It is no secret that in creating arts, monetary support is needed. This is especially true in filmmaking, and during the recently held Cinema Rehiyon 15 × Montañosa Film Festival in Baguio City, Manila Bulletin Lifestyle had an opportunity to talk to our National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik, on how young directors can start their projects within minimal budget.
According to Tatay Kidlat, it’s a reality that newbies in the industry will have a hard time finding investors for their projects.
National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik.
“There’s a tendency for financial backers to be conservative just like in the art galleries. They want to support yung mga BenCab or yung mga ‘Sigura,’—sigurado. They’ll rarely take a chance on a small painter,” he told Manila Bulletin Lifestyle. “Ganyan din sa film [It’s the same in film].”
He also said that this shouldn’t be a major factor for filmmakers to lose that spark and vision in making their movies. “Ang importante sa bawat filmmakes ay [dapat] nag-uumpisa sa loob niya yung passion na i-share ang story. Yun ang pinakamalakas na arena. Kahit na kaunti lang ang budget niya, mabubuo niya ‘yun [The most important thing is the director’s passion to share the story. If he has that, even with a small budget, he’ll get through],” said. “But if the young filmmakers depends right away [on the budget] like half a million initial fund and therefore will not make the first steps without it, that’s a problem.”
He then added that money is just 10 percent of the whole pie that turns a script into a film that people can watch on screens. “The passion to tell the story, it provides 90 percent of the energy and maybe 10 percent comes from the money or from the shared skills of your friends,” he said. “It’s nice if you can get some support outside, but don’t lose that passion.”
He then recalled that when he started 45 years ago, filmmakers like him had a very limited space and opportunities. But today, young people have the platforms to share their creations with the use of social media and the internet. Tatay Kidlat is looking forward to this, as well as the help from other organizations, local indie films will foster even more.
“Alternative films or indie films are not as recognizable as Hollywood films and therefore, we don’t realize our own bias and maybe we might give it less weight,” he said. “These films deserve a growing audience.”
With the theme "Divergence + Convergence," Cinema Rehiyon 15 × Montañosa Film Festival had successfully rolled out in Baguio City last March 2023. Here, numerous filmmakers across the country came together to showcase their works and join the Montañosa Film Festival’s competition where winners received cash grants to start their respective film projects.
Cinema Rehiyon, is the flagship project of the National Committee on Cinema (NCCA), that aims to promote films that tell stories rooted in the culture of the regions. Meanwhile the Montañosa Film Festival, is Baguio City’s very own regional film festival.