100 Tula director to online critics: I’m free to respond

MANILA, Philippines - Director Jason Paul Laxamana is “very happy” that his film 100 Tula Para Kay Stella has grossed P95M in one week, making it the highest earner among the roster of features in the first-ever Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP). 

Produced by Viva Films, the JC Santos-Bela Padilla starrer is also the just-concluded filmfest’s Audience Choice awardee and one of three movies enjoying an extended run in cinemas. The others are Patay Na Si Hesus and Bar Boys.

“We’re very happy because it had a low budget for a mainstream film (mainstream because the producer is Viva). Let’s say the story is familiar but we don’t have a popular loveteam. Bela Padilla and JC are not really known as box-office drawers. And it’s a romantic drama not a rom-com which is typically patronized by people. So, we didn’t expect this kind of reception from moviegoers because of those factors,” Laxamana told The STAR in a phone interview.  

The film’s box-office performance didn’t appear affected as well even after the 29-year-old film writer/director had a bit of a Twitter tussle with some critics early this week. The exchanges are public. Without naming names, Laxamana said that he is being “attacked” online due to his political leanings and because he has been responding to comments which he deemed are factually inaccurate.

“I was known as a (President) Duterte supporter during the campaign period. So, they’re trying to bring that up to try to demonize the film, parang ‘wag niyo suportahan ang film kasi ganyan ganyan (because of this and that). Nag-invent na sila ng mga statement na, ‘Pro-War on Drugs yan (the film) so pro siya sa killing ni Kian’ eh wala naman akong sinasabi pro ako dun. It has become political on one hand,” the director lamented, referring to how the film is being linked to the newest controversy in the government’s drug war sparked by the death of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos during anti-illegal drugs police operations in the past week. (The President has already vowed to punish the cops with the full extent of the law if proven guilty.)

Laxamana is taking issue with it because he said he’s able to separate his political beliefs from his art. “Ako, nagagawa ko separately like, for example, in 100 Tula Para Kay Stella, it actually has an anti-war on drugs message kahit leaning ako kay Duterte. Di ko naman ginagawang propaganda ang pelikula ko. I’m for diversity of political ideologies. I will have characters who are pro and anti. But, you know, these people will go, you’re a hypocrite etc., etc., because you have that character. They don’t get that aspect that I don’t politicize (my films). I don’t have an agenda.”

To moviegoers who will hold his political beliefs against him, he said, “If they want, we will provide them a list of directors (who have) similar political leanings as them, then yun yung panoorin nila.”

Another criticism leveled against him is that he doesn’t handle “constructive criticism” well.

“The other thing is, also on Twitter, I’ve been monitoring reviews and I’ve read negative ones although most are positive. But what’s misleading (with the viral critical posts) is they’re trying to make it appear that I’m responding to each negative review, which is not true,” he explained. “Nag-select lang sila ng i-ilan na ni-respondihan ko (They’ve selected a few that I’ve responded to) and made it appear that I couldn’t accept criticism. Pero ang dami kong pinalampas.”

According to him, those that did merit a reaction from him were comments that he found “factually wrong.” He cited the example of one commenter who asked why in 100 Tula, which has Pampanga as the main setting, characters were having a pool party. “So, I replied, because it’s a criticism based on the wrong assumption about people from the province.” 

One netizen asked why his film had “emojis.” Since 100 Tula is set in the early 2000s, he said these were the smiley icons from Yahoo Messenger, the popular online messaging service that time.

Laxamana cited another comment that said his film had so many loopholes. “So, I responded and di naman ako galit. Gusto ko lang talaga malaman kung ano ang tingin niya na loopholes. I replied, (‘Sige nga. Enumerate.’)... Kasi if tama naman pala na may loophole, then OK, if tingin ko naman hindi siya loophole, then I’m going to have a conversation about it.”

Some negative comments on Twitter included they will boycott his future films.

Artists including filmmakers, however, deal with critics and haters in different ways. They either react, block, ignore or change the privacy settings of their social media accounts. For Laxamana, “I will not bash, but I will respond.”

“But, I think, all that’s happening now is based on the assumption that the artist or the filmmaker cannot respond, which I disagree with. You are free to criticize, I am free to respond.”

“They’re trying to make it appear that I’m stopping people from criticizing,” he added, “Wala naman akong pinipigilan but you can’t strip away my right to respond as well. That’s my stand.”

When asked if this has affected him, Laxamana admitted, “Medyo affected ako in the sense kasi na maraming nagtatanong na mga press. But it’s not the first time it happened to me. So, medyo sanayan lang din.”

Meanwhile, the young director will helm two new indie projects ­— a rom-com (starring Rhian Ramos and Zanjoe Marudo) and an inspirational musical (featuring Devon Seron).

He praised the week-long PPP for giving a wider platform to films that are “laudable but walang chance... kasi di ba indies are rarely shown nationwide?” 

He continued, “At the same time, I like the fact that (PPP) doesn’t discriminate against mainstream, indie or regional like there’s Patay Na Si Hesus.”

The Cebuano roadtrip comedy Patay Na Si Hesus is PPP’s second top grosser. 

As a proud Kapampangan (whose previous directorial outings like the 2013 Babagwa and the 2014 Magkakabaung plus the 2016 film he wrote, 2Cool 2Be 4Gotten, had showcased his hometown’s language), Laxamana considers Patay Na’s success as a “victory for us regional filmmakers. (Director Victor Villanueva) has proven that language is not a barrier. I feel empowered by the film’s achievement.”

As of its sixth day in theaters, PPP reached a total gross of P127M.

The brainchild of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), PPP incidentally marked the one-year leadership of its chairperson Liza Diño. Laxamana said, “Ang exciting ng PPP to think it’s just the first year it’s been tried by Chair Liza. I look forward to the next ones and the other possibilities it can create.”