Ma’Rosa director hopes Duterte will also pay attention to the arts

MANILA, Philippines - After the successful world-premiere of Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’Rosa at the Cannes Film Festival, hopes are high that the film will hit box-office gold when it screens in the Philippines.

In an interview during a homecoming party that Solar Entertainment big boss Wilson Tieng hosted for the cast and crew of Ma’Rosa, direk Brillante revealed plans of submitting the film to the Metro Manila Film Festival in December.

For its lead star Jaclyn Jose, who became the first Southeast Asian actor to win the Cannes Best Actress for her portrayal of a drug-dealing mother in the film, she hopes Ma’Rosa will be an eye-opener.  

Asked how Ma’Rosa is different from his previous works, Brillante said, “It’s no different. Lahat ng ginagawa kong films, from the time I started in 2005 (with Masahista), it has always been about social issues.”

In Ma’Rosa, Jaclyn plays the matriarch of a family from a Manila slum area, trying to survive by running a small sari-sari store and dealing drugs on the side. She gets arrested and ends up getting caught up in a web of police corruption.

“This story is not new,” related Brillante. “I found out about this story four years ago. I met someone who is somehow one of the characters in the film. I learned about this family, I interviewed them. I met police, not necessarily like the police in the film, but who have dealt with the same situation.”

Ma’Rosa merited a seven-minute standing ovation when it debuted in Cannes as a Main Competition entry. Such reception brought Brillante, who won the 2009 Cannes Best Director for Kinatay, to tears. 

“The fact that your film made it to the Main Competition, you already feel like a winner,” he explained.

Jaclyn and other cast members also related how foreign audiences love Brillante and his work. But Brillante admitted that he has yet to experience it in his own country.

“Tanggap ko na yun. But I’m not sitting down, sulking and feeling bad about it,” said Brillante.

Together with Solar Entertainment’s Tieng, he founded the Sinag Maynila filmfest to discover and give grants to new filmmaking talents, as well as help grow a core audience for independent cinema.

Indie people would also attest that the director is never too busy to give workshops or lend his presence and knowledge to other local filmfests, whether school-based or mounted by other organizations. “Hopefully, if we get help from other organizations, well and good. Otherwise, there’s no reason to feel bad.”

Nevertheless, Brillante hopes that incoming President Rodrigo Duterte will pay attention to culture and the arts, which also form part of the creative industry.

“Sana mabigyan tayo — hindi naman priority because I know in our country, it’s (culture and the arts) not a priority — pero sana at least nandun siya sa list ng mabibigyan ng pansin,” he said.      

“The arts has never been a priority because I’m sure what will be given priority is our economy. That’s why I can’t blame organizations like FDCP (Film Development Council of the Philippines) or NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) because they also don’t have big enough budgets.”

He said that the filmmakers are doing their part. In recent years, more and more indie filmmakers are pounding the international filmfest circuit, earning recognitions and highlighting the wealth of creative talent in the country.

But Brillante stressed that it has to be a collective effort that should also involve the government. He hopes the education sector can be tapped in raising more awareness about the indie filmmaking scene so that it can also have an audience enjoyed by say, sporting events or beauty pageants. What good are the international awards if their films are not being patronized by Filipino viewers?

“Now is the right time to give (it) notice not just by the filmmakers but also from the government (so as) to uplift the appreciation for the arts in general, as film is just one form of the arts. Hopefully, the future generation can appreciate this kind of cinema and that we can have a core audience.”

As for Jaclyn, she hopes that the people appointed to key positions are involved in or knowledgeable about the industry.

Meanwhile, Brillante and Jaclyn are happy that people find the film fitting and timely given that Duterte’s presidential campaign carried a strong message against the drug menace.

Jaclyn said, “Sana mapansin ng Presidente na nagbigay ng promise na sugpuin ang droga.”

Brillante added, “It’s timely because it so happens that our new administration is so much against drugs and corruption. So maganda siya. Regardless of whoever is in the administration, we will always support him or her.”

Meanwhile, in a statement sent to The STAR, French Ambassador Thierry Mathou has extended his congratulations to the cast and crew of Ma’Rosa.

“I am very proud to say that the Philippines has made its mark in Cannes, most especially in this year with the selection of Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’Rosa in the Official Competition and Raymund Gutierrez’s Imago in the Short Film Category. By giving the Best Performance by an Actress Award to Jaclyn Jose for her role in Ma’Rosa, the jury showed the wealth of film creation in the Philippines.”