My 2016 in Books, Films, and Theater

2016 edition of my annual recap:

BOOKS

1. "Before Sunrise & Before Sunset' - screenplays
2. "A Raisin in the Sun" - screenplay
3. "To Kill A Mockingbird" - novel
4. "Kill Your Darlings" - screenplay
5. "10 Short Plays" - plays
6. "Write Here. Write Now." - autobiography/memoir
7. "Steal Like An Artist" - autobiography/memoir
8. "Gagamba" - novel
9. "Humans of New York" - photography, anthology
10. "Of God and Men" - memoir
11. "Brokeback Mountain" - short stories
12. "Princess Maryam" - screenplay
13. "Waiting for Godot" - play
14. "Biography of Mother Theresa" 
15. "Martin Luther King Jr.: History Maker" - biography
16. "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" - novel, self-help
17. "The Vagina Monologues" - play
18. "Dear Distance" - short stories
19. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" - novel
20. "Humans of New York Stories" - photography
21. "Letters from Father Christmas" - letters

MOVIES

Foreign

1. The Revenant - drama
2. Sisters - comedy
3. 50 First Dates - rom-com
4. Macbeth - drama
5. Room - drama
6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - action, comedy
7. Trumbo - drama
8. Diary of a Teenage Girl - drama
9. The Danish Girl - drama
10. Steve Jobs - drama
11. Kung Fu Panda 3 (because of my job!) - action, comedy, animation
12. Big Hero 6 - drama, comedy, animation
13. Eat. Pray. Love. - drama
14. Midnight in Paris - drama
15. Angry Birds (twice!) (because of my job!) - comedy, animation
16. X-Men:Apocalypse - action
17. Captain America: Civil War - action
18. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice - action 
19. Families (from French Film Fest) - comedy
20. The Very Private Life of Mr. Sim (from French Film Fest) - drama, comedy
21. Dead Pool - action, comedy
22. Ant-Man - action
23. Kingsman: The Secret Service - action
24. Alice Through The Looking Glass - drama, fantasy
25. Guardians of the Galaxy - action, animation
26. Ghostbusters - comedy
27. Looking: The Movie - drama
28. Nerve - drama, suspense
29. Suicide Squad - action
30. Don't Think Twice - drama, comedy
31. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - fantasy
32. Sausage Party - comedy
33. Dr. Strange - action
34. Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - fantasy
35. Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Concert in cinemas - drama, musical
36. Across the Universe - drama, musical
37. Moana - animation, adventure, comedy
38. AMY - documentary

Local

1. Buy Now, Die Later - horror, suspense
2. Walang Forever - rom-com 
3. Just the 3 of Us - rom-com
4. Imbisibol (from French Film Fest) - drama
5. Imagine You and Me (because of my job!) - romance, drama
6. Lando at Bugoy (from Cinemalaya 12) - drama
7. Ang Babaeng Humayo - drama
8. Apocalypse Child - drama 
9. Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa - romance, drama
10. Toto - comedy
11. Kabisera - drama (#MMFF2016)
12. Saving Sally - animation, romance (#MMFF2016)
13. Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2 - comedy (#MMFF2016)
14. Sunday Beauty Queen - documentary (#MMFF2016)

THEATER

1. Tanghalang Pilipino's "Prinispe Munti" - musical, puppetry, drama
2. "Open The Door" - political satire, comedy
3. Red Turnip Theater's "Constellations" - play
4. Tanghalang Pilipino's "Tito Vanya" - play
5. Virgin Labfest sets A-D
6. Tanghalang Pilipino's "Sandosenang Sapatos" - musical, drama
7. Tanghalang Pilipino's "Pangarap sa Isang Gabi sa Gitnang Tag-Araw" - play, tragedy-comedy
8. Ballet Manila's "Cinderella" - ballet

TV SERIES

1. How To Get Away With Murder (season 2, season 3 fall finale)
2. Empire (season 2, season 3 fall finale)
3. Mozart in the Jungle (seasons 1 and 2)
4. Looking (seasons 1 and 2)
5. Stranger Things (season 1)

Let's Talk About Melodrama

Last week, I attended the talk "Iyakan at Sampalan: Melodrama in Philippine Cinema" by film historian and professor Nick Deocampo.

It was a 2-hour entertaining and informative talk made more engaging by the generous sharing and animated movements of Prof. Nick. 

Here are some of the most salient points from the lecture:

DEFINITION

Melodrama comes from the Greek Melos (song) and it denoted a stage play accompanied by music. It evolved to "drama with music (melos)," although in modern melodramas, music ceased to be an integral part.

Melodramas have stock characters (heroes, villains). Characters that are simply drawn, 1-dimensional or stereotyped.

Melodrama came to signify "a form of drama characterized by sensationalism, emotional intensity, hyperbole, strong action, violence, rhetorical excesses, moral polarities, brutal villainy, and its ultimate elimination, and the triumph of good." (Dissanayake)

POPULAR CHARACTERISTICS
-Woman's film
-Iyakan, Pang-aapi, Sampalan, Sabunutan, Tarayan, Higanti, Patayan, Ubusan ng lahi, Patawaran
-Pejoratively called tear-jerker
-Low form of entertainment drama

THREE ASPECTS TO FILM AND MELODRAMA

1. Melodrama gives prominence to the experiences, emotions, and activities of women. It provides a platform for women's voice.

2. Melodrama gives attention to fundamental issues of representation, role of ideology, and cultural construction.

3. Melodrama provides ways to illuminate the deeper structures of diverse cultures.

POPULAR EXAMPLES OF MELODRAMATIC FILMS
-Himala
-Bituing Walang Ningning
-Atsay
-Anak
-Brutal
-Hellow Soldier (Political Melodrama)
-Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon
-Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa
-The Flor Contemplacion Story
-Burlesque Queen
and a lot more (esp.from the 80s and 90s)

Visit this LINK to learn more about the upcoming talk of Prof. Nick in Ayala Museum. Trust me, listening to him is worth your while! :)

Another "Almost"

I just got back from MOWELFUND (Movie Workers Welfare Foundation) where I applied to be one of the fellows of CINE PANULAT 2016, the second edition of the free screenwriting laboratory founded and ran by acclaimed director and screenwriter Jun Lana.

I came in 15 minutes earlier than the call time. By 10 A.M., we were given a creative writing exercise which required us to write our biography in a maximum of five sentences and develop a scene with three people on the side of a bridge. 

Jun Lana made his message clear the moment he greeted us--only those who submitted an "okay" (meaning, good) write-up will be considered for the initial interview and those who did "good" will be endorsed to him for the final interview and selection.

About 80 applicants were shortlisted from a pool of--wait for it--410 submissions! 

Just before lunchtime, I took a risk and submitted my entry first. Direk Jun read it inside the small theater along with the other entries. I was filled with anxiety for more than two hours of waiting--Did I write good enough? Did he like it?

Fortunately I was called on for the initial interview with Direk Perci Intalan (Direk Jun's husband). I exerted every effort to be as honest as possible while talking to him (bordering on being an eager beaver, tbh) because I believe that as a writer, that should be a non-negotiable trait. 

But it wasn't enough. 

Not long after my interview, one of the volunteers thanked me and advised that they will just "contact me for any updates" which literally translates to "better luck next time."

Everything was alright, though. I knew the moment I sent my application that it was not going to be an easy ride. Direk was looking for amateur writers with writing background in movie, TV or theater, and I only had a single one-act play to show him. At least I tried and because of that, I can now sleep well.

The lesson I learned today: interviews and screening processes are all about perception. How? I can look at my situation in two ways: first, that I didn't make it to the Final 20; and second, that from 410 applicants, I made it to the shortlist then to the first round of interviews with about 50 remaining aspirants. I chose to be grateful and focus on the latter instead :)

Additionally because of the writing exercise, I will have a new blog entry :)

All is well. Opportunities are infinite but unfortunately this blog isn't, so...bye!

Introspection

It's hard to write when you don't know what to write about. You wanna finish another (or your first) masterpiece but you can't even write a sentence. Maybe you can but you don't what is it about. Maybe you do but you have no clue how to continue.

All you wanted is to be good. When you have one or two good stories, you wanna be better. You want to reach that line that promises greatness and welcomes fearlessness. You know you want to write but then you don't know what is it about. 

This consuming passion to write, to share stories, to be a narrator, a comic, a dramatist, a romantic, a priest, a nun--a person who others pay attention to not because you seek attention, only because you have something to share.

What do you want to be? A playwright? A novelist? A poet? An essayist? Do you want an extensive work of literature or do you want to save up space and time? You don't know which path you wanna take. No business, no bullshit--you want to pursue your love for writing, literature, and the arts.

Hard to find inspiration, right? What about your successes? Your failures? Your wicked ways? Your wild dreams? First sex? With whom? First love? Who? World Peace? No, it's probably corny. You? Too egotistical.

Ricky Lee said as a writer, you don't wait for the moment, you make that moment.

Write as if it's the last day.
Write because you want to.
Write because you must.