Among the mushrooming festivals in the Filipino film jungle, __Cinema Rehiyon (CR, the "regional" festival) is one of the most interesting and successful. Unique in its kind, it presents indie films exclusively produced and filmed outside Metro Manila, definitely out of the mainstream. Its fifth edition took place in Los Banos, Laguna, not far from Manila, from February 5 to 8, and was one of the best, if not the best one. A creation of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA, with Dr Mike Rapatan in charge of the cinema department), as part of the Arts Festival 2013, CR 5 was mainly organized by the University of the Philippines (UP) in Los Banos, with Ms Katrina Ross A. Tan as the festival director this year. Entirely held on the UP campus, amidst the green, at DL Umali Hall, and Searca auditorium for the short films, it was well organized (which is not always the case in the Philippines), and well attended by a great number of delegates, and hundreds of enthusiastic young students.

Under the general title of "Nurturing Cinemas at Home", CR 5 showed at least 88 films, feature and shorts, from all regions of the Philippines, mainly Luzon (Teddy Co as curator), the Visayas (Gabby Fernandez as curator), and Mindanao (Guttierez Mangansakan II, aka Teng, as curator). Naturally, all films were not equal and on the same level of quality, but is showed once more the diversity of inspirations and styles, and what Teddy Co calls "Cross Over" in his essay. Most feature films came, as usual, from other festivals, by which they were produced, mainly Cinemalaya (CCP), Cinema One originals (ABS CBN, Ronald Arguelles), and Sineng Pambansa (FDCP). So, we had actually seen the best ones, like Qiyamah (The Reckoning) by G.Mangansakan II, the intriguing Diablo (Devil) by Mes de Guzman, also Catnip and Aberya (from Cinema One), and especially Ang Paglalakbay ng mga bituin sa gaming madilim (The Journey of the Stars into the Dark Night), a fascinating journey of two women and a child through troubled Mindanao. In my opinion, this is also by far the best film by Arnel Mardoquio (also from Cinema One, last year). 

Also notable were Anak ti paying (Son of a Shark) by Martin Masadao (Baguio), and the strangely folkloristic Kanana Kanu (And So It Was Said) by female director Jocelyn Banasan Kapuno (from Kalinga). Malan by Benji Garcia Chicote (director's cut) is an interesting tale of cultural and political clashes in Mindanao, albeit sometimes marred by an awkward narrative, and Taguri (The Kites of Sulu) is an original and sensitive documentary by Dempster Samarista. All films were freely accessible to all spectators, except one, the "scandalous" new film by Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Jungle Love, an erotic tale reminiscent of Apichatpong's Tropical Malady, whose "sexplicit" content led to an "by invitation only" showing, leaving out frustrated students. Was it the In the Realm of the Senses of Los Banos?...

Too many short films were shown and while I would not be able to go into details for all, a few titles stood out through their strength or original style, in some of the programs we were able to see (only one showing per film). Two noteworthy ones hailed from Zamboanga: El pundido luz de casa (The Extinguished Light of Home) by Adrean Araojo is a rather funny film about an outing gay son; Mientras su durmida (As he sleeps) by Sheron Dayoc (shown earlier at Cinemalaya) is a tense and disturbing tale of sex and sickness. From Pampanga came Bryle Lakingdanum (1990-2012), a one-shot black-and-white "grave film" by James Callos Jordan; Lagyu (Name) is an ambiguous story of a couple trying to name dead babies, by Jason Paul Laxamana. The most impressive was probably Mariposa (Butterfly), a cruel story of gay bashing in Pampanga, by 17-year-old female director Arianne Desiree Viardo. And from the "Negros, Both Sides Now" section featuring works from Bacolod and Dumaguete, a number of interesting films stood out: the campy gay comedy Cafe Les Back by Stephen Abanto, the fascinating Zen Japanese-like still life I am Patience by Ra'zcel Salvarita, and of course the zesty parodic comedy Bayi sa parador (Lady in the Closet), starring sexy actress Solenn Heussaf and directed by veteran Peque Gallaga (whose latest mainstream feature film, Seduction, with the same Solenn, was not really a commercial success). 

All in all, Cinema Rehiyon 5 was really a success with few projection incidents (compared with last year in Bacolod), and the hospitality of a very warm and attentive staff. It was enhanced on the last day by a Laguna tour and a pleasant hot springs experience. It appears that, next year, Cinema Rehiyon 6 will be held in Cagayan de Oro (Northern Mindanao). We do hope that the organization will be on par with films of the same quality (but not too many, please!). The geographical and cultural "Cross Over" will be achieved again!

by Max Tessier