Vision quest for passion

MANILA, Philippines – In Chris Martinez’s directorial debut

100,

which he also executive produced and wrote, a woman finds out she is dying of cancer and writes a list of 100 things she wants to do before she dies. The movie unfolds as a list and the main character pursues her passions and finds out the things that matter to her.

A successful scriptwriter and award-winning playwright, Chris penned the movies Caregiver, Sukob and Bridal Shower, but not before spending 10 long years in advertising as his main bread and butter.

Lucky are the people who are able to pursue the things they love, luckier still are those who get to do so from the outset. This summer, Bonifacio Global City’s (BGC) Passionfest gives amateur filmmakers and photographers the chance to do just that with its Vision Digital Open competition.

The film category will be judged by Chris Martinez, along with Crying Ladies director Mark Meily, and Rizal sa Dapitan cinematographer Nap Jamir; the photography category judges include John Chua, whose work can be seen in The People Power Book, Asiaweek magazine, and print ads.

Both categories are premised on the theme of passion, and the mechanics require the work to show in some way BGC as a City with a Soul, a place of community.

The film competition is held with the coordination of the Loyola Film Circle (LFC), a group of young Ateneo film enthusiasts who hold a yearly competition for short film, music videos and documentaries. 

Passionfest’s Vision Digital Open is a wonderful springboard for new artists to launch their careers and get recognized. All the judges agree that the digital age has made it a very good time to be in the arts. It has made both professions more accessible to people who would have otherwise not been able to make their dream projects without the backing of a big studio or a whole lot of budget.

“Kids can make a career out of photography today, especially now that we are into digital technology,” says renowned photographer John Chua. “This is the best time ever in the field of photography because the photographer has total control over his image, from the time he presses the shutter to the final printing.”

John says he wants to see entries with nature and environmental themes. It’s easy for entrants to show this as BGC is both a new model for urbanism and a place built with the environment in mind.

Being an Ultra pilot, John flew across the country doing aerial shoots in 1998, and has also done work in journalism and advertising. These days, John is learning high-definition video.

It was the opposite route for film cinematographer Nap Jamir, who started in photography with Neal Oshima in the studio Shadow Visual Design Group. Then he started doing cinematography work for directors Boldy Tapales and Jeric Soriano. “I became a director by accident. I was working as a director of photography/cinematographer on an ice cream shoot that involved a lot of beauty lighting on fruit ingredients and ice cream. The director edited and presented to the agency offline but had to leave after that. When the client saw the offline, he requested for additional shots, but the director wasn’t available anymore so the creatives of the agency, seeing that the additional footage was simply photographic in nature and not creative, requested that I do it. So I became the ‘director’ for those shots.”

John adds, “My advice to amateur photographers: get involved in the field that interests you most and give the best that you have, be passionate about what you do.”

The same piece of advice is given by the film judges. Mark Meily reveals that when he was in college he wanted to be an animator, then during a workshop in Mowelfund, he realized that “directing actors and setting up scenes is more organic” and that was where his true passion lay. He started making short films and won awards in competitions just like the Vision Digital Open. After studying film abroad, he directed TV commercials for 18 years and it was only in 2003 that he made his film Crying Ladies.

“I love movies,” he says. “I would like to think that all my feature films are memorable and consider them personal. Crying Ladies, however, is quite special because it was my first and it won awards both local and international, and was shown all over the world and got good reviews from the LA Times and New York Times. And most of all, it starred the Megastar Sharon Cuneta. I am a true-blue Sharonian, I guess.”

Chris has also experienced working with the Megastar when he wrote Caregiver, which entailed doing research in London and talking to Filipinos working there as caregivers. Though his scripts have been produced by big film studios, he holds a special place in his heart for independent films. “When you’re doing it independently, you only have to please yourself, you don’t compromise your vision.”

A competition like Vision, he says, gives young filmmakers the chance to both test their skill, work on their project the way they want to and at the same time gain recognition for it. It also teaches them about what it takes — and it may not always be easy — to pursue one’s dreams and passions. But in the end, it is always worth it.      

“I have been doing this for about 20 years and loving every moment of it,” says Nap Jamir.

Hopefully, the filmmakers and photographers that join the Vision Digital Open will experience this love and passion for themselves.

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Prizes totaling P100,000 await the winners. For details, log on to www.bgcvision.multiply.com.