SETTLE down, kids, because the MTRCB’s dropping some Class A knowledge about Cebuano film and its significance in the beginnings of the film industry.
Last Aug. 10, the 6th Family and Child Summit of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) had university and college students in Cebu making the Cebu Provincial Capitol a Mecca on all things Filipino films. MTRCB board member Gloria Sevilla, Professor Nick Deocampo and director Jose Javier Reyes talked about their own philosophy, experience and the film history.
MTRCB chairperson Rachel Arenas said that the occasion was set in Cebu to honor Cebuano filmmakers.
“Cebu is like a second home to me. We used to frequent Cebu not only because it was malapit (near) but because we have a lot of Cebuano friends that we consider family also,” said Arenas.
In her speech, Arenas shared the purpose of the summit: “This summit seeks to foster a closer collaboration among us who are all stakeholders in promoting Filipino values, customs and traditions among our children through the powerful influence of visual media and entertainment, television and film.”
The passionate chairperson also pointed out the many general characteristics of Filipinos with love for good entertainment being one of them.
The summit, the first to be held in Cebu, was also a notable milestone as it also celebrates the 100th year of Philippine Cinema.
Cebu’s contribution was truly on display as the first one to speak was the Queen of Visayan Cinema herself, Gloria Sevilla. In all her glorious talent and experience, she shared her humble beginnings as an actress.
In her speech, she said: “Ang Cebu parte na sa akong lawas. Ang dugo nga nilatay sa akong lawas Cebuano gyud kaayo (Cebu is part of my body. The blood that runs in my veins is very much a Cebuano). I’m so proud to be Cebuana.”
Sevilla recalled that at a young age, her classmates teased her for her looks. This, however, made her stronger.
“Kanang daug-daugon ka, makahatag nimog kusog (When people put you down, it will make you stronger). So I started to dream to become an actress.”
The queen narrated that when she first transferred to the University of the Visayas, she entered the drama club and became a scholar. Her first gig in declamation flourished; her talent was not unnoticed as a talent scout discovered her.
Her first acting job as a Muslim princess in a movie produced by the Azucena Productions slingshotted her to stardom, garnering local and international nominations and awards, and of course, she also found a great love in her love-team partner: the late Mat Ranillo Jr. Together, they became the Visayan film royalty.
“Every movie that we made was a box office hit,” said Sevilla.
However, everybody sighed sadly when she mentioned their last movie together, 1969’s “Badlis Sa Kinabuhi,” which was shot in Danao City. The movie won numerous nominations in the Famas (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences) Awards, and earned her the best actress award.
Moving on, she said her heart fluttered again for her late second husband, Amado Cortez, who also directed “Gimingaw Ako.” This film was one for the books, as Famas saw a back-to-back win for Sevilla while her daughter, Suzette, bagged the best supporting actress award.
As she began to close her speech, she got a bit emotional: “Murag ang Visayan movies ni-a gyud sa among dugo. Di’ gyud namo hikalimtan ang among gigikanan (Visayan movies are in our blood. We can’t forget where we came from).” As proof, she proudly shared how her family knows how to speak Bisaya despite living in Manila.
She encouraged everybody to be proud and to never cease making Visayan movies: “Naa sa inyong mga kamot ang kalampusan sa pagbalik sa atong Bisaya na movies (The successful return of movies in Bisaya is in your hands).”
The audience was in for a treat as Cebuano director Victor Villanueva presented his film, “Patay Na Si Hesus.” Fatrick Tabada, the film’s writer, was also present.
Sevilla ended her speech with a rendition of “Badlis Sa Kinabuhi,” a song that lulled the audience in silence.
Nick Deocampo took the attentive crowd to a journey of the country’s film history. Of course his documentaries documenting the birth of several film cinemas in Asia, especially the Philippines, was expected to educate and entertain.
His engaging discussion, touching on the significance of Cebu in tracing the countries’ film cinema history, provoked the audience to think like a historian, with slide after slide of hard-earned information to digest.
He led the audience to a thought-evoking retracing of Filipino film history as he explained how, back at the University of the Philippines (UP), he insisted that Philippine cinema started in 1917.
“Primary documents would bear out that Philippine Cinema should be attributed to the year when Don Jose Nepomuceno (father of Filipino cinema) claimed that Tagalog Cinema, which would later become Filipino Cinema, actually started in 1917 when he set up his Malayan movies,” said Deocampo.
Traditionally, he said, the birth of Philippine Cinema has been attributed to 1919, which was the year “Dalagang Bukid” was released.
Deocampo also said he made an important discovery, a document that narrates how Nepomuceno shot his first documentary in Cebu during the interment of Doña Estefania Velasco Vda. De Osmeña in 1918, the first wife of President Sergio Osmeña.
The UP professor inspired great excitement when he said that the document could be proof that the first cinema production was in Cebu. Of course, this could yet be affirmed with more facts.
“Pero we need more facts. Eto ay document lamang (This is just a document)—mga claims but truth claims. (They) can still be debunked. Ang problema lang ay kung sinong kakalaban sa atin (The only problem is, who will go against us)?”