry in Europe for almost three decades, aims to break stereotypical roles and stories often attached to Filipino filmography to break into the international film industry. Filipino films featuring diversity and ethnicity are highly encouraged in the festival.

“The challenge is to bring something unique to the table. As Filipinos, we like to blend in and conform. How can we be original and stand out in the international scene? That’s a question I want our young Filipino filmmakers to answer,” Curilan says.

A tale from the islands won the Best Film at the festival. Cebuano film “Usa Ka Libo” revolves around the story of Shan, a young girl selling shell craft in Bantayan Island in Cebu with hopes and dreams of becoming a nurse in the city. Myrgen Santillan, who portrayed the role of Shan, won best performance in a short film.

Director and producer Chris Eli Razo, who comes from Bantayan island himself, says he has always been fascinated with “these little urchins going around the resorts selling seashell necklaces and other trinkets.”

“When it was announced, the team was really happy (and a bit surprised considering the possible competing stories). We were glad that the message of family and sacrifice can resonate abroad,” Razo says.

Noah Tonga, director of Memento Mori, won best director. His film tells the story of a teenage lad developing fear of death after a series of unrelated deaths in a rural area in Metro Manila.

^{Photo courtesy of Leemar Ritual} 

‘Pride as protest’

In celebration of the Pride month in the Netherlands in August, the Filipino LGBT Europe launched “Tulipa,” a documentary film about Pinoys from the LGBT community who sought life outside the Philippines to assert their rights to gender equality, representation, and freedom of expression.

This film is a product of collaboration with the Commission on Human Rights-Philippines, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, and MUJER LGBT+.

34-year-old director Rhadem Musawah, an independent documentary filmmaker and human rights activists, describes the "Tulipa" as a “protest” to give awareness, empowerment and visibility to the Filipino LGBT sector living abroad.

“This film is a story of our Filipino LGBT Community in diaspora, that despite of all benefits they enjoy in the Netherland, there is still this longingness of wanting to come back to a safer and inclusive Philippines, thus the fight for assertion and human rights continues even if they are not in the motherland,” Musawah says.

“I have made a lot of films and video content for international agencies focused on gender marginalized groups like the LGBT Community in the Philippines but little do we hear stories about Filipino LGBT in diaspora. Our stories in the Philippines are always centered on Filipinos in the country, we rarely see the stories of those who left,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Chris Sta. Brigida, chair of Filipino LGBT Europe, says that they want to show that "living a dignified life is possible, and that we can have a sustainable and harmonious society in which LGBT rights and welfare are protected."

"We can only achieve this if we have clear policies in place with the help of our government who has the duty of care for every citizen of our country,” he says.

One of the most pressing campaigns launched by the Filipino LGBT Europe, is the call to pass the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression) Equality Bill, which aims to legalize measures to prevent various acts of discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.

The film has already soft-premiered in June at the Dutch Embassy in Manila but is set to show in the Netherlands on October 14, 2022 at the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. —JCB, GMA News