From San Pedro to Dasmariñas , an inspired talk on Philippine cinema

The theme of the symposium was “Pagsalin sa Kuwentong Pelikulang Pilipino: Salamin ng Nakaraan, Kasalukuyan, at Kinabukasan” which overwhelmed me no end.

It was indeed a broad discussion to deal with but I still pursued it.

Aside from my stock knowledge of the subject, I also researched additional information about the topic.

At the forum the following day, Thursday, I stressed on the importance of a sense of history in the audience. I started to pound on personal history, initially. Then, to generalize the argument, I included the salvation history of Christian faith and other religions because they are conduit to the development of an understanding of the past for a better tomorrow.

I emphasized to them that knowing fully well the history of Philippine cinema will make them love more the arts of filmmaking.

I also singled out each word of the theme to discover and rediscover the past, experience the present and project the future of Philippine movies like the word “salin,” a verb-to-be and the root word of the English term, the verb to translate. I asked several students what they thought of “salin” and they would expound the right thought and articulation. “Kuwento” is narrative “Pelikula,” of course, is self-defined

“Salin” would also mean, more of context, to transport, transform, adapt, makeover etc.

Then I went to the meat of the discussion which was the tradition and beginning of cinema in the Philippines.

Of course, I said that the tradition of cinema is literature with some of its types like story and its elements like plot, characters, setting, conflict etc.

Theater, an allied art of cinema, is also a basis of film, although it has a different form as the predecessor of entertainment and information at the turn of the 20th century.

I mentioned that the first businessmen who brought the technology of cinema like cinematographe was brought in by Spaniards like Pertierra and Antonio Ramos, a Spanish soldier, a remnant of colonization while the coming of the Americans when the Philippines was ceded by the Spanish royalty to the United States of America ushered in the technology transfer, this time, of sound in films like Tait and Harris.

I also mentioned that I would center only on epochal stages in the development of cinema like the first Filipino film made by a Filipino, Jose Nepomuceno, the Father of Philippine Movies.

I described “Dalagang Bukid” as a zarzuela but adapted by Nepomuceno into a silent film.

I introduced another film pioneer Vicente Salumbides who was always a partner of Nepomuceno in filmmaking.

I told the crowd which included teachers, school administration, faculty members and other guests that Salumbides was also a purveyor of Spanish colonialism because he was a Portuguese whose father remained in the Philippines after the war, married a Filipina and settled in the country for the longest time.

Salumbides was also clearly an epitome of American imperialism because he studied filmmaking in Hollywood and brought colonial education to the Philippines.

I would follow up on epochal stages with the emergence of film stalwarts like Gerry de Leon, Lino Brocka, Lamberto Avellana, Manuel Silos and their ilk but the production staff reminded me that I only have a few minutes to talk.

In other words, my lecture was cut off because of overtime.

But the organizers, including the mentors, assured me that they would invite me again for a longer talk.

“Nabago kasi ang schedule. May mga estudyante na may exams kaya iniklian na lang ang diskusyon (The schedule had changed. There were students who had exams that the discussion was shortened),” Head of the Film Division Ahnnie said apologetically.

I was inspired and engrossed to share my knowledge of Philippine cinema but it’s alright, there will always be the next time.

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