MMFF 2021: THREE TO WATCH

 I have seen all the eight entries of this year's MetroManila Filmfest as (again) I sat as one of the jurors together with National Artist Virgilio Almario, editor and post-production head Manet Dayrit, musical director Nonong Buencamino, the iconic Ricky Lee, actress Cherry Pie Picache, Rachel Arenas, MMFF Spokesperson,  Noel Ferrer and Senator Christopher Go (represented by CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera.)

For two Fridays the jurors sat through four films per session.  However I cannot publish this until after the Awards Night on the 27th of December since the group mentioned above has not yet sat around a table to deliberate on the winners.  At this point (as I write this), I am not allowed to discuss whatever choices I have picked but while the films are fresh in my mind, let me jot this down.

There are three must-watch films.  They are not your usual pang-Festival films which mean a lot of kilig-kilig, tawa-tawa and frou-frou. That statement was not meant to be demeaning: admittedly the MMFF is a commercial fiesta --- and the most successful films (box office wise) are not the ones most likely to excite the members of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino or your favorite mataray film critic armed with a thesaurus.

There are disappointments in the offerings this year --- but then again, a jury of so many people do not and cannot dictate what the people should or would want.  There are films as there are movies --- and they do not cancel each other.  Some people want to be intellectually stimulated while others want pure entertainment.  They both pay for the same price of the movie ticket --- so they both have the same rights to demand what they want from their two hour escape from reality.

What I have to offer is my opinion --- because I feel that these works deserve a much larger audience than what the other more commercial ones can possibly generate. Sayang if these films do not get the affirmation from the Christmas crowd simply because they have chosen to make statements rather than service popular taste.

A Hard Day (directed by Law Fajardo) is a well-crafted film that packs suspense, boasts of excellent cinematography, editing, sound, music and design added to the exceptional performance of its lead actor, Dingdong Dantes.

The movie is tight, the narrative is clear cut and the performances delivered by the supports enhance rather than diminish the quality of the output.  It did not bastardize nor compromise the original 2014 South Korean film that it remade directed by Kim Seong-Hun and starring Lee Sun Gyun.

If there is anything to be held against this movie, then it is its very asset. It is, after all, a remake of another movie --- and just how much of the Filipino version can be attributed as original and not merely templated.  But that sort of argument is moot and academic: it is a remake, right? And this an excellently crafted one that deserves credit.

Kun Maupay It Panahon ( Whether the Weather is Fine, directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad) is a feat of a first feature film by an editor-turned-director.

Warning: this is not your Pamasko movie.  The entire narrative is based on the personal experience of the director when he returned to his hometown in Tacloban right after the devastation brought by the super typhoon Yolanda.

In what looked like a dystopian universe, the Tacloban recreated here is a marvel of design by Whammy Alcazaren brought to even more chilling levels by the camera work of Singaporean cinematographer Teck Siang Lim.  The movie is a painful slow burn, tracing the remnants of the lives of a young man, Miguel (Daniel Padilla) and his mother Norma (Charo Santos-Concio) as well as his girlfriend Andrea (Rans Rifol).  

The entire film is in Waray, the language of Tacloban --- and moves to the level of surrealism as the survival instincts of the victims reshape their very nature and humanity.  The ladies in the film deliver heartbreaking performances but it is Daniel Padilla who you wish will be given far better, meatier, challenging and edgy roles that would test his mettle as an actor.  Padilla is so good and could even be better if studios make him graduate from matinee idol to real artist in the challenges they give him in projects.  

The popular audience may not see this as the kind of film they want to experience in the Jingle Bells season but it still demands attention and consideration for its sheer scope, ambition and statement.

Jun Robles Lana has a way of surprising his audiences with his film outputs.

Whereas his campy/dramatic Die Beautiful married both commercial and critical success, his evolution as a filmmaker brought him to Khalel 15 and now one of his best works, Big Night.

Again, this is not your Pamasko movie to go hand in hand with your hamon de bola or even Eddam cheese. What Lana offers is a cinematic picaresque tracing the overnight adventures of a small time beautician named Dharna (with an H) wonderfully --- nay, exceptionally portrayed by Christian Bables.  This movie, despite its seeming simplicity, is loaded with such statements that you end up thinking about the film after the screening and wanting to discuss its aspects with people who have shared your experience.

The journey of Dharna is a glimpse into the microcosm of Philippine society in the here and now, present progressive, woven together by the absurdity of Pinoy politics and governance. What is impressive about Lana's work is that it never went in your face nor made the apparent obvious because the material made you think then reflect on the mess that we live in.

Over and above the excellent cinematography, music, sound and editing, it is the performances of the chorus of a supporting cast that makes this film one of the best of the year.  Eugene Domingo, Janice de Belen, John Arcilla and Nico Antonio bring together a beautiful symphony of naturalistic renditions of their role further emphasizing the social statements given by the film.

So is it worth the risk of going to a cinema to watch a film? 

These are three very good reasons to do so.  If only to affirm the bravery and effort of the filmmakers who put these three films together, then please do so.

Somehow A Hard Day, Kun Maupay and Big Night justify why there are still very valid reasons why the MetroManila Film Festival should keep on going.

THE SECOND PANDEMIC CHRISTMAS

 Honestly I miss suffering from a major LSS of Joe Mari Chan's Christmas melodies.

In less than a week it will be Christmas.  We Filipinos take this really seriously for as early as September we are all excited to don our gay apparels and go fa-la-la-la.  But not this year.  Even lesser than last.  Understandably so.  We are about to enter the second year of the pandemic --- and keeping us apart has been a standard for making sure we all get to outlive the threat of the virus.

And ever since we have been pulled down to Alert Level 2, malls have come back to life (with whatever shops that have not shut down their businesses).  Restaurants are jampacked as if people have been let loose and are craving for anything but home cooked meals ... or those delivered by Grab or Lala Moves.  Kids are scampering all over activity areas and open spaces --- signifying to an attempt to impersonate the Old Normal except that we are still wearing masks and still threatened by the dreaded Omicron.

So why is it that I still do not have the jittery, happy feeling that Christmas is just around the corner as the world celebrates love and sharing? 

Some say that age has got something to do with the attitude you have about the Yuletide season. As you grow older, the thrill diminishes ... because instead of anticipating the gifts you are about to receive, you worry about the gifts you have to give.  It is harder to put to your mind that, hey ... you do not have to do so but you are pressured by tradition and expectations.  Worse, you hate that Filipino brazenness ( hopefully not impropriety) when somebody not necessarily that close to you asks, "Huy, ha? Yung Pamasko ko, ha?"

Well, I am still trying to feel that it's Christmas.  Why am I not hearing Joe Mari Chan's songs?  Or even Kumukutikutitap?

As early as mid-November, I had my house all dolled up for the holidays.  

I have checked my Christmas list and made plans for a post-Christmas dinner with my closest friends here at home ... and yet, despite all this, it still does not feel like it's that time of the year. I look at the street where I live and there is a dearth of Christmas lights ... as if everybody is thinking more of Meralco than Santa Claus.

Yes, it must be the pandemic.  

Or this surreal atmosphere brought by toxic Philippine politics. 

And then came the winds of Odette with all the devastation left in the islands of Central Visayas --- practically levelling down the haven that was Siargao.

And this is less than a week before Christmas as I feel so saddened by the devastation nature has left on our people making one question if merriment has become inappropriate at a time such as this. I heard about the damage done to Bohol and I wonder how the affected families will spend the next two weeks meant for celebration ... quiet or otherwise.

But then again, how do you put these things in a much larger context?  Yes, somebody will mutter that oh-so-overused phrase Christmas is in the Heart  ... and you try to understand what that means considering what surrounds you.

Well, the least we can do is be grateful that we are still here ... and that we are surviving. 

That we are resilient.  But again, as somebody posted in social media, "It is already exhausting to be resilient."  We must carry on ... learn from all this to justify why we are still alive in the here and now.

We must really mean it when we say Merry Christmas.  We must still find happiness regardless of whatever state we are in because we need the strength and determination to move on.  That can only come when we still have aspirations for a better whatever.

Yes, I am wrong.  Christmas has got nothing to do with annual obligations.  

This season is all about the humanity in our beings as we find an opportunity to express our love and gratitude regardless of the god we  give our prayers.

It is about moving on, determined that the new year that lies ahead will be better and more fulfilling than the one we have just lived through.

MMFF 2021: WILL WE BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO GO BACK TO THE THEATERS TO SEE OUR MOVIES?

 The MetroManila Filmfest (MMFF) has always been the crowning glory in terms of box office returns for Filipino movies.  By law, during the span of the Christmas week ... all the way to the New Year, only local movies are allowed screenings in the movie houses covering the domain of Metro Manila.

But the nearly two years of the pandemic has changed all that.  Yes, we will still have the MMFF mounted this year despite the fact that the poor attendance of moviegoing in cinemas has proven the exercise to be highly unprofitable.  In a mall of so many screening outlets, an average of only one hundred people bought tickets and watched movies throughout an entire day.  And that is not even enough to cover for the cost of turning on the air conditioning.  

Moreover, after twenty months of closure equipment of the moviehouses are now conking out because of a stretch of unuse.  Those who are brave enough to march to cinemas to buy tickets end up screaming in both anger and frustration as images hang or machines completely conk out in the middle of watching movies.

The truth is that the pandemic has changed so many aspects in what we perceived as our daily lives pre-COVID19.  Because of the cost of  tickets plus the additional expenditures of food, transportation, blah, blah, blah each time you go out of the house to catch a movie, people have found a different comfort zone in streaming platforms ... or even YouTube.  The pandemic has also pushed us into that: why bother going out of the house to catch a flick when you can easily stay in your bedroom with your most comfortable house pambahay and not worry about the traffic?

Yes, it will require a lot of convincing for people to see a movie back in the cinema houses.  It only took such a relatively short span of time for the mindset of people to change. Now going out of the house to do anything is a major production number (complete with protocols and precautions) so that more often than not --- it does not feel like it is worth the trouble or the effort.

But in the same way we choose comfort, we also have surrendered the real experience of watching a movie.

What a difference it made to see Chloe Zhao's Nomadland on the big screen as compared to your computer monitor regardless of size and technological wizardry.  Can you possibly fully appreciate any of the Marvel or DC summer epics or Steven Spielberg's reinterpretation of West Side Story in any smaller screen than that of a movie house complete with Dolby sound and all its embellishments?  

Can comfort really replace the experience of watching a film in a totally blacked out movie house knowing that there are other people forming a community and sharing ... yes, a communal experience of embracing a narrative of sound and sight?

I think not.  But nowadays, the bottom line is It better be worth it. 

It is not only the cost of the ticket at stake here ... but the dangers of health that one can be so paranoid about in a world that has not yet purged itself of the killer virus.

Now can the MMFF lure back the Filipino audiences to the movie houses?

This is quite a tall order --- but, as somebody in the organizing committee said, "If we don't go back to the cinemas now ... then when?"  There is a need to create a demand for people to return to the real cinematic experience rather than just be blase with the comfort of streaming platforms.  Now it is a matter of asking if the movies of the festival are good enough, strong enough to convince the audiences to accept the fact that this Christmas, we will try to bring back as much of the old normal possible ... or as we remember it.

So now we ask, "O, ano? Manonood ka ba?"

THE HALLYU INVASION AND THAT SINGLE NOMINATION

 Well, congratulations to our boys (again).

After literally sweeping the American Music Awards and the MTV Europe Awards this year, our Bulletproof Boy Scouts aka Bangtan Songyeodan universally known as BTS, was given their second nomination for Best Performance by a Duo or Group by the Grammys. Period.

This was the same category they were nominated for last year (for their first all-English song Dynamite)  which they lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande (Rain on Me). 

OK. One nomination for their rendition of their second all English song Butter, perhaps (together with Olivia Rodrigo's Good for You) the biggest summer song of 2021. 

One nomination.  

No Song of the Year. No Record of the Year. Not even Music Video of the Year for My Universe, the collaboration they did with Cold Play.  Just one nomination.

And that says a lot.

Well, yes: the hoity-poity would always cite that, uh, the American Music Awards is fan-based, fan-voted and a popularity contest.  Of course BTS would win considering the sheer size of a planet-wide fandom called ARMY.  Of course those votes would pour in ... just like YouTube feels nervous that there is some hocus-pocus taking place because of the unbelievable number of views their MVs receive just seconds before the launch, hitting millions on  the first day of uploading.  Something as good as that cannot be legit because it is simply not done or believed to be impossible. 

So the same goes for the Grammys --- or any serious award-giving body that is not fan-based or sales-biased.  

Yeah, right, you can have the biggest hit ... but we are talking about music as art here and not founded on consumerism.  Be that as it may, the impact of music is still and will always be the manner by which it affects the audience to indulge or even overdose on the consumption of the material.  That is why you LSS on melodies --- because a particular piece hits closest to you in the here and now and becomes part of that moment in your life when you look back and remember your life's timeline.

Or maybe it is because we have not yet reached that phase when anything from Asian popular artists can be considered serious.

But, no! Didn't Bong Joon Ho and Parasite run off with the Oscars in 2019?  Didn't Squid Game redefine the choice of the most viewed Netflix series in 2021?  Didn't Chloe Zhao receive the Oscars for Best Director last year?

Maybe let's push it further: yes, Lee Isaac Chung is a Korean American but Youn Yuh-jung took home the Best Supporting Actress, right?  

Or just consider all the Asian actors, not only Koreans, who are leaving their thumbprints in big Hollywood movies.  I am not talking about Steven Yeun or Sandra Oh ... but about Canadian Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Kumail Nanijani, Gemma Chan and Don Lee (The Eternals) or soon Park Seo Joon (The Marvels) --- and, yes, Nico Santo, Jojo Briones and Lea Salonga who have been working on American mainstream television and not only the stage.

It is encouraging that cinema and television ... as well as streaming platforms have embraced Asians not just for the sake of inclusive accommodation but as a recognition that --- hey, we are now important in the world order not only in terms of our economic clout but our wealth of talent and depth/scope of cultural histories.  

The definition of Asian has gone beyond Chinese and Japanese --- but the diversity of the cultures within the region as well. Hollywood has stopped portraying Asians as buck-toothed yellow-faced characters who are best fit for roles of servants or operating laundromats.  They can now be superheroes --- both in front and behind the camera.

Then there is the Grammys that gave a powerhouse group of seven Korean boys one nomination and did not even take a peek at the significance of Blackpink or the entire KPop phenomenon within their precious consideration.  

Perhaps it is because in the eyes of that discriminating few, Asian popular music is novelty --- like PSY's Gangnam Style --- and never to be taken seriously much less deserving of such holy recognition.

Whatever.  But when recognition is given by those who are out of the loop, out of touch, out of sync or ... (hopefully not) protecting the sanctity of musical territoriality, then should we even take this seriously?  I mean ... who cares?  So with that single nomination, I wish our boys the best of luck --- but I have stopped expecting.

Like so many others, I am more excited about their music than their trophies. 

After all, the thrill is all about the happiness in the moments when music sweeps you off your feet ... and not the so-called prestige in the judgment of an authorized few.

BTS AND ARMY: WHEN THE GLASS CEILING IS BROKEN

 So here I am again, writing about them.  I couldn't help it: today is a great day for Asian musical artists. The glass ceiling was broken. 

BTS won all the trophies they were cited for in the American Music Awards. This time around, they went beyond the Favorite Duo or Group category (which they won for three years in a row) but bagged not only the Favorite Pop Song ( for "Butter" ) and the grand prize, Artist of the Year.

What made the victory all the more delicious was the roster of talents they were listed vying for the biggest honors: Taylor Swift, Arianna Grande, the Weekend, Drake and the latest pop darling, Olivia Rodrigo. 

Yes, the win is measured by the number of fan votes and not by a select group of judges whose assessments are based not on how much influence a song has in terms of mass popularity --- but some criteria that floats up there in the air. The AMAs is about fandom and the impact the music of an artist leaves to his audience.

But one thing has been proven today: the fandom of these seven boys from South Korea is ... uh, humongous and historic.  The sheer number and power of their ARMY is unparalleled.

Here you have a group of "non-Westerners" who Chris Martin described as having a relationship founded on "brotherhood" claiming the throne of literally being the World's Biggest Band today. 

There is reason to celebrate --- not only their achievement as the first Asian musical act to warrant such popularity --- but the fact that they brought a new sense of universality to popular music. They brought the world of fans together ... regardless of geography, culture and language or "because we come from different sides."

You have people all over the world singing to their songs even though they do not speak or understand the Korean language.  

You have people in awe of their musicality and professionalism but more so their dedication to their work and how they practically kill themselves to deliver an inspired and inspiring performance. 

Call it part of the training of idols in their country --- but regardless of how you brand their showmanship, the trophies they brought home tonight prove the greatness of their journey. No one ever imagined any Asian to be on that stage giving an acceptance speech.  But it happened.  And the door has been opened --- and it can and will happen again.

These were the boys who were passing out flyers in the streets to get people to watch their concerts.  

These are now the forces in music whose contribution goes beyond hit songs, tireless web interactions with their fans or creating reality shows to create an virtual relationship with their fans. 

These are also the quiet philanthropists who do not make a big deal out of their acts of charity but would prefer to do it silently, with anonymity ... and irrefutable sincerity.

These are the Bangtans who have spent more than eight years living and training together and whose growth from gangly boys to giants in their field provide a narrative of beautiful and deserved success. You don't have to be part of their ARMY to realize how they shed a beam of hopeful light, color and happiness to a world that has been diminished to shades of gray.

I write this to end my day because I am happy.

I am happy because there is a beautiful story about seven boys who were put together, worked hard, went through hell, lived through so much undeserved hate then worked again --- very hard to be good at what they were doing. Not only by sheer talent but unwavering persistence, they brought together people of all ages and colors and faiths with their music. They bring us joy just by being who they are.

When Park Jimin posted his video  bowing to his fans thanking them for their success tonight, you know exactly why these boys are there.  

Because they are doing what they are meant to do --- and they are doing it to make millions of people (like me) very happy. Because they are loved.

I purple you.

 

INTERNET MANNERS OR WHY YOU DON'T SEND WORK EMAILS PAST 5:00 PM

Yes, our lives have drastically changed for nearly twenty months since we went on a lockdown.  

Aside from the fact that we all look like extraterrestial creatures walking the streets or traipsing down the corridors of malls withour face shields and masks, the way we spend our waking hours has also been completely revised.  The quarantine has yielded one of the biggest adaptations to urgently address the need for self-isolation. 

It is called "Work From Home" (WFH).

Not that this mode of work has not been proposed before --- out of convenience.  But, as the quarantine demanded it, now WFH has become a need, a solution to keep our jobs without farther endangering our lives.

And again, there are advantages and disadvantages to this.  

It certainly saves a lot of money not only because you don't need to pay for transportation requirements ... or food outside your kitchen and dining table ... or even clothes to make yourself  look presentable.  You are now pegged at home, eating straight from your instant ramen cup and only dressed from waist up or as far as your camera can cover you in a zoom session.

But WFH has also brought about a helluva lot of disadvantages and setbacks. 

For one thing, the division between work and life has been completely blurred.  

Work and Life have merged. Whereas before, getting into your home meant leaving all the pressures, hassles and exhaustion from the office or whatever work space at the doorstep,. now your sanctuary has become your daily battleground as well.  Whether it is a specific room or a corner in your living space, your home has been invaded by the vibes of what used to be your professional domain.  

The demarcation between your professional and personal lives has been erased.

Whereas the me at home was meant to enjoy, chill and relax ... now that me has been surrendered to the demands of a virtual office that has crept into what was your exclusive corner on earth. Now when you open your camera for a zoom meeting, everybody in that session can see a space that was once kept private  and somewhat sacred. 

Oh, yes: that is a simpler way of putting it.  WFH means surrendering a substantial amount of your privacy.

Which is why in an attempt to retain one's sanity as well as much remaining privacy, there should be certain guidelines --- a kind of Digital Age Miss Manners to tell us what is acceptable from what is not.  Actually, it only requires a bit of common sense and a lot of regard for decency to realize what is puede pasar from what is literally crossing the line.

In these most desperate times, we all need work. But we also demand our self-respect as well as care for our mental health.

So let me jot down some points just to define my level of tolerance as far WFH is concerned. These are just some random ramblings from more than a year and half of spending hours on end in front of a computer and pretending that you are creating human interaction necessary for your profession.

But still this all boils down to one important point ---  the basic premise is simple: WORK FROM HOME DOES NOT MEAN 24/7.

(1) Please understand that just because I am working from home means that I am not doing anything.  Just because I am seated in front of my computer wearing shorts and slippers does not mean that I am just lounging around comfortably and pretending to work. DUH! I am just a bit more comfortable, that's all ,,, but I am still under pressure of delivering what is expected from me. I am still doing the same work in house clothes.

(2) Just because I am not registering my working hours on a bundy clock does not mean I am being lethargic.  Do not assume that between zoom meetings I am in bed watching Netflix: as a matter of fact, since WFH modality has been implemented to survive the pandemic (and it looks like it will stay as an option even after the Age of COVID19), my work has increased tremendously.  Why?  Because people always assume that I am procrastinating or lolling around while eating a bag of Doritos in between log-ins.

(3) Zoom meetings cease to be fun after you have three or more of them in a single day.  It was amusing at first ... but now they have become exasperating.  The punishment Mother Nature gave all of us is that she kept all of us apart for playing around with those bats or pangolins. Diminished to talking to heads in boxes, the sessions are exhausting because you are not sure about your degree of engagement --- or why someone turned off his or her camera, unsure of whether or not there is another functioning human being on the other side. So take it easy on the zooms, OK,  I max out at three meetings in a single day. Anything beyond that makes me crabby. Making me go into zooms aside from socializing in e-numans or zoom chikahans make me irritable and feel exploited.

(4) And since we are in the subject of zooms, please have the decency to fix your surroundings if you do not have a background image filter.  Make yourself resemble a decent human being who believes that cleanliness is next to godliness not only in choice of environment but also grooming. The sight of unmade beds or underwear thrown around like daffodils in a war zone can be rather disturbing or even upsetting. What also follows is a sense of propriety in the way you dress whether for an online class, a business or production meeting. Being comfortable does not mean looking like a sloth that assumed human form. 

I am particularly upset, for instance, when I hold online classes and find one of the students still wearing his bed clothes and wrapped in a blanket, hugging a pillow and yawning so that the entire class can see the state of his tonsils.

(5) Mute your mics when you are not talking and turn them on when you need to say something or called to participate in the discussion. Be aware that the incidental sounds in your background can be disturbing/amusing as it would provide information about what kind of life you lead. Hearing your mother's rather loud voice giving instructions or berating your siblings --- or even that cute but particularly irritating pet dog of yours yelping his lungs out have got nothing to do with the agenda of the sessions.

(6) Be aware of what people can see when your camera is on.  This requires no elaboration as there have been great and small tragedies of sorts because people are careless or even clueless in leaving their cameras on while revealing things which should not be generally shared to a viewing public.  Not unless there is an inner exhibitionist in you, be most cautious about allowing the world to see what should only be shared with intimate friends and family. 

Another word of warning: when using a laptop, never ever bring the broadcast in the bathroom regardless of degree of urgency. If ever you need to do so, make sure that your camera is off as there is this most famous anecdote about an important meeting of national scale taking place and one the participants actually broadcasted to an entire august body how he answers the call of nature, complete with sound effects and stunning visuals.  Believe me, it did not leave a good impression. Just a lot of toilet humor.

(7) Regardless of urgency or need, it is but humane not to schedule zoom meetings past 5:00 PM.  Yes, you are all just at home wearing your pambahays but there must be a cut-off time when work ends.  Just because there is no scaled overtime pay in WFH does not mean you have to be zooming until the dead of night, right?  OK, let's take into consideration meetings with participants in different time zones, Fine. You must agree at a common time regardless of location on the planet when the zoom does not inconvenience anyone or demands bottles of Cobra or Red Bull to keep participants up and awake.

(8) Here is another clincher. Believe in the importance of weekends even if it is WFH.  I, for one, have made it clear that I will not accept nor participate in zoom meetings that will go beyond 5:00 - 6:00 PM on Fridays. Why?  Because I have a life aside from my work. I demand to have my me time and weekends are precious considering how stressful it is to work in a near-claustrophobic atmosphere of WFH. 

There goes that argument, "What if it is important? What if it is an emergency?" OK, fine. I will concede to that (as various productions of movies and televisions do have last minute emergencies that require immediate attention).  But do not make me go to a meeting only to find out that we could have discussed this over an email or worse, it could have waited until Monday morning.  

If there are people in your work who do not have lives worth living without the anesthesia of work and schedules, then let that be their problem and not yours.

Now this opens another can of worms which include emails. 

(8) Do not email me about work past 5:00 PM and expect me to respond immediately.  If you needed an urgent response, then learn the proper channel for doing it but always respect my working vis a vis my personal time.

Am I being maaete/mayabang/maangas? No, I am being professional. If there is an urgent matter that needs immediate addressing, then you would not have emailed me. You would have called and maybe ... just maybe I could have answered.

What is the big deal about this?  Because the moment I allow you to do this to me, the moment I start responding to your post 5:00PM emails, I just know for a fact that you are going to it again and again and again because I permitted you to gain total access of all my time for work-related communication.

One thing I love about Google Emails is that there is a feature called SCHEDULED SEND. When I send messages over the weekend, I make sure they are emailed to the recepients first thing Monday morning. Or when I have to send a message after 5:00 PM, I make it a point that the addressee receives it the following day ... at 8:00 in the morning.  That is called respecting your co-worker.

Rest assured, I am going to answer your email at the most appropriate time and not twenty seconds after I received your message because you want me to do so if you send it past my cut-off hour.

Oh, and this leads to another important issue that really pisses me off.

(9) You do not send important messages regarding work through Facebook DMs or PMs.   If you do not have access to my email, you can message me through Facebook and ask for my email, then provide me the reason why you need my email ... then send me the complete message there. But do not think that important communication is done through social media chat. Oh, and another thing ...

(10) You do not invite people to important events via Facebook DMs or PMs.  You send an email with an attached letter of invitation.  That is simple etiquette.  You don't send a message like, "Hey, Dude, I'm inviting you to ..." not unless you are asking me out to a walwalan 'til Kingdom Come and not a formal get together or forum. The proper (and decent electronic way) is to send an email with an attachment in MSWord or PDF format (hayan na!) complete with logo of organization (if any) with an adequate explanation of the event and the nature of invitation.

(11) If you can explain everything via emails, then do not host a zoom. If you need human company, Skype your friends. Use your video chat platforms but please do not host a meeting and take so much of somebody else's precious time when it can be addressed with correspondence.  Another important reminder: do not demand for zooms during lunch breaks (and you are not providing the lunch).  Even if people are at home, devouring food and dealing with a meeting are best done on a face to face situation rather than a virtual potluck party,

Simplify your life in these most complicated times by respecting the right of people to eat properly at their own pace and demands of body clock.

And finally ...

(12) Have a cut-off when you will be online working.  No, have a cut-off when you will log off from the virtual world and go back to the pleasures of real life. I realized that one of my greatest mistakes this past year and a half is that I spend seventy per cent of my waking hours in front of the computer.  I have given up so much of what was my life before in a desperate attempt to anesthetisize myself from the pangs of depression brought about by isolation. And I realized that this is not the solution.

WFH does not mean keeping a living at the cost of losing your life.

The importance of still having yourself despite surrendering your territory to the demands of your profession will always be the priority.  We do our work not only for purposes of survival but to be fulfilled and be happy.

Drowning yourself with work and pretending to have a life is like treading on quicksand. So stand up for your right to have a life despite these extraordinary times.

GOODBYE, RAYMUND

 

Dear Raymund,

I have known you for about two thirds of my life and I guess a greater share of yours.

I knew you as a kid, literally.  

You were this over enthusiastic, machine gun mouthed student of mine in the ComArts classes in De la Salle University.  

Even then you were ... not like the rest.  

You were restless.  You were unstoppable.  You were endlessly excited because for you every possibility is an opportunity to learn.  And you never held back in your drive to get ahead and do exactly what you wanted ... the way you wanted it.

I remember that I tagged you along the opening night of a play I translated into Pilipino. 

It was Carlo Goldoni's Mirandolina, directed by Tony Espejo.  You wanted to witness the premiere of a play and so I dragged you along. I remember how wide-eyed you were,  this kid gaping at the costumes of Badong Bernal and how you joined us in the post-premiere dinner, carrying on a conversation with theater artists that not a regular eighteen or nineteen year old could hold. You were glib and sure of yourself in your endless questions.  I was amused.

You were always a notch above the rest of your peers --- something that happens not very often when a teacher  spots someone in the class who will be somebody by sheer promise and presence. You can sense that he will be one of those who will achieve prominence far exceeding the accomplishments of his teachers.  

That was why I was not surprised when you blossomed into this ... celebrity photographer whose name became as famous as the images you created. 

You became a brand.

In the 80s and the 90s, you rose to that stature not only because of the beautiful pictures you took but because you were always a joy to work with, always a joy to behold.  

The room  used to light up whenever you were around.  You had a way of announcing your presence to make it known that this space would be your territory.

 You made hard work look like fun. You made people more than just comfortable but opened them up, played them on the palm of your hand until your eye captured the very image you wanted to immortalize  into all of time and audiences to see.

You were gifted not only with the talent for manipulation of the split second of light in images: you were blessed with the ability to connect with people ... and to truly know and appreciate them, affirm their worth and make them feel like they were part of your life of learning.

There were numerous times I  worked with you for various projects.

I remember the Star Cinema pictorials we did for the promotion materials needed way back when I was still working for that company.  

I precisely remember that time in your studio when we were doing the poster and promo pics for Kasal Kasali Kasalo,   It was more of a get together of friends since you were also comfortable and personally close to the Agoncillos, You were and will always be loved by so many entertainment luminaries.  

And remember  that time you had me take off my shirt during my balingkinitan and borta phase --- telling me that I should have a memory of the moment when I got myself that fit and I had the privilege of a pronounced chest and waistline at the age mid-50s.  I remember that. You said that in later years I can always refer to those photos to see how once upon a time I looked that good.  I remember that, Raymund,

Or when we sat together in the same panel with Mr. C. and Annabelle Rama for that talent search show in the relaunched TV5.  

Oh, those were such crazy days as we spent so much time in the studio as well as that trip to Cebu when we had to meet the kids auditioning and scheduled for screening.  It was a laugh-a-minute. 

Being with you was never work, Raymund.  It was always about the fun. The fun in being together because of work.

We both agreed on that: work ceases to be just work when you have fun doing what you always wanted to do.  And that was the way you lived your life.  You always had a sense of humor. And a love for life and people.

It is only now that I realized that our most treasured moments were the times we saw each other in Boracay for stretches of holidays for Easter and Christmas.

If I did not go with friends, I would spend an entire week alone in what used to be my Happy Place. We would find each other in Station 2 where you and your entire family were billeted for the holidays together.

I will never forget how you would invite me for those late afternoon beer and fish cracker soirees when we talked about almost everything and everybody, trying to out-"bitch" each other while swapping stories about common friends and incidental characters in our jobs and personal lives. Or  remember the dinners by the beach with your beautiful family: your brother JR and mother who was such a kind and gentle lady, embraced by the scent of delicate perfume all the time, so sweet and accomodating, treating me like I were family. Or your nephews and nieces who you showed such care and fondness.

Then later in the evening we would all proceed to the usual digs where gulps of Jose Cuervo or glasses of Mojitos remind us to forget whatever it was we left in the city.  You would be laughing hysterically watching me, nearing senior age then --- fuelled by tequila and having the guts to dance with people half my age,  The laughter, Isaac, the laughter.

Those were the days, Raymund.  And the nights.  How could I recollect those sounds and images without the timber of your voice or that trademark giggle that was more of a holler? How can I forget how you would throw your head back and howl what was your version of guffaw?

Just now I remember our conversations while we were trapped during the pandemic.

It took some time for me to agree to be interviewed in your livestream project as I jokingly branded you as The Pandemic Tito Boy.  We spent more than an hour talking about how we were coping during the first forty days of the lockdown.

Then we had all those video calls and endless conversations in Facebook Messenger discussing everything from the fate of show business as a consequence of this hideous virus ---- to the generational differences between the new photographers and those of your time and age.   Suddenly we were discussing how it was with my generation, then yours ... and then how it is now.

That was when we realized we were talking like old men. 

When you made it known that you were going to be confined in a hospital in San Francisco because you tested positive with the virus, I was stunned.  

All I gathered was that you were in the United States for some r and r with Jayson.  

I did not even know that you and your long time partner had plans of finally tying the knot ... something I had already expected to happen sooner or later.  There were only those photos of you in Las Vegas popping out of my timeline.  I thought you were having your usual dosage of vacation fun.

I did not know how bad it was for you in those final days at a time when the raging pandemic created so many restrictions to isolate patients from their support systems. When I finally talked to Jayson over the phone that was the only time I realized how bad it was for you.  

I do not even want to think of what you went through, Raymund ... because someone as beautiful as you did not deserve that.

Nobody deserves what you went through ... and now in my moment of grief, I ask whoever, whatever, wherever why is it that someone like you should go through that whereas I can give the universe an entire checklist of creatures who should pay up for all the wrongdoings they have done to people, to the country, to life. I guess I will never get an answer to that question.

We realized you were still in the hospital for over a month --- but we thought you were getting stronger. I thought you were getting better.  I thought you were going home with Jayson.

Last night you broke everyone's heart, Raymund.

We wanted you so badly to rise from that hospital bed and march out of that sick enclosure to join us back in the real world where you do not only belong ... but where you are so badly needed.  

Last night we did not want to believe.  

I did not want to believe all the whispered and tearful news spreading in social media until I heard it from Jayson or anyone from  your family to tell us that you have left.  

And even after it was finally confirmed, I still did not want to believe.   

This was not the way we scripted these events.  You were supposed to be happy: you were supposed to be having some of the most memorable days in your life with the vows of your lifelong partner.  

The story could not end this way. But it did.  This is not the narrative we wanted.

I joined the crowd out there, stunned into silence not only because of grief but  in pure shock.

We cannot imagine how we can resume life the way we knew it without you among us.

I know you are up there smiling at us ... now realizing how many you left behind love you fiercely.  I guess it is but time that we let you go and give you that much deserved standing ovation not only for a life well-lived but for showing us the humanity in being.

Raymund, I was proud of you as my student.  But I am prouder of you as a friend and example of how life should be led with enthusiasm, kindness and love.

I join so many others to say goodbye and say that you have only left us physically but will always remain where it matters the most --- in our hearts.

In case I never had the chance to tell you when you were still physically around, in this letter I will say what I should have said before: I love you, my friend.  You are a blessing to all whose lives you have touched.

Love,

JoeyR