You know the drill with indie movies here trying to break through to the mainstream: local theaters would much rather show the masa flicks that are sure to draw more, and the indie filmmakers have to fight tooth and nail on social media to get traction.
It happened to Heneral Luna and Honor Thy Father last year, and we had to help out Apocalypse Child a few months ago. Now that the entire Metro Manila Film Festival slate this year is all well-crafted gems the way we wanted it, we can’t believe that we still have to help fight for some entries to get shown in theaters.
The people behind Saving Sally, the loose Scott Pilgrim-esque charming teenage-romance-comedy-fantasy-nerdery and distinctly one-of-a-kind mashup a decade in the making starring Rhian Ramos and Enzo Marcos and directed by Avid Liongoren, is trying to make noise because not all the cinemas in the country are showing it. We even heard that it was pulled out before the MMFF movies even started showing yesterday.
On a slightly smaller note, drama Oro and docu-drama Sunday Beauty Queen are also dealing with missing presence in some theaters. National Film Council chairperson Liza Dino-Esguerra is trying to do something about this with around eight more days left in the festival.
If you’re still feenin’ to watch any of these movies but can’t yet for whatever reason, now’s the time to add your voice to the chorus. Make your feelings heard on social media and demand the greedy theaters to show the movies all these people in the industry put effort in.
And if you’re missing Rogue One because you also haven’t caught it yet for some reason, it can wait; it’s probably coming back after the MMFF movies finish showing. These local movies can’t wait, though, because how they do now will influence future MMFFs for the foreseeable period. Do you seriously want to see the return of all the franchises you were complaining about?