FOR MANNY C. ON HIS 70th BIRTHDAY

Dear Manolet: 

You would have turned seventy this 20th day of August.

It took me more than a month before I could write this blog.  Somehow, I needed the time and the distance to digest everything that happened.  It was not easy that in about six weeks, two people who are so close to my heart left this life that resulted this gaping hole in my existence.  

I had a really bad feeling when I saw you during that dinner held at my house when the friends decided to get together for no reason at all aside from getting together.

I had warned the others who arrived earlier not to react to how you looked because the previous time we saw each other was on the set of a series I was doing --- and I did not have the guts to tell you that you did not look good --- or even ask you if anything was wrong.  That was less than a year ago --- and when you arrived at my residence, we were all shocked at the physical deterioration that had taken place.

You said you were not feeling well --- and we knew you are not well at all.  That was why our friend Erick literally dragged you to the hospital the following Monday to make sure that we knew what was wrong with you.

And find out we did.

We were convincing you to have yourself further checked ... but you were hesitant.  I knew you well enough to know what went on in your mind when you displayed this kind of behavior. And I knew that the more I insisted, the more you would stand your ground.  Despite all the cajoling from both Erick and I, you always found an excuse for delay.  You said you will have yourself confined when you were ready.

That was why a little after a month from the dinner I received word from your nephew that you already died.

Manny, I did not know how to react.  I was about to give a speech when I got the text message stating that they found your lifeless body perhaps more than twenty-four hours after you expired.  We always warned you about living alone ---   but you always had fifteen thousand reasons why you did not want a live-in housekeeper or domestic companion.  After much argumentation I would mutter in exasperation, "Bahala ka."

So even to the very end you never wanted anyone living with you 24/7.  You asked me if I knew of someone who can be your part-time companion with a specification: "Gusto ko yung lalake na mauutus-utusan. Ayoko ng babae. Maarte." And I laughed.  

I did not know that that was the last conversation we would ever have.

Even if more than a month has come to pass I still have not fully absorbed the fact that you are gone.  Although we would not talk for stretches of time ... for one reason or another ... it was different when I knew you were just a text message or a phone call away.  When our schedules got all messed up or I was too preoccupied filling my days with work, we could waste months with absolutely no communication.  But then each time we find ourselves in conversation, it was as if the time that elapsed did not matter.  Every encounter was only the continuation of a timeline of friendship.

As it should be.  Everyone who knew us were aware that we met when we were eight years old.  

You just moved three houses away from where I lived in Pasay City ---- and one fine day you saw me playing cards by myself and you pushed open the gate of my house to ask if you could join me in a game of ... Old Maid.   How were we to know that this would be a premonition of sorts.

It was years later when we saw each other again at the canteen of then De la Salle College.  Again, one of our favorite shared anecdotes was how we reacted when our eyes chanced on each other and you went, "Joey?" and I tentatively asked, "Manolet?" and what followed was an ear-piercing scream that was heard all the way to Taft Avenue.  

Ever since then we were inseparable.  It was always Joey and Manny. We laughed the same laugh.  We had a delicious way of sharing stories.  We swapped opinions --- and, boy, did we really bitch in a manner that our lacerating wit can conceive.

Now when I look back, I realize that in all the major moments of my life, you were there.  

You were in the cast of my very first successful professional endeavor as a writer in The Boys in the Band in Taglish, directed by Tony Espejo and staged in Hotel Mirador, running close to two years.

You were in the cast of the very first sitcom I wrote for then BBC Channel 2, directed by the late Quito CuUnjieng entitled Sandy's Cousin, starring Ronald Bregendahl and meant as the launching pad for a beautiful new talent named Sandy Andolong.  Remember how you and I together with Benggot PeBenito would spend the day in school then take a Love Bus ride all the way to Broadcast City because our taping started at 12 midnight to about seven the next morning?  Then we would just go home, change clothes then go back to school for the classes we taught?

You were in the most important movie of my writing career: I remember asking Peque Gallaga if I can create a character for you and I was overjoyed when he agreed.  Shooting Oro, Plata, Mata was a joy because you, Don Escudero and I were together in one frenzied night when we shot the opening party scene.  The following day we shot the ending of the movie --- I wrote the role of Emilio based on the idea of Gallaga to show the change of power in the sexes as a result of the devastation of the war.  You were in the opening and closing of the movie --- but more important was the fact that the three of us ( you, Don and I) were together for that once in a lifetime experience.

And you were cast in the very first movie I directed.  I do not remember how many movies I have written and directed that you played one role or another ... but it was the comfort of having you on the set ... or the fact that there was always someone there to infect everybody with laughter.

Or the time when I decided to move out of my parents' house and asked you to accompany in my house hunting where we ended up in the South Syquia Apartments in MH del Pilar suddenly awed by the beautiful art deco architecture.  That was when you impulsively decided to move out of your family home as well: I remember the day we moved into Syquia in our separate residences --- you on the second floor of Building 2 while I was on the fourth.  And some people actually thought that we were living together because we had the same address.

There were too many memories to share. I mean, it could not be helped.  We have known each other for sixty-one years which was more than a lifetime for unfortunate others.  We both lived through the Remedios Circle days when that was the most fashionable area of the city: we survived Coco Banana, Subway and all the other clubs where it was a weekly ritual to party from Saturday evening until sunrise of Sunday.

There were the New Year's Eve parties you hosted in your apartment where you actually dedicated time and effort to cook a terrific meal for your friends as we greeted each passage of yet another landmark in our lives.  You would take out your best silver and flaunt your culinary talent --- something about you that very few people knew.  We had spent so many new year's eve together that I wrote a song to celebrate those unforgettable occasions: "Isang Taong Lumipas" was made even more unforgettable by the music of Ryan Cayabyab.

We lived through all that.  And later those vacations in Boracay, those crazy trips to Hong Kong and Bangkok.  I got to see how you viciously collected those Versace plates that you carefully arranged in a buffet cabinet that came crashing down during an earthquake.  I remember how you were in a state of shock after finding a dozen or so plates diminished into shards and how you casually and non-challantly shrugged your shoulders and said, "Oh, well." 

That was so much like you for you never show others how you felt or what went inside your mind.  You never wanted anyone to catch your vulnerabilities or make others feel responsible for your problems ... down to the very end.

Yes, these past few years we had our differences because of choices we made.

But despite the arguments we had about politics, we never really let that create a crack so big that it could become irreperable. We may not agree on a lot of things to the point that I unfriended you in Facebook because I found your online ranting toxic ----and hurting the feelings of so many people we knew. But, in the end, we just never talked about it.  You never asked me why I cut my social media connections with you.  There was more to our friendship than the ramblings of politics to put an end to a lifetime of camaraderie.  

That is why even after so many weeks that you have left, I am still not used to the fact that you are no longer there.

We will soon have another dinner in my house --- and that empty seat will remind all of us that this space was reserved for you... only you.

We will miss you as we are missing you now and I know that all my life I will be missing my best friend.  But to quote a line from that song, "It is the laughter that we will remember ..." because that was something you gave me for sixty-two years.

And I know that you are somewhere out there (with Don) chattering endlessly, bitching at your best and perhaps remembering too ... remembering the best of years when Don, you and I shared the same table and lived our lives like no other.

Only a few remember that your nickname was not Manny but Manolet.

Happy birthday, Manolet.

FOR MOTHER LILY ON HER 85TH BIRTHDAY

 An era in Philippine cinema ended on 04 August 2024.

The passing of Lily Monteverde, more popularly known as Mother Lily, was felt like a blow that hurt the heart the movie industry in our country.  Regardless of what you felt or thought of her, the woman was and will always be one of giants who showed the direction and shaped cinema in our country.

It is hard to underestimate the value of Mother Lily's contribution to our culture.  The film library of Regal Films stretches not only through decades but generations of movie productions handled by Filipino directors whose voices have become benchmarks in the history of our popular culture.

Yes, there are the works of National Artists for Film like Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Ricky Lee and Marilou Diaz-Abaya ... but also included are the films of the popular and commercial icons like Luciano B. Carlos (known as Tatay Chaning), Mike Relon Makiling and, of course, Elwood Perez and Joey Gosiengfiao.  One cannot run through the films made in the seventies straight throughto the nineties without pointing to Regal Films as one of the the epicenters of popular culture.

For if there is Mike de Leon's Sister Stella L., then there is the iconic Temptation Island of Joey Gosiengfiao. Regal was the home of the most important films of Ishmael Bernal ( Relasyon, Broken Marriage, Hinugot Sa Langit ) Even to this day, the works of Pablo S. Gomez turned into popular movies like Tatay Chaning's Inday trilogy ( Inday Bote, Inday, Inday sa Balitaw and Super Inday and the Magic Bibe) are still being talked about and used as points of reference in studying what and how it was the latter years of the past century.

Without Mother Lily there would be no Regal Babies.

The names of Maricel Soriano, Snooky Serna, Dina Bonnevie, Gabby Concepcion, William and Albert Martinez are still familiar because they belonged to that generation of stars who were not sparks in the dark.  They had lasting power and credibility because they represented more than popularity but more of talent.

Then of course the roster of Regal Stars must including Gina Alajar, Rio Locsin, Alma Morenom, Lorna Tolentino and  the late Cherie Gil who all donned that magic kamison used in posters and promotional materials to sell films like Disgrasiyada, Diborsiyada, Separada and even The Rape of Virginia P and Waikiki.  How could anyone discuss 20th century Philippine movies without addressing these names and faces who defined popular entertainment of that time?

What is little known to the larger audience is just how much Lily Monteverde laid the ground for the blossoming of young filmmakers but believing in their talent but more so by being a major movie fan herself.

Mother Lily never shied away in admitting that she started out as this rebellious kolehiyala who joined the throngs waiting outside the gate of Sampaguita Pictures in Gilmore Avenue just to catch a glimpse of her favorite movie stars.  That movie fan mentality translated to a sincere and deep love for movies --- which gave this producer the sense of trust and even bewilderment to the creativity and the need for independence of screenwriters and directors.  

Back in those days there were no creative committees, no creative managers : there was only the producer with the director and his writer --- and for Mother Lily, that was enough.  She believed in the importance of creative identity, leaving each director the right to issue his thumbprint on his work ---- so that no two movies can ever sound and look alike.  Under Mother's productions, you would know the Elwood Perez movie from that of a Gosiengfiao. You can see the personality of a Maryo J. de los Reyes movie or that of Mel Chionglo. 

Even on the first ten minutes of the film's viewing you will know that this is a Rono movie ... or a Lamangan. Or an Erik Matti.

Yes, Mother was far from perfect.  As a matter of fact, it is safe to call her beautifully insane.

Her unpredictability, her mood swings from hysterical laughter to ... uh, pure hysteria are all that she was and will always be remembered.  But it is that ability to be completely unpredictable that made her both unnerving as well as endearing.

Yes, there are all the complaints about working conditions but only those in her inner circle were fully aware of what she was going through in terms of the financial struggles in certain periods of Regal's history.  Mother Lily would never shared that with anyone her trials and woes because by being a fighter, by being a survivor she succeeded in keeping Regal afloat to become the oldest existing movie studio today.

Although many know Lily Monteverde by name ... only those who had been given the opportunity to know her personally can vouch that her public persona fell short of showing what kind of a person she was.  Simply put, the term mother was most appropriate because she was exactly that.  If you had won her trust and heart, then you would have been shown the generosity and care that she gave her closest friends and associates.  She was not a mother only by name ... because she took the role seriously in quietly and privately caring for people who she knew cared for her and her children.

People may remember Mother Lily as a producer ... but for some of us who have shared a substantial part of our lives with her, the woman shall and will always remain as irreplaceable and in so many ways incomparable.

I have said it so many times before and I will say it again: if it were not for Mother Lily, I would not be here where I stand and speak and write today.

I have been blessed to have her as a part not only of my professional life ... but as a second mother who took care of me when  all the rest have given up on me.  She was a rock of strength for me ... and by her memory alone I am sure there are so many others who find fortitude by the sheer example of her life.

Thank you once again, Mother. Happy birthday and may you have found the eternal peace and happiness that you so deserve,

You will never be forgotten because there are so many who will always love you.

RED FLAG FOR FILIPINO MOVIES?: HAVE WE LOST OUR AUDIENCES IN CINEMAS? PART 2

 Yes, we do have a problem.

But the decline in cinema viewership is not a phenomenon unique to our country.  All over the world there are still so many countries which have not yet fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic.  Audiences have not yet returned to cinema in the same numbers that they did in 2018.

In our region, only Indonesia and Malaysia are doing well.  Even Korea has a major backlog. First World countries like Germany has not yet recovered from the nearly three year hiatus brought by COVID.

However this does not mean that our problem is but normal.  The fact that local movie productions are struggling because of imminent loss of revenue in cinema exhibition has resulted to even more dire problems.  

Why would a producer invest so much money in a project when the chances of return of investment --- or even profit --- are practically close to nil?  The only option is to produce projects at a much lower budget --- nay, the lowest budget possible --- to minimize the damage of loss.  The logic behind this is that cinema exhibition only becomes a side bar because the greater bulk of recovery comes from selling the ancilliary rights ( television, streaming platforms or, if lucky, finding a distributor abroad to screen in certain territories) within and outside the country.

Lowering the budget means diminishing the production value.  Whereas years ago movie budgets range from P15 - 25M with grand scale projects hitting as high as P40 - 60M, nowadays the running rate for films (to give a stronger chance for recovery and lesser damage of loss) ranges from P6 - 12M. With this sort of budget, the number of shooting days have been greatly diminished and, as one colleague said jokingly, "It is the return of the pitu-pito!" since the number of shooting days have been drastically cut from a normal eighteen (18) to twenty-five (25) calendar days to ... uh, six (6) with a maximum of ten (10) to live within the budget. 

Then there is the complex taxation of films in our country.  To explain the mathematics involved would take an entire blog, so it is best to simplify the computation.  Bluntly put, for a movie to make money for the producer, it must earn three times the amount spent in the production.  This means from pre-production (conceptualization, preparation for filming), production (principal photography), post-production (editing, color grading, sound engineering, musical scoring, etc.) and marketing and distribution.  For every P100 paid for a movie ticket, approximately one third goes to the goverment (for taxes which include VAT and income tax), another third goes to the theater owner and only the final third goes to the producer.

Solutions have been made to exempt Filipino movies from the amusement tax posed by local governments.  This has been agreed upon earlier this year with certain cities in Metro Manila: this is a moratorium requested by the movie producers and facilitated by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) to ease if not alleviate the financial burden left on the shoulders of certain stakeholders.

But still, the problem is not only the price of ticket ... or the taxation but the movies themselves.  

Why are Filipinos not watching their own movies?

The Waiting Game

In the earlier blog, explanations were given about the very short window between a movie's cinema exhibition before it migrates to the platforms.

Because of the very limited window between public screening and private streaming, audiences tend to wait for the products until they are made accessible to their homes or even their cellphones and tablets.  There are certain mainstream movies that have lukewarm box office performances but achieve astounding popularity the moment they are streamed. And, as mentioned before, return business in cinemas is practically gone because people would rather wait for the movie to be seen on Netflix or Amazon Prime rather than to pay another P350-400 to catch another screening of something they have already seen before in a cinema.

A recent survey commissioned by FDCP revealed that certain genres are preferred to be seen in cinemas by Filipinos.  These include action  (understandably so because of its need for an immersive experience ), horror  (who wants to watch a horror movie alone at home or much less on a phone?) , comedy and romance.  However, one thing is most noticeable: the once highly sellable romantic comedy has been relegated to streaming  --- which means because of the overload of romcoms coming from all sources (including Korea), the genre is no longer prioritized for cinematic viewing: it has been pigeon holed for the small screen.

Moreover, so much change has happened in understanding who are still watching movies in cinemas nowadays.

Perhaps a good indication is to review the top grosser of the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival: the winner was a millennial horror movie ( Mikhail Red's Deleter) and not the usual comedy movie that would usually lord over the festivals.  This year the same observation can be made about the quality of production and themes of the movies that made it to the top of the heap in the December fest:  a family movie, another horror movie and a historical piece.  All shared one thing in common: evident production value, significance of theme but most of all relatability to a specific demographic of the audience.

It is predominantly if not exclusively the Filipino middle class who is still capable of allocating money for watching films in cinemas which points out how and why they choose or where they will spend for entertainment.

Rewind was well-made melodrama.  Mallari was a technically-polished piece while Gomburza carried the heaviest gravitas among all the entries as it eventually looked like a prequel to Marilou Abaya's Rizal.  Firefly, deemed as the Best Picture of last December's festival, also carried a theme of family and resilience: the awards received by the movie dramatically boosted its sales.

But even if December has become the best (if not the safest) dates to release Filipino movies in cinemas, there is still such a great risk that the movie will not make money for the producer. Truth: not all the MMFF entries make money.  It was and will never be that way: more than the trophies handed out two days after Christmas, there are only a few winners as far as the box office results are concerned.

Times may have changed but some things remain the same.

 Again, unlike before, the pangkaraniwang manonood would not watch one ... or even two ... but three or more entries in the festival with some others aspiring to watch all eight of the Christmas movies.  With the present price of tickets, the enthusiasm of the moviegoer has been sedated by the practicality of economics: it requires a certain thickness of the wallet to watch more than one movie ... much less, all the entries.  

Not only has the repeat business been squelched but the potential of the market has shrunk because people watch fewer movies within the duration of the festival.

Is it Really About the Ticket Price?

The most common complaint is that the price of movie tickets has become untenable.

The usual moan and groan of filmmakers, producers and the audiences point to the price of movie tickets which have literally cut off the masa who used to be the very cornerstone of Filipino cinema consumption.  It is assumed that as long as ticket prices remain within the existing range, audiences will opt to find their happiness in streaming or the internet.

But wait ---- let's rethink this argument.

Just last Wednesday ... when Inside Out 2 harvested close to P90M, there was a quiet but significant change in the price of movie tickets.  The two Filipino films were selling at a much lower ticket price compared to the foreign movies! At P230 per ticket, this was a price that approximated if not revived the 2018 rates of seeing a film in a cinema house.

If that is so, then how come people still preferred to watch the more expensive foreign movie?  How come they still chose a Thai movie with subtitles over two Filipino movies being sold at a cheaper price?

So it  could not possibly be just the price of tickets alone, right?

Yes, yes ... not too long ago, a mall celebrated its sixty-fifth anniversary and all movie tickets were sold at P65 ... and near chaos ensued.

What was evident was the hunger of the audiences to experience cinema again. All the screenings, regardless of what was showing, were filled to the rafters.  Then again, this was another unique situation. Realistically speaking, operating a moviehouse cannot be sustained if ticket prices are drastically slashed to levels below P100 considering the overhead required daily to keep the cinemas going.

Then you have the Independence Day results that showed the ticket-paying audiences willing to dole out more money for the foreign movies rather than the lesser-priced Filipino films.  Again, the audiences opted for a Thai film on its third week than two brand new local films with relatively marketable stars on the marquee.

Could it be because of the so-called negative publicity attributed to the lead star of one of the local films as to why the cinemagoers refrained from watching?  Could it be that impressive ensemble of the other movie was not maximized because of the lack of publicity and promotions of the movie?

Or could it be the core branding of Filipino movies that has completely thrown our products off the radar because of the pre-conceived notion of many --- or maybe a hasty generalization for that matter --- that if it is a local production, then it must not be worth the money?

The Negative Brand

Is it possible that the mere mention of Filipino movies elicits an automatic negative reaction brought about by what has already become an embedded prejudice?

Filmmaker Jason Paul Laxamana came out with a most interesting reel expressing his take on the present scenario.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1540632766532516

Laxamana offers an interesting insight into what he proposes as the case of a "damaged brand" brought about by a consistent output of inferior movies thereby resulting to an aversion of the audiences.  And he is very correct,

In other words, because of a rather exhausting experience of being given particularly inferior movies, the audiences have come to a question that all Filipino films are not worth their money. Of course the generalization is so damaging --- but denying that (well, yes) we have given the public subpar works will not and can never solve the problem.

Blaming just the ticket price and not assessing what the stakeholders have given the audiences is being in denial.

Yes, audiences automatically equate Filipino films inferior to their foreign counterparts which was most likely why they would rather pay a higher price of a foreign film (especially part of a popular franchise or a movie retaining its clout because of thunderous word of mouth) than see a local one --- thinking that what is Pinoy is bad and can never be any good.

So where does that lead us?  How can we possibly reverse this negative branding that has become the major burden  of all those who make a living out of this industry?

TO BE CONTINUED

RED FLAG FOR FILIPINO MOVIES? : HAVE WE REALLY LOST OUR AUDIENCES IN CINEMAS?

 Independence Day 2024. Wednesday.

Three movies opened in cinemas all over the country.  There were two local productions and a monolith sequel of an animated franchise.  And, yes, there was still that Thai movie that opened two weeks earlier which people were still talking about.

On its first day of showing, Inside Out 2 grossed approximately 90M in the local box office.  Hesusmaryosep!  These are numbers which audiences delivered in the pre-pandemic age: ever since COVID19 became very much a part of our lives, moviegoing never fully recovered to render such digits on a single day.  Not even the hottest ticket in the most recent Metro Manila Film Fest harvested an audience that came close to that feat.

What was even more surprising was that How To Make Millions Before Granny Dies was already on a limited run, entering its third week.  And yet on that same day, the movie still made 2M in the box office even if it had but a handful of cinemas screening and with some on a sliding programming, meaning it was only showing for two slots on a single day.

How did the two local films do?  

To call it dismal is an understatement.  The better performing of the two Filipino movies allegedly earned P350K nationwide.  The other film hit about a hundred thousand less.

Upon hearing these numbers, the stakeholders of the local film industry had to reckon with more than just broken hearts --- but more so with broken spirits.

Yes, it is easy to concede that a local film was going on a kamikaze mode going head on against a Pixar franchise.  That was expected but not that much.  What was even more disturbing was that How To Make Millions ... on its third week, requiring the art of speed reading subtitles ... scored so much higher than the two Filipino movies' combined box office return.

At this point it is not helpful to merely mope and shake one's head and marinate in self-pity: industry cannot move on if we merely see the results and not look far deeper into the real root of the problem.  The elders and leaders of the film industry cannot be paralyzed by such dismaying results without going into action and trying to find out why and then sort out what can be done.

We Had It Coming

The signs were already there even before the pandemic hit us and kept us in our homes for almost three years.

Even before anyone knew (or cared ) about Yuan, the status of watching movies in cinemas was already waning.  There was the threat of the streaming platforms and other possible engagements for entertainment in the internet.  What cable channels failed to neutralize, streaming giants like Netflix succeeded in slicing a substantial chunk from the TV viewing public and, yes, even the moviegoing audiences.  

The pandemic only hastened what was already being seen as slow but sure changes in the ecosystem of entertainment.  Streaming services offered the option for audiences to watch the films and even tv series that they want to consume at their own time, place and pace.  Cable channels were still locked in with their daily programming but not streaming platforms. You can binge watch an entire tv series in a day or two without having to wait for a specific time or day.

Moreover, the migration to screen to stream makes movie watching less practical and more expensive.  For instance, if a streaming platform charges a little over P500 for a month why would anyone spend anything within the vicinity of P250 to P400 to watch a movie in a cinema.  Aside from indulging your viewing pleasure in the comfort of your home, catching your movie in a more practical source exempts you from having to dress up, brave the legendary Manila traffic and spend for other incidentals just because you want to see a movie on the big screen.

But these are all givens. We knew that Netflix, Viu, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and even Vivamax are slowly but sure drawing our viewing audiences away from cinemas.  Moreover, these same platforms acquire movies for their own broadcasting license with a window of forty-five (45) days --- yes,  only a month and a half before a movie showing in the cinema will eventually filter into the tv screen or computer or even one's cellphone at one's time and convenience.

No one questions that the pandemic has changed the way we live, the way we conduct our business --- and the manner by which we entertain ourselves.   After almost three years of being locked up in our homes, even when it was deemed safe to go back to the cinema --- it still took time before people really felt assured that they are safe in that confined space, immersed in darkness just to watch a movie.  Even when cinema doors were finally reopened, audiences still felt uncomfortable because --- let us face it --- watching a movie wearing a mask seems to take away the fun --- especially when one cannot consume popcorn or gulp down a drink while watching a movie.

So even when we all went back to the way of the normal --- it was not normal any more to make cinema viewership as part of the way we lived. We have found other ways of getting our entertainment --- whether through the platforms or even YouTube.

So What's the Problem?

There are so many theories as to why our cinema is dying.  Everyone has something to say. Any one from the industry has a thing or two to say as to why Filipinos are no longer watching local movies.

The first complaint is what many feel as the exorbitant cost of movie tickets.

At P350 to P400, the average moviegoer finds this pricing as beyond one's reach.  In simple mathematics, a minimum wage earner who takes home about P600 a day will not spend nearly two-thirds of his salary just to buy a movie ticket.

Moreover, even those who can afford the price range offered has also limited the amount of business he will give cinemas.  Return business or watching the same movie twice or even thrice has ceased to be an option.  Instead, if one is enthralled by a film, there is always the little bit of wait before it streams. Or if one feels that he cannot afford to watch a movie in the cinema --- the month and a half wait is not all that bad. 

Worse is the choice of succumbing to the temptation of watching the film on a pirated channel --- or in links sold or freely distributed in social media.  This new form of rampant piracy using popular social media sites has become more practical than the peddled DVDs of the past.

Do we then accept that the primary reason why audiences are not watching Filipino movies is because of the price of tickets?

There was a valid argument against this.

Please explain why the top grosser of last year's MetroManila Film Festival earned over P500M?  

That means that people had the money and went out of their way to watch this movie.  

Does this also mean that all those who flocked to the cinemas to watch Rewind were only those enabled to spend money for watching movies on the big screen?

Analyzing the phenomenon of Rewind reveal why this MMFF entry had all the right ingredients and conditions to make it big --- or better yet, very big:

(a) It was Christmas. Everyone is in a celebratory mood.  Christmas is for the family --- and Rewind is about "family" as some other entries of the Festival delved into that same territory but ...

(b) The stars of Rewind are a popular real life couple whose personal lives gleam with all the qualities of domestic bliss including two beautiful children. Better yet, they have not appeared together again in any movie within memory's reach plus the fact that ...

(c) Rewind was about the triumph of love and sacrifice, about preserving the sanctity of the family ---- then throw in Jesus for extra measure but most of all, one must not forget that ...

(d) It was Christmas. Regardless of economic class and buying capability, everybody had money because of the company or employer's bonuses --- and, for some, watching a movie became the highlight of their Christmas celebration of the family.

Two or three other films in last year's roster of ten entries in Festival made money.  A number also failed to do good business but there was Rewind that literally hit the jackpot and took home the lion's share of the sales.

Of course there are so many other variables to be factored in --- but since no other Filipino movie made money after the MMFF, are we to conclude that Philippine cinema has been diminished to two weeks for every year? That means 14/365 which does not speak much of an industry that is about to last any longer.

At the rate that the industry is moving, is this an ominous sign that unless the stakeholders face the problem head on, Philippine movies will wither away and be relegated to the business of providing content to streamers?

What is the real root of the problem?  

What can be done not only to save Philippine cinema but bring about its lost vibrancy?

TO BE CONTINUED