With pride, an Ilonggo film screens nationally and internationally

By Kevin Pison Piamonte

 

It’s practically hitting two birds with one stone. This is what’s happening to “Subli” (Inherit), the film of Kenneth De la Cruz.

We should take pride when our culture is shared. As a filmmaker, Kenneth De la Cruz is doing exactly that – taking pride that his Ilonggo film will be screened at the 18th Mindanao Film Festival and the 7th Veracruz World Film Festival.

The Veracruz World Film Festival supports indie films made with very little budget. Through the years the Veracruz World Film Festival has gathered films from the 5 continents and claims that “it is a unique event of its kind on a continental level with an exclusive programming that no other film festival in the Americas has”. On the other hand, Mindanao takes pride as well that as stated on their website, theirs is “the longest-running independent film festival in the country”.

With one of its main objectives of supporting and showcasing wonderful and fascinating stories, “Subli” (Inherit) is one of its official selections in the Non-Mindanao category. The festival is also supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Davao Autism Intervention Center, Inc.

Kenneth De la Cruz has constantly been taking on the dark genre in his films. He is fascinated by it. He says there are elements that make the dark genre exciting to explore. And he further confirms that he can express himself better in that genre rather than deal with the lighter side of human existence.

The dark has human pathos. It has depths and angst. It has mystery and mysticism. It is fascinating just like the core of his experience growing up and being healed by a shaman. Life is stranger than fiction as they say and truth to be told, the base story of “Subli” is an experience that Kenneth went through as a child. Under the mystical skill of a shaman, he was cured of a certain illness that no doctor could pin down. And because fiction is always based on truth, he eventually wrote and directed “Subli”.

Through his film, Kenneth asks “if you will be able to inherit the power to heal people, will this bring you happiness or will this bring you distress? Will you accept this power or will you run away from it?”

Working on “Subli” was challenging, he confessed.

But it was a challenge he imposed on himself. He did not run away from the task of making the film. Being truthful to the ideals of being an artist by braving the so-called storm and forging head-on, he decided to make a full-length film when “Subli” was supposed to be a short feature. But he strongly felt he needed a larger canvass to express himself. So with a budget meant for a short film, he went full steam ahead and created his first full-length feature. Thus, the qualifier for the Veracruz World Film Festival Official Selection. He also shot the film for 15 days over a period of 5 months because while filmmaking is a passion, he and the rest of the team are professionals. Kenneth works in a multi-national company. And with “Subli” he was also able to fulfill his dream of working with some theater people he looked up to while he was still taking up his undergraduate degree in Accountancy.

De la Cruz firmly believes our region has a lot of stories to tell. With this comes our culture. He is a staunch advocate for regional storytelling, hence, “Subli” as a film to be screened nationally and internationally at the same time is a double triumph because this is a chance for our regional story to eventually be part of a larger body for discussion and discourse. Shamanism is strong in Western Visayas. It is particularly strong in Panay particularly in the town of Tubungan.

It is deep in Tubungan where the “4th Pillar of the World” for the shamans is located. This is tangibly etched on a marker rising from the ground created by their LGU. Shamanism is a culture. It is a way of life. And contrary to a popular belief, it is not a religion as attested to by the tourism sector of Tubungan. Kenneth was originally planning to film “Subli” in Tubungan, but there were political and social challenges at that time. They had to relocate to another town. Nevertheless “Subli” (Inherit) happened because culture is boundless just as much as creativity. And as it goes to the 18th Mindanao Film Festival the film will not only be shared among people in Mindanao but across the nation as the festival streams nationwide from December 7 – 13, 2020. Check out the Facebook page of the festival. Internationally, the Veracruz World Film Festival will run from December 7 – 30, 2020.

Geo-locked in the Americas, it will be best to watch “Subli” through the Mindanao Film Festival.

You have to watch “Subli”. Whether you will inherit it or not, it is part of the culture that is intricately woven in the tapestry of our lives as Ilonggos, as Visayans. You have to take pride because that’s how Kenneth De la Cruz worked on this film. You have to firmly believe because that’s how he worked on it too.