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My first
full-length movie was rejected by the Sundance Film
Festival. Granted it was only a thesis project to
complete my Master in Fine Arts at Columbia University.
But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t devastated. I still keep
the rejection letter sent by the festival director,
Geoff Gilmore, to remind myself I’ve got a long way to
go.
As luck
would have it, Geoff Gilmore is coming to Manila to give
an independent filmmaking workshop at the De La Salle
Professional Schools Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate
School of Business. And I am fortunate to be one of the
persons involved in staging this one-time-only event.
Mr.
Gilmore was invited by Big Foot Entertainment and the
International Academy of Film and Television (IAFTV),
located on Mactan Island, Cebu. Both Big Foot and the
IAFTV are run by one man, German-born Michael Gleissner,
who has invested over $20 million to establish a
state-of-the art film production studio and film school
in Cebu. He intends to put the Philippines back on the
film map, so to speak, and bringing “Mr. Sundance” to
Manila is just one of the ways.
Geoff
Gilmore’s film workshop, dubbed Sundance in Manila, will
be on Saturday, May 26 (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) at the Bro.
Andrew Gonzalez Hall on Taft Avenue. More information
can be found by going online at
www.bigfootentertainment.com or www.filmschool.ph
(tickets can be purchased online too).
Sundance
in Manila couldn’t come at a better time. On a personal
level, I’m excited to meet Mr. Gilmore, who since 1990
has helped shape movie-making (along with Sundance
founder Robert Redford) by jump-starting the careers of
today’s most influential Hollywood directors. The
Sundance Film Festival, held every January in Park City,
Utah, has been the event that brings talents like the
Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino
first to the world stage.
From the
local film industry’s perspective, Mr. Gilmore’s
presence could help end Philippine movies’
two-decade-long beating.
When
Spider-man 3 came out, 90 percent of the screens in the
Philippines were showing this Hollywood blockbuster. On
opening day, each one of the 300-plus theaters was sold
out for every screening. It eventually earned an amazing
one-day total of P58.6 million—a 1-percent contribution
to the $104-million single day record-breaking
box-office revenue worldwide. That’s P5 billion in one
day. I doubt the Philippine film industry has generated
P5 billion in the last 15 years.
No
commercial movie house would be crazy to hold off a sure
bet like Spider-man 3 from its screens. But it is a film
industry insider like Geoff Gilmore who actually takes
risky bets.
In 1993,
a University of Southern California film school alumnus
submitted Public Access, a thriller with no stars and a
weird plot about a local cable show in a dead-end
American town.
Gilmore
saw something special in this movie, so he programmed it
for Sundance. The movie eventually tied for the
festival’s Grand Jury Prize. The director was Bryan
Singer, who parlayed his Sundance success with a film
called The Usual Suspects, which won two Oscars. Today,
everyone knows Bryan Singer as a sure bet, having helmed
hits like X-men 1 and 2, and the superb Superman
Returns.
“Mr.
Sundance” would most likely say the big break comes with
a good story and great storytelling, crafted with a
unique, artistic vision. The festival is simply a
platform for independent filmmakers to jump from and
land on fulfilled dreams.
I
believe Filipinos have good stories, great storytellers
and true visionaries. Gilmore could open doors for so
many talented Filipino filmmakers.
I
promised myself I wouldn’t pitch my film or future
projects to Mr. Gilmore. But look at me shamelessly
hard-selling myself now to everybody! There’s no
question part of my ambition involves the fame and
fortune linked to this glamorous industry. Who wouldn’t
want to be pals with John Travolta, or assemble a
superstar cast to shoot a crime caper in
Amsterdam
and Italy? Besides, just one box-office hit can
guarantee a lifelong nest egg.
In the
Philippines, the movies can even make someone president!
Well, I don’t want to be in politics. What I do want is
to make a James Bond movie and shoot most of the scenes
in the Philippines. That would really be fantastic for
Filipino actors, crew and cameramen, production houses,
and caterers, not to mention hotels, restaurants and
bars and Philippine tourist spots—of course, it would
also be fantastic for me.
Professor Rene F. Concepcion teaches Culture and Arts
Management and Sports and Recreation Management at the
De La Salle Professional Schools Ramon V. del Rosario
Graduate School of Business. He is the school’s
Marketing, Communications, and International Networks
director. Plus, he coaches the DLSU varsity swimming
team. His email is rene.concepcion@dlsps.edu.ph.
“Mirror Image” is a rotating column featuring writers
from the DLSU Professional Schools Inc. |
