 Stakes are high and bets are running
wild as the movie industry as well as fans gear up for the
newest Philippine entry to the Best Foreign Film category
at the 73rd annual Oscar awards night in Hollywood on February 22, 2009.
Ploning,
one of the best Filipino movies this year and latest
tearjerker, has toured Europe and North America starting summer
2008. From a Dante Nico Garcia plot inspired by his beautiful
island of Cuyo in Palawan, the movie revolves around the riveting
love story of the island charm and the character Ploning, who
has endured harsh realities spending years waiting for the love
of her life when he left for the city of Manila.
The painful awaiting, the enduring relationships with her mother, an adoptive boy, and the whole town could not but add to the angst of Ploning played by talented actress Judy Ann Santos. The plot gets thicker and suspenseful when, the arrival of a supposedly more-than-just-friend lady of Ploning’s love interest appears from the past in Ploning’s otherwise tranquil and placid island of Cuyo.
The movie is a story that played out the dreams
of its creator’s unwavering love for an island's rich culture.
Dante Nico Garcia, the director and writer of the movie, cast
his inspiration from his hometown of Cuyo in Palawan. Palawan
is one of the many seven thousand islands the Philippines is
proud of.
Cuyo delivers a backdrop of insanely picturesque
tranquility and serenity. Its beautiful setting and Garcia's
own personal connections has spurred him to create the movie
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has voted
against other entries, as worthwhile to represent the Filipinos
in the Best Foreign Film category.
Seven years after the popular Cuyonan folk song entitled Ploning inspired Garcia, a movie with the same title has grappled its way to the hearts of nostalgic Pinoys from Paris to North America. The first stage of Ploning’s outing was in the European capital of Paris in the gathering of the prestigious European Film Market.
After its other Parisienne debut this time in
the Paris Cinema, Ploning was brought to try in the 2008 Toronto
International Film Festival (TIFF) but unfortunately did not
make the cut. It was however shown in a round of selected theatres
for a while from August 22 to September 1 to accommodate the
Filipino communities who were all just rearing for some nostalgia
during the TIFF.
September was a busy time for promoting Ploning
in the United States. It was shown in San Antonio, Texas, San
Francisco, San Diego, and at the AMC Cinema in Los Angeles, California,
where the movie's main star Judy Ann Santos and director
Dante Garcia graced the event. Ploning went on to ostentatiously
grace the New York’s New Directors/New Film Festival and
the Palm Springs International Film Festival as well.
Here is an excerpt from an interview with Guia Gonzales, executive producer of the movie, Ploning:
Brown Heritage (BH): Ploning is a love story
that is typically modern-day Filipino. What made it so captivating
to audiences of French cinema?
Guia Gonzales: Aside from the support
of the Filipino community in Paris (with others coming from all
over Europe), we believe that the positive portrayal of the Philippines
through the unique milieu of Cuyo Island and its people captured
the hearts of the French audience in Paris.
BH: Do you believe showing it in North America
will have the same impact as it had in Europe?
Gonzales: Yes, we believe so. We’re hoping
that Ploning will be welcomed and embraced by Filipinos all over
the world — those who grew up in the lush and laidback
era of the country and those who belong to a new generation
of “universal
Filipinos” who want to retrace their roots.
BH: What do you think needs to be improved
in Filipino movies to make a definite mark in the European/North
American market, now that Filipino films are definitely making
waves.
Gonzales: One will be surprised and excited
on how diverse and excellent Filipino films from both mainstream
and independent scenes have now become. There’s no doubt
that Filipino filmmakers are highly creative, quite ingenious
actually. What we need to improve on is the business side of
the film production — the financing, promotions, and distribution
aspects, support from the Philippine government, and other countries
whose filmmaking industries or arts sectors are more developed
— these should be very welcomed as this point.
BH: What is different in Ploning from all other Filipino movies that had been shown internationally that makes it so justifiably moving?
Gonzales: We believe that it is in the heart,
the positive depiction of the country and our people that make
it moving and appealing, a side that every Filipino longs
to remember, be reminded of, and perhaps even want to reveal
to other nationalities.
BH: Lastly, a lot of the reviews seem to say one thing, that Ploning is a riveting story of love and forgiveness. It sorts of pulls a viewer to the character’s emotional strength as opposed to the pain she undergoes as what the story wants to convey. Is it the superb acting and delivery of the lines from the main character or is it just the way the lines were written accompanied by everything else that is the movie itself?
Gonzales: The story of Ploning and its award-winning
cast stand out amongst all the elements in the film. But we have
to credit the excellent cinematography, live sound, musical scoring,
editing, production design, in short, the creative team, that
put all these together.
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