Tribute to Alexis Tioseco Screenings - Mogwai Cinematheque: CINEMALEXIS SCHEDULE

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CINEMALEXIS SCHEDULE

FRIDAY
Selections by Philbert Ortiz Dy

7 PM – Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto (Our Beloved Month of August)

Back at Rotterdam, Alexis urged me to see this Portuguese film. Unfortunately, it conflicted with the only time that I could see Slumdog Millionaire, and I thought that I needed to prioritize the film with the big mainstream buzz and the Oscar nominations. It took six months for me to finally see the film, and I really regret waiting so long to finally see the film. Our Beloved Month of August is an amazing piece of postmodern filmmaking. Director Miguel Gomes, unable to find the budget to shoot his film, travels to a remote Portuguese village to shoot footage of a music festival. What starts out as a loose documentary grows into a completely different film as a narrative emerges from the interviews, and Gomes casts some of the villagers in a new film about family and young romance and incest. It’s easy to see why Alexis liked this film so much. It manages to present new ways of telling a story cinematically, while being deeply rooted in culture.

And yes, the film is quite long.

10 PM – Kulay Dugo ang Gabi (The Blood Drinkers)

“Mr. Dy, what’s your favorite Gerry de Leon film?” And I sheepishly reply that I haven’t really seen a lot of Gerry de Leon. Alexis was teacher to a good number of students, but he was my guide as well to an era of filmmaking that I thought I’d never really have access to. He urged me to look for the films of Gerry de Leon, and though Kulay Dugo ang Gabi will never be considered one of his masterpieces, it’s a stellar piece of in its own right. Made for Cirio H. Santiago, de Leon never allows the low budget to get in the way of an artful presentation, making fantastic use of film tints and color to create a truly unique visual experience. The film is this weird perfect union of schlock horror and art filmmaking. And had Alexis ever had the opportunity to ask me again, this film would have been my answer.

SATURDAY
Selections by Erwin Romulo

7 PM – Biyaya ng Lupa

Biyaya ng Lupa was directed by Manuel Silos and is unlike anything else he ever directed. It actually feels like an Avellana film, the prestige ones produced by Manuel de Leon like Anak Dalita. Alexis and I kind of had a common interest for Philippine Cinema ever earlier than Brocka. We’d watch them at my house. We even made cups of tsokolate before watching Avellana’s film adaptation of Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino. His interest in film archiving was nurtured by watching the films of Gerry de Leon, Avellana, Manuel Conde, Richard Abelardo, Gregorio Fernandez and Silos. He joined SOFIA and quickly became one of its stalwarts. He and Ramon Nocon worked on the website and it was ready to go online at the time of his passing. It must be mentioned that Alexis believed in preserving prints rather than just blanket digitizing, which seems to be Nestory Jardin’s focus. His last blog entry tackled this. We also planned several articles in the Philippines Free Press.

9 PM – Signos

Signos was shot in tandem with Sister Stella L, using the same crew. It’s arguably a precursor to the viral video, as it was just passed on through betamax copies. At a time when the news was heavily censored it caused quite a shock to see all this footage of rallies, protests, and anti-Marcos figures. The film was the subject of the first review Alexis wrote for the Philippines Free Press. It was to coincide with the film’s world premiere for a film festival last year organized by DAKILA, an NGO committed to promoting modern Filipino heroism. It’s only apt to show it now in a festival in Alexis’ honor.

10 PM – Batch ‘81

Batch ’81 was the last DVD that Alexis borrowed from me. He wanted to show it to Nika. This version was subtitled. He told me later that some scenes made her jump. Mike de Leon made this the same year as Kisapmata. At the time, it was assumed to be one of the “martial law” films, given the themes of fear and complicity. That’s true of course. Yet, it still resonates today with audiences because it transcends the period as much as it illuminates that period of our history. Or is it because times haven’t changed?

SUNDAY
Selections by Quark Henares

TO BE ANNOUNCED.