IT WAS fun seeing the outpouring of support of friends and friends of friends for the Metro Manila Film Festival.
Even those who don't normally watch movies during the holidays came out and watched.
The action was in support of the gamble the organizers took for this year: to feature quality films and do without the catatonia-inducing films that have long hostaged the film festival that was designed to give Filipino films a chance in the box office.
Honestly, how many Enteng Kabisote should we be watching until the last drop of our creative juice runs dry? How many Shake, Rattle and Roll should we suffer through every year? How many Feng Shuis, Praybeyt Benjamins, and all other formulaic movies should we be forced to feed our children with, simply becuase, for one whole week, there is nothing else that they can watch on their Christmas vacation?
True, the screaming crowds were not there. But there was enough appreciative crowd to fill the movie houses. And because the films, even the funny ones like Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2 bore messages and made fun of what we have become, there was laughter amid introspection.
It was not slapstick. It allowed people to think, and laugh, and laugh at themselves as well.
Endeavors like this truly deserve the people's support. After all, this is just one week in the whole year, and this is just one week where Filipinos can truly witness how creative the new generation has become.
With commercialism staring at us in the face complete with movies that have nothing but product endorsements in every scene, it was indeed time to say, the Filipinos have had enough.
Have we filled the tills enough? We truly hope so, because every day that a movie house crowd dwindles where a quality movie is showing is a march nearer to creative stupor.
Let us not put to waste the talents of our filmmakers and force them to make the films we have allowed them to make through all these years all because stupid hugot lines and slapstick comedy can easily draw in the crowd for as long as the hottest love team is in the cast.