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Bacolod City, Philippines Friday, August 17, 2012
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The Good Life
with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit
OPINIONS

Shorts

The Good Life
with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

So, this is how the future of films in the Philippines looks like: shorts, five-to- minute movies that are taut, fast paced and oftentimes personal.

This year, short films – or shorts as they are called – have gone mainstream, with at least one Filipino company using them in its corporate campaign. While many of our successful television ads can be considered “shorts” as well, what makes these year’s productions different is that they are being presented to the public as short films, not as advertisements, and whatever commercial values they have on the companies that produce them are subliminal, not direct.

The other way a company producing shorts benefits from this kind of campaign is it serves as a vehicle or subject by which it can be talked about, especially in the media.

Bench has launched Benchingko films, with five shorts to celebrate clothing line’s 25th anniversary this year. The films, which had a red carpet premiere, do not mention nor use any Bench product at all, they are straight and serious stories, short but very creative and interesting. I am sure one or two or all of them will be studied in communications and film classes soon. How they were made and how the public will receive them will impact on the future of the film industry.

The films include “Kama”, a three-part musical directed by Bacolod boy Borgy Torre, and it is interesting how in a short film, there can be three stories which all take place on a bed: Kamanyakan, Kamachohan and Kamalasan. Lovi Poe stars in Kamanyakan; Jake Macapagal does in the two others. Torre also directs “Horsepower”, starring Coco Martin, about a jeepney driver who tries to find his luck in a drag race and discovers some startling truths instead.

Lucy Torres-Gomez appears in “Star Teacher”, a travel documentary directed by Marla Ancheta. Here, Gomez goes home to her hometown in Ormoc, where she teaches children the importance of environmental conservation.

“Perya” stars Piolo Pascual and it is set in a carnival where, in a world of grotesque faces, Piolo’s beautiful face is the freak. It is a must-see. This is directed by Topel Lee.

What I love the most though is Joey Reyes’ “Kontravida 101”, starring the iconic Bella Flores, who lectures on what being kontravida in the movies is all about.

To introduce these films, “25 Bens” was issued, a clever and creative short featuring founder Ben Chan, talking about the company and the films. With masterful editing, the film shows 25 Ben Chan talking to each other.

What does Bench gets from producing them, you might ask. On the surface, nothing, but subliminally, it helps position the company as forward-thinking and trend-setting, even global, considering that shorts are the latest in-thing abroad. The campaign also gives the company a platform through which it can subtly project its clothes and style, such as in the red carpet premiere it held where its horde of image models walked.

The other way a company producing shorts benefits from this kind of campaign is it serves as a vehicle or subject by which it can be talked about, especially in the media.

The shorts were uploaded in the Net, supposedly in the company’s website. But it is all over cyberspace, including YouTube, and various Pinoy blogs.

I am not privy to the making of Benchingko films, how much artistic freedom were given the directors and other issues such as who owns the intellectual rights over the films. These must have been settled before production, because considering that they will impact on Bench’s positioning subliminally, how they will be received by the public is important to the company. After all, I don’t think Bench is doing this to promote art and culture; it must have its own selfish corporate interests here. Which is not bad, if you ask me, because from where I am, I have realized that art and culture can move forward faster on the wings of selfish commercial interests – it just has to be managed properly.*

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