12 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010
Paolo Villaluna & Ellen Ramos
F
ILMMAKING is not
a job. It’s a calling,”
says Paolo Villalu-
na, who codirected three
full-length features with
Ellen Ramos.
Paolo says making films is
“our way of expressing our-
selves, exorcising our obses-
sions and telling our stories. We
don’t [make money] but we get
to be true to ourselves.”
The duo’s first full-length
film, “Ilusyon,” (2005) won a
“CJ Selections” citation at the
2006 Pusan (South Korea) IFF.
Their second, “Selda” (2007),
aside from winning local
awards, was the first Filipino
film to compete both at the
Montreal World Film Festival in
Canada and the Thessaloniki
IFF in Greece.
“Walang Hanggang Paalam,”
which completes their love tril-
ogy, won Best Film at the Soho
IFF in New York, besting 12 for-
eign entries. It is still traveling
the festival circuit.
Their movies have won
and/or represented the country
in festivals in Canada, Japan,
Singapore, Australia, Holland,
Greece and France.
Paolo is currently director
and editor of the weekly docu-
show, “Storyline.” He also
makes TV commercials as in-
house director of Filmex. His
TV work has earned for him a
Catholic Mass Media award, a
Gawad Tanglaw award and a
trophy from the New York Film
Festival.
“Two good things happened
to the film industry in recent
INQUIRER ENTERTAINMENT
ERNIE U. SARMIENTO
ELLEN RAMOS: “Have another
career that earns money.”
years,” Paolo observes. “One,
digital format took away the
monopoly of filmmaking [from
big studios]. It democratized
cinema.
“Two, the so-called dying
phase of the film industry
made the industry less compla-
cent about the films it was pro-
ducing. In 2002, everyone
TELLING THE FILIPINO STORY TO THE WORLD
talked about the industry’s
‘death.’ This made change pos-
sible. Old guards accepted
their fate and new guards took
over.”
too many filmmakers churning out
Paolo says indie cinema has
been at its “healthiest” in the
last five years. “There is more
public acceptance, more media
support,” he explains. “There is
global recognition and, ar-
guably, more venues.”
His only concern is for “the
current generation to not ex-
ploit this opportunity by think-
ing merely of profit. Self-ex-
pression, aesthetics and social
I
T IS an “exciting” and
“opportune” time to
be a filmmaker, says
Ellen Ramos.
“Accessible digital technolo-
gy has [empowered] filmmak-
ers to work in their own terms
and encouraged a whole new
generation of gung ho [enthu-
siasts],” Ellen points out. “The
industry and the audience are
now exposed to new aesthet-
ics and personal styles and in-
vigorated with a new spirit.”
“Ilusyon,” which Ellen codi-
rected with Paolo in 2005, was
the first digital film to receive
an “A” rating from the Cinema
Evaluation Board, which grants
tax rebates. This, Ellen notes,
ushered an “era of industry ac-
ceptance for digital films in the
country.”
She adds, “Digital technolo-
gy encouraged more filmmak-
ers to set up their own mini-stu-
dios. No more film stock costs
and laboratory headaches! We
have edited three feature films
at home, on a PC.”
Ellen is a multi-awarded
graphic designer. She is a
founding member of Pinoy Ani-
magination, a group of local in-
dependent animators. She is
currently with Blacksoup, a film
collective working on multi-
media projects.
Her latest work, “Ganap Na
Babae,” a trilogy with Rica
Arevalo and Sarah Roxas,
PAOLO VILLALUNA: “There are
cookie-cutter films.”
advocacy, not the desire to re-
coup investment, are the cor-
nerstones of independent cine-
ma.”
For new directors to succeed,
Paolo says, they should “learn
the ropes, really study filmmak-
ing—even if it means starting at
the bottom of the rung. There
are too many instant filmmak-
ers churning out cookie-cutter
films.” Marinel R. Cruz
“SELDA”
opened Cinemalaya 2010.
Ellen relates, “[Filmmaking]
was a hobby I took up as I start-
ed my career as an architect. I
became so passionate about it,
that architecture ultimately be-
came the hobby instead. As a
student at Mowelfund Film In-
stitute, I found possibilities
with the moving image bound-
less.”
She sees nothing wrong with
aspiring for an international
audience and recognition. “For-
eign festivals give filmmakers a
certain validation and sense of
appreciation for their efforts
that the box-office cannot pro-
vide,” Ellen says. “[However],
an Oscar Best Foreign Film
Award or nomination remains a
dream—an arena looking for its
Manny Pacquiao.”
To sustain world interest in
Pinoy films, Ellen says filmmak-
ers should “continue making
sincere, meaningful and truth-
ful films. However small and
crude, it will generate an inter-
est, even on YouTube.”
To be a successful filmmaker,
she adds, one should “never
stop aspiring and studying.
Make a film that can stand on
its own meaning ... find an ad-
vocacy that will drive you.”
It is also important, Ellen
counsels, to “have another ca-
reer that earns money, so you
can pay your electric bills on
time, and edit your films at
home.” Marinel R. Cruz