How not to make an indie film
by Bernice S. Sibucao on August 12, 2011
Photo from the Internet
Poverty exploitation is no laughing matter.
First-time director Marlon Rivera and writer Chris Martinez, tackle this sensitive issue in their critically-acclaimed satire Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, which won Best Film in the 2011 Cinemalaya Awards. A highly entertaining spoof of the Philippine movie industry status nowadays, it also puts an emphasis on the wild imagination and misguided ambitions of filmmakers.
Ang Babae sa Septic Tank chronicles the story of three young ambitious filmmakers, Direk Rainer (Kean Cipriano), producer Bingbong (JM de Guzman), and production assistant Jocelyn (Cai Cortez), who all desperately dream of nabbing an Oscar.
The three protagonists are determined to make their first indie film entitled Walang Wala, a story about a mother (Eugene Domingo) who struggles to feed her seven children by cleaning pozonegros and selling one of her kids to a pedophile. The film gives us full access to the production process of the film: conceptualizing the movie poster, casting process and looking for film locations. As creative conflicts ensue, we see different versions of Walang Wala—a documentary, melodrama, and a musical with Eugene Domingo, Cherry Pie Picache and Mercedes Cabral as alternating protagonists —unfold in the mind of the perpetually silent Jocelyn.
Martinez’ observations of poverty porn in the independent film industry became the inspiration behind Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. The premise exemplifies how the techniques of independent filmmakers exploit poverty in order to make it big in international film festivals, a penchant for showcasing third-world scenarios.
Kean Cipriano and JM de Guzman effectively portray their roles as third-world visionaries with first-world problems. Their intense passion for filmmaking is epitomized in a scene where they wildly jump for joy after the discovery of a slum area for a shoot location.
Cai Cortez gives a rather interesting performance as the quiet Jocelyn. Her expressions and body language make up for her zero dialogue, which actually revealed more of her character’s thoughts and emotions. Ted Tadioan, who plays Arthur Poongbato, is also a memorable character with his flawlessly delivered comedic lines.
The scene-stealing showstopper was Eugene Domingo, who deserved the Best Actress title in the 2011 Cinemalaya Awards. To quote Chris Martinez from his Inquirer interview, “We have the Eugene Domingo playing four different roles including ‘as herself.’ San ka pa?”
Truly, this is her most memorable performance to date. She exhibited her versatility as an actress through the character exploration of Walang Wala in Jocelyn’s mind. She also puts her theater background into good use in the film’s musical aspect (which also deserves recognition for its humorous and original songs by Vincent de Jesus). No words can adequately describe her performance in three types of acting in her book: “elevator acting,” “TV Patrol acting,” and “as-is-where is acting.”
Ultimately, what makes Ang Babae sa Septic Tank outstanding is how it serves as an eye-opener to the familiar techniques used in mainstream Philippine cinema— excessive overacting, product placements and unrealistic casting to name a few—and the independent film industry as well, with its dependency on romanticizing poverty.
Ang Babae sa Septic Tank does not criticize poverty as a subject, but rather, evaluates the misguided objectives of filmmakers in using it as the means to achieve international fame. With such shallow objectives of these filmmakers, it goes to show that poverty becomes exploitative and Philippine cinema gets closer to falling over a pool of feces.
