A Scandal in CineMalaya & How the Indie Film Industry is being Corrupted

by Reymundo Salao

Controversy is burning up in the Indie Film Scene when Cinemalaya Festival’s Monitoring Head Robbie Tan disqualified the film entry “MNL 143” from the list of the 8th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival New Breed category finalists, after the film’s director Emerson Reyes did not heed the advice of Tan with regards to the casting of the movie.

Reyes wanted to cast Allan Paule and Joy Viado on the lead role for the movie; on the other hand, Robbie Tan allegedly wanted Reyes to cast semi-retired actors Victor Neri and Francine Prieto instead. Reyes and his producer Abrogena stood their ground and did not compromise, reckoning that the material was written specifically for both Paule and Viado, and that it was part of his vision as the filmmaker. [CLICK HERE READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY RICK GALLARDO]

You may be familiar of who Robbie Tan is; he is the owner of Seiko Films, a film production company which has produced a gazillion awful movies that have contributed to the reason why Pinoy movies are generally regarded as “buki”, “bakya” or simply; lousy.

This kind of sh1t always happens when dealing with local mainstream TV and movie producers. It doesn’t matter if you are Martin Scorsese, as long as you are working with a producer of a Tagalog mainstream TV and movie production, your movie will be just as awful as a metaphorical rugby for an unhealthy masa audience.

When asked in an interview by PEP, Robbie Tan cited his reason for disqualification: "We did not like his casting... We believe na hindi magwu-work." According to Tan, the pairing of Alan Paule and Joy Viado, considering the premise of the film—a man in search of his long lost love—will not work. See how producers grab the necks of the artist and force their will upon them? That is what is happening here.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE PEP INTERVIEW]

THIS IS THE SAME REASON WHY PHILIPPINE CINEMA HAS AN AWFUL, UGLY REPUTATION
Is this the Death of the Indie Film Industry? More of like the Decline, actually.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the Philippine Indie Film scene was absolutely almost too good to be true; it is only later when we notice that the lords of the Tagalog Mainstream Cinema have been slowly extending their tentacles to corrupt the indie scene. Names like Robbie Tan, Joel Lamangan, and Lily Monteverde, these are among many names that have held lordship over the Tagalog Mainstream Cinema for such a long time and have been, in one way or another, contributors of why the Film Industry has had such an ugly image. When indie cinema started to hit a goldmine of a brand new refurbished reputation for local cinema, these names among many, have jumped onto the bandwagon, trying to grab that indie magic. And with their power and wealth, they have put themselves unto indie scene thrones. It’s not enough that they simply installed themselves there; they also had to treat the indie scene just like the way they treated the Tagalog mainstream cinema. Applying their brand of manipulative power unto what used to be an area for purely creative minds. Sooner or later, the Philippine Indie Film Scene will just be as awful as Tagalog Mainstream Cinema. Oh wait, it’s already happening for more than a year now.

ABOUT THE MOVIE
MNL 143 is Emerson Reyes’ first full-length film; it is about an OFW who comes back to Manila as an FX driver in search for his long lost love. It does star Allan Paule and Joy Viado. For the Filmfest competition, MNL 143 will be replaced by Gino Santos' entry, The Animals, a film that studies the lifestyle of society's elite.