Sheika (2010, Arnel Mardoquio)

The film Sheika, a captivating and haunting valentine to the beautiful but violence-wracked island of Mindanao, is my favorite at the Cinemalaya 2010 festival. The powerful images (eg. an 'imprisoned' Gary reading Shie's journal) and life-affirming stories crawl their way into your head and stay embedded there along with your cherished memories.

Fe GingGing Hyde comes up with a devastating performance as Shie, a Tausug widow who lost her mind after the deaths of her sons. I cannot forget the part wherein she attempts to shield her son from an assassin’s coup-de-grace. Her unexpected action at the bridge is the best I’ve seen yet of maternal love and sacrifice in local cinema. Until the very end, she fiercely protects her children from the snares of the devil. Diyablo. That is the word she used to describe the goons. It bespeaks of the deep hatred she had for these fiends.

Combining the sensuality of Charito Solis, the fierceness of Nora Aunor, and the subdued acting of Lolita Rodriguez, Hyde is so awesome that I can’t think of any actress that may do justice to the role of Shie. I was wondering who the festival officials had in mind for the main character. It was said that a pair of Cinemalaya officials voiced out their preference for a mainstream actress.

Filmmaker Arnel Mardoquio did the right thing in withdrawing his film from the New Breed competition. He refused to heed the 'suggestions' of the powers that be. He stuck with his decision to film with a purely Mindanao-based crew and actors. In the end, he was vindicated. The resulting film eventually won the Netpac Award.

The bittersweet movie boasts of a brave, gripping script and lovely soundtrack. It is the first indie film to deal directly with the notorious Death Squad in Davao City. Previous films, such as the excellent Imburnal and Engkwentro, only allude to extra-judicial killings by nameless death squads. Sheika takes the issue head on. It presents the true story of a mother who’d lost her four sons to the heartless assassins of Davao City. It indicts the local business group for supporting the death squad members.

The soundtrack does not seem to include a song by Joey Ayala, but his song themes are very much apparent. Davao City and Mindanao in the film were not unlike the places depicted in the songs of Ayala. Gun-related violence and bloodshed mar the beautiful city and the bountiful island. Hamletting and discord are widespread. With corpses springing out from nowhere, the city is slowly turning into a cemetery. Pastilan! Pastilan... Ang Dabaw ay sementeryo!

However, just like Shie, Davao City and the rest of Mindanao can still recover from a traumatic past. Twisted loving care from a friend helped Shie to get well. Local songwriters and filmmakers seem to agree that love can overcome violence and hatred in Mindanao. The Cinemalaya 2010 standouts Limbunan and Sheika both utilized Asin's immortal song Himig ng Pag-ibig in their soundtracks. Amidst all the misery and ugliness brought by the war, the Mindanaoan filmmakers are still hopeful that beauty, peace, and love will reign someday in the southern Philippine island.

Hospital Boat (2009, Arnel Mardoquio)

Cinema Rehiyon 2010 is an annual event highlighting films from the other Philippines. Filipino filmmakers have mostly replaced progressive singers such as Patatag, Inang Laya, and Joey Ayala in bringing out social issues to the open. Armed with digital video cameras and do-it-yourself ethos, local filmmakers churned out films that arouse social action and change through their depiction of the real conditions in their localities. Some of the films exhibited the past few days at Cultural Center of the Philippines were wonderful regional gems such as Wanted: Border, and Anacbanua. Event organizers Dr. Miguel Rapatan and Teddy Co did an excellent job selecting notable works of veteran and budding regional filmmakers such as Erik Matti and Christopher Gozum.

Arnel Mardoquio is a promising filmmaker/peace advocate from Mindanao. His films deal with the elusiveness of peace in the southern Philippine island. Hunghong Sa Yuta (2008) focuses on a deaf-mute boy’s dream of a world without war. It tells the story of lumads, Muslims, and Christians living together peacefully in a small community called Hinyok. It is a well-intentioned though overrated peace advocacy film. The clunky theatrical elements detract viewers from the message it wants to impart. The film somehow managed to nab a handful of nominations from the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. The Urian award given to music scorer Popong Landero is well deserved, though.

On the other hand, Hospital Boat is one of the best films of 2009. Rarely seen after its world premiere at the Cinemalaya Cinco festival, the film is currently on a campus tour. Initially projected to be three hours long, it was edited down to 125 minutes in order to accommodate screening requests by school officials. Even in its shortened form, the film is already a potent and powerful movie. Music scoring and direction are top-notch.

One of the few films to directly deal with the evils of political warlordism, it chillingly prefigures the Maguindanao massacre of November 2009. A viewer during the Cinema Rehiyon 2010 screening of the film was surprised to learn that the movie was finished long before the massacre. The film depicts a fictional set of southern islands plagued by violence. The main purveyor of dark deeds is Muktar, half-brother of a Muslim congresswoman. He operates a gun-running business, trains child warriors for his private army, and holes up in a palatial fortress. Every one who disobeys him or gets in his way ends up being killed, mostly at his hands. He accepts dirty jobs for influential people.

A politician, wishing to earn the approval of the Americans, approaches Muktar. He wants the latter to convince a Muslim girl impregnated by an American soldier to go abroad. This scene alludes to the Nicole-Smith rape case. Another real-life event alluded in the film is the Ces Drilon kidnapping case. The violent acts are not only against women. Violence in this film is encompassing, ranging from senseless killings of people to violence against Earth. Conditions in Mindanao have been so dire and bloody that even religious people are left with no choice but to take up arms and do things they would not normally do.

Hospital Boat showed several possible paths to achieving peace and prosperity. It highlights the importance of education in improving the lot of people. The teenaged shaman returns to school. Another topic discussed is the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. This is a thorny issue as it needs the amendment of the constitution to fully implement it. Mindanao also needs service-oriented leaders and dedicated workers. The title of the film refers to a boat commissioned by a tireless rural health worker Dr. Sittie. The appearance of the boat at the end of the film suggests that there is still hope for peace, healing and development in Mindanao.

I’m eagerly anticipating Mardoquio’s third feature-length film, Sheika, which is an entry to the Cinemalaya 2010 competition. If Mardoquio continues to get better in his craft, then Sheika will probably end up as most-awarded film. Other Cinemalaya finalists include Mindanaoan filmmakers, Sheron Dayoc and Gutierrez Mangansakan II. Exciting and refreshing stories await viewers at the Cinemalaya 2010.