Cinemalaya 2022’s theme “Breaking Through the Noise” was a challenge for filmmakers to pursue their craft even amid the challenges of the pandemic. After two years of shifting to an online platform, this year’s festival was also a test of the local filmmakers’ mettle and creativity, as the Cultural Center of the Philippines reopens its doors for physical screenings.
Raz de Torre, director of the film “Kwits,” said he was one of the first to experience lockdown taping because of his work with ABS-CBN’s “A Soldier’s Heart.” As one of the guinea pigs of implementing the COVID-19 Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) protocols, he used what he learned as an advantage in filming his movie.
“The production of our short film “Kwits” was burdened by the same anxieties, even though we’ve been dealing with COVID-19 for more than a year by the time we that we got to pre-production. Budget was an issue because of the new expenses arising from the health protocols, and this was an independent project. There were constant delays because of the different alert levels, which got confusing at times. It took us more than six months from the time we started pre-production to the eventual day of the shoot. Thankfully, the vaccination roll out had improved by then. We felt more secure during the production,” he
said.
Director Maria Estela Paiso of “Ampangabagat” agreed that the pandemic was an extraordinary challenge for independent filmmakers.
“I think the hardest, hardest part of shooting last year were the logistics needed to actually shoot (the money, the permits, the uncertainty if alert levels would be raised again, etc.).
“Ampangabagat” was first shown in QCinema 2021; the entry and exit PCR took half of our first tranche. We were also delayed by half a month because of restrictions, so that delay took away time from post-production. I think mid-August last year I was in the middle of a breakdown because nothing seemed to be going our way. The delays were a nightmare because our cast and crew were locked in Taytay, so we were stuck waiting for the restrictions to loosen just so we could go to Zambales and shoot. We were also a bunch of first-timers trying to make sense of what was happening. But yeah, as the saying goes, easy and worthwhile don't mean the same.
Dexter Paul de Jesus, who helmed the film “Distance”, for his part, had to deal with restrictions, and making sure that they complied with all the safe filming protocols, as their priority was mainly the safety of their cast and crew. It was the same case with the film “Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras.”