At the ongoing 76th Cannes Film Festival, we met with filmmaker Arvin Belarmino and his producer, Kristine de Leon, who got in La Fabrique Cinéma, a lab designed for 10 directors who are working on their first feature and second film. They were on a “field trip” with fellow students walking along the Palace of Festivals and Congresses of Cannes during the day of the interview.
Arvin Belarmino
France has been good to Arvin, giving him a scholarship at Cinéfondation, now named Festival de Cannes La Résidence, last year under the guidance of the Cannes Film Festival to support the next generation of global filmmakers.
In her message, Edito Iris Knobloch, president of Festival de Cannes, said, “The program seeks to be the eternal driving force behind projects by emerging filmmakers, continuing to encourage filmmaking from emerging countries through the energy of beginnings.”
This year’s selection had five female and male directors from Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, India, and the Philippines.
The Cannes Film Festival and the Marché du Film with Institut Français invited these 10 promising directors along with their producers.
Joey Reyes, Arvin Belarmino, and producer Kristine de Leon at the Cannes Film Festival
“Hindi talaga ako film student, I was an IT student (I was not a film student but an Information Technology student),” confessed Arvin.
Arvin grew up in Quiapo and film became his personal hobby because of his parents who were film enthusiasts. At that time, Betamax was the popular entertainment format at home. “I was so lucky because ’yung parents ko every Sunday nagsisimba kami sa Quiapo Church, may katabi dun na video rentals (Every Sunday, we would go to mass at Quiapo Church and beside it was a video rental),” recalls the 35-year-old filmmaker. From there, nagkaroon ako ng subconscious enthusiasm sa Philippine films (I became enthusiastic about films).”
'Ria' film
Arvin’s project Ria is on its last stage of development at La Fabrique. He has attended a lab for financing, sales and distribution, and developing the script. “Now, we are applying for funding,” he says.
The film is about the punk subculture in the Philippines to which Arvin relates well because he is a punk musician. “In the Philippines, it’s not about all music. It’s a sign of resistance against the social injustices, what the marginalized people are experiencing,” he says.
Ria is about a community up for demolition. They are fighting for the right use of public land.
The story itself has a potential for international acclaim. “The project is under the radar now of film festival circuits,” says the Masbate-born lad. “At the end of the day, I still have to execute it properly, based on what I learned from these labs.”