Maria Gerrylee T.

Soriano

St. Pius V

Short Film Analysis (Anino)

1. Provide a brief personal and professional background about the filmmaker.

Raymond Red is one of the pioneers of independent and alternative films in the Philippines. He is the first
Filipino to won the Palm d’ Or Award in the Cannes Film Festival for his short film, “Anino,” which means
shadow in English.

2. Why the film is entitled Anino? What social realities does the film intend to represent?

The film was entitled Anino because every person has a showdown or a dark side giving us negative
thoughts, so does the city as behind its blooming economy is a large shadow filled with thieves and syndicates.
The social realities the intended to represent is the country’s corruption. Everyone thought only the government
and rich people can take advantage from the weaker people for their own desires when as innocent child can
also do it in almost the same way. Corruption is everywhere and people are mostly blinded to see its truth.

3. How will you interpret the last part of the film? (After the photographer has been arrested.)

Due to the fact the short film had an open ending; one can either interpret a positive or negative conclusion.
In a positive ending, the man was indeed bringing the photographer home, because he’s a relative or has a
connection to the protagonist. In the negative ending, the photographer died as he was being arrested because
of weakness from hunger and the fight, and the man in black was death, bringing him to afterlife. The first
interpretation after I watched the film was the second ending, knowing it was more suitable for the metaphorical
film.

4. What are the significant differences between an independent film like this and a mainstream film? In
your opinion, which film form has a higher level of artistic value, mainstream film or independent film?
Prove your answer.

The significant difference between an independent film and the mainstream film is the plot and the
production. An independent film’s plot had hidden metaphors and foreshadowing which one had to watch it
more than once to find it. Mainstream films, however, only focus on simply the story’s quick flow in the film
which makes ending mostly predictable. The independent films’ production had simple shots of the scenes while
the mainstream films tend to extend scenes with too many shots when it can be made with a straight to the point
meaning.

In my opinion, independent films have a higher level of artistic value, and the awards won by those films are
its proof. The films provoke thinking which is rare in mainstream films by using metaphors despite being a
realism film. One has always a different perspective than the other so when two or more messages appear in
one film, it shows, not only its artistic value, but also the cleverness of the filmmaker which the critics like. This is
also the reason why independent films are underrate.