HIV/AIDS story in animation wins in CineSpectra

MANILA, Philippines — Taym Pers, Pers Taym, an animated short film that aims to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, won Best Picture at the first CineSpectra short film festival.

The recently concluded filmfest, which was mounted by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and EON Foundation in partnership with HIV advocacy group Love Yourself PH and the Directors Guild of the Philippines, Inc., features stories designed to shine a light on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) situation in the Philippines.

“We made it animated and we made it light so that more audiences can appreciate it,” said Taym Pers, Pers Taym director Ceazara Vidallo on their decision to give their story the animated treatment.

“Personally, I don’t know anyone who has HIV. But ang goal namin sa film na ito, ayaw namin siya (HIV) kumalat. We concentrated on (the message) how we can stop it from spreading,” added Ceazara, who works as a teleserye video editor and was previously employed as an animation coordinator before eventually forming an independent animation production studio.

Other CineSpectra winners were Gulis, directed by Kyle Francisco, which was recognized as the Critics Choice, and Janina Gacosta and Cheska Marfori, co-directors of Ang Gasgas Na Plaka ni Lolo Bert, who shared the Best Director plum.

“I’m very grateful and very proud of this award. I’m Kapampangan and I’m really a production designer and this is my first-ever (directing) award,” said Kyle. “Gulis, it’s a Kapampangan term for ‘lines.’ It’s a story about a dysfunctional relationship between a father and a son, how they draw the lines between them, and then, will be able to connect those broken lines again and rebuild their relationship because of the son’s HIV (status).”

He said of the film’s theme: “I find (the HIV/AIDS situation in the country) very, very alarming... lalo na may mga kilala akong (persons living with HIV). So, doing this advocacy film is such a big deal for me because in a way, dito ko natutulungan ang mga kaibigan ko, not just me being there for them but also me creating something for them.”

Kyle also hopes his experience and award in CineSpectra will open more filmmaking opportunities. “I’ve always wanted to become a director since I was in sixth grade,” said Kyle, a production designer by specialization who previously won for his work in the award-winnning Kapampangan period film Aria.

Meanwhile, Janina and Cheska have done writing projects together after being co-fellows at Jun Lana’s screenwriting lab CinePanulat. They have also been M.A. classmates at UP Diliman.

Their film Ang Gasgas Na Plaka ni Lolo Bert tells the story of a closeted, lonely gay man in his 60s who has been living with HIV for a decade and whose life takes a turn after receiving a package that contains an old vinyl record.

Janina, who’s also a teleserye writer, and a former fellow at the Ricky Lee Scriptwriting Workshop and the Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program, said of their film: “Basically, we just wanted to make a film ­— because we noticed all HIV-themed films are tragic — that’s hopeful lalo na sa mga nangyayari ngayon. We want something positive (that shows) there’s still goodness in the world.”

She added that film is a very powerful medium and platform to talk about HIV/AIDS. “Very rampant and rising yung cases ng HIV, and di natin siya masyado napag-uusapan dahil sa stigma and very conservative ang Pilipinas. So, it’s very important, all these advocacies like CineSpectra, because these add to the conversation on HIV to lessen the stigma.”

For Cheska, the topic holds extra meaning for her, being part of the LGBT community. “Personally, lesbian po kasi ako, so as part of the LGBT community, I also want to advance yung mga pinaglalaban ng mga kapatid namin, who are part of the community and mostly yung problem po nila is HIV, coming out... (The film’s main takeaway is that) HIV is not a dead-end and people living with HIV should still look forward to life,” said Cheska, who has been part of indie productions like Die Beautiful.

The three films were part of the roster of 10 five-minute-long entries that were selected for the inaugural run of CineSpectra, wherein finalists experienced film labs on story development and editing, as well as sessions on HIV, AIDS and sexual health. Each finalist also received a grant of P70,000 with the Best Picture winner, Taym Pers, Pers Taym, set to join the line-up of Sine Kabataan 3, the short film tilt of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) 2019. It will be paired with a PPP full-length film and screened in cinemas this September. 

The CineSpectra winners are open to have their films utilized in future campaigns ­— including those by the government — to raise awareness on an issue that has been causing serious concern among health experts and advocates.

The Department of Health (DOH) had said that across the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines has become the country with the fastest-growing HIV epidemic, based on the 2017 report by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). According to the Global AIDS Update from UNAIDS last July, HIV infections in the Philippines increased by 203 percent in the past eight years.

DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau noted that as of May 2019, there were 1,092 newly confirmed HIV-positive individuals reported to the HIV/AIDS & ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP). It also reported that 94 percent of the newly diagnosed were male, with almost half of the cases (48 percent, 526) were 25 to 34 years old and 32 percent were 15 to 24 years old at the time of testing. The “predominant mode of transmission” is still sexual contact and that among the newly diagnosed, 59 percent (642) reported transmission through male to male sex, 24 percent (260) through sex with both males and females, and 15 percent (157) were via male to female sex. As of May this year, there have been 67,395 confirmed HIV cases reported to the HARP since the first case of HIV infection was recorded in 1984.

In December 2018, President Duterte signed the Republic Act No. 11166, also known as the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act, to bolster the government’s fight against HIV/AIDS in the country.