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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Cinemalaya's Ekstra


Ekstra - "...Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and written by Jeffrey Jeturian, Antoinette Jadaone, and Zig Dulay. Produced by Atty. Joji Alonso. A story about a woman who works as an “extra” or bit player in indie films. the film marks the indie film debut of Vilma Santos..." - Edwin P. Sallan, InterAksyon, Jan 18 2013 (READ MORE)

Jeffery Jeturian - "...Jeffrey Jeturian (1959) is a Filipino director and production designer. He studied Broadcasting Communication at the University of Philippines. His line of interests are personal stories and intimate stories but he would also like to capture the political and social background of his characters...Jeturian worked his way up to where he is now by starting as production assistant for Marilou Diaz-Abaya's film "Baby Tsina" in 1984. For over 15 years, Jeffrey worked as production assistant, script continuity, art director, production designer and assistant director before making his own debut "Enter Love - Sana Pag-ibig Na..." - Wikipilipinas (READ MORE)

Bernal's Heir Apparent - "...I still say Jeffrey Jeturian is Ishmael Bernal's heir apparent. This guy has his finger on the nation's pulse, and constantly surprises and assures us with what he comes up with. Consider his filmmography. Sana Pag-ibig Na in 1998 showed us what he could do with a pito-pito film -- that even the starkest of filmmaking circumstances can still show a significant greatness if a great director is behind the wheel. In Pila-Balde, he showed us that he could take a trend (TF, in this case) and bend it to his will, so much so that by 2001 with Tuhog, he skewers even that trend (and the popular consciousness that let it flower), and starts a satirical mark that continues with Bridal Shower and Bikini Open. Heck, for a Tagalog, he could even do a Cebuano movie via Minsan Pa, and do it well. This guy is a genius. ("You say that because Jeffrey drove you to the airport once, in Manila, during a frightful storm," my conscience says. Trust me, this has nothing to do with my respect for the guy's abilities)..." - Ian Rosales Casocot, Eating The Sun, blog, Nov 2005 (READ MORE)

Cinemalaya - "...The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film festival in the Philippines held annually in the month of July at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Its aim is the development and promotion of Filipino independent films. The film festival is organized by the Cinemalaya Foundation, with the support of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Econolink Investments, Inc. Each year, the Festival provides "seed investments" of Php 500,000 (USD 10,000~) to ten independent filmmakers. These ten "finalists" are culled from hundreds of submissions from all over the Philippines. Their films debut at the festival, together with in-competition short films, as well as various out-of-competition works. The festival organizing committee is headed by veteran Filipino director and actress Laurice Guillen. The committee oversees the production of the films, sometimes interfering with filmmakers' artistic decisions..." - Wikipedia (READ MORE)

Cinemalaya 2013 - Directors’ Showcase Finalists: - Cesar Evangelista’s “Amor y Muerte,” Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Extra,” Gil M. Portes’ “The Liars,” Jerrold Tarog’s “Sana Dati,” Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Porno”; New Breed Finalists: Mikhail Red’s “Rekorder,” Emmanuel Palo’s “David F,” Christopher Ad. Castillo’s “Diplomat Hotel,” Eduardo Roy Jr.’s “Quick Change,” Richard S. Legaspi’s “Primera Bella,” Joseph Israel Laban’s “Siyam,” Jason Paul C. Laxamana’s “Babagwa,” Hannah Espia’s “Transit,” Carlo Obispo’s “Purok 7,” Alvin B. Yapan’s “Debosyon.”

Brilliant Cast - "...We screened the edited materials of the film yesterday (without the ending) and the performance of the entire cast is something we are so proud of. Nobody was trying to upstage anyone. It was team work - pure and simple. A brilliant cast!!! I ended up with tears on my eyes - because I could not stop laughing and laughing with how the story was unfolding, with so many hilarious real life incidents that an ekstra has to go through. Then again, without knowing it, I found myself in tears, and this time for a different reason -- because of the atrocities that TV production people have to face due to the economics of the industry, the people at the bottom of the line like the extras often end up having to bear the brunt. Time for a wake up call maybe?..." - Mario Bautista, Showbiz Portal, 18 Mar 2013 (READ MORE)

An Exposé - "...From my perspective, I’m not sure if I can now consider this film the parody it's meant to be, or more of an "exposé" into our real world of soap operas. It reflects many truths of what these extras, or talents, face. I myself, despite my ranting, have softened up to their plight. On one taping day, lo and behold, the first sight that greeted me were some 20 talents sitting on cardboard on the ground, in the heat of the sun, right in front of the main actors’ air conditioned tent. Talk about rubbing the point in. All this for P1,000 a day or P1,500 if you had speaking lines, or if you played a nurse, police or doctor, you get P2,000 because you have to bring your own uniform. A day may mean 28 to 36 hours straight for many of them. I’m fortunate that after decades in the business, I’ve earned a cut-off time of 2 am (which in effect actually helps talents go home earlier, if they’re in my scenes). I realize minimum wage stands at under P500, but these seemingly good talent fees don’t go straight into their pockets. They too have agents or talent suppliers who whittle away their earnings. (Just like we do.) I could be putting myself on a limb here, but I’m going to say it anyway: isn’t it high time we make the working environment in the soap opera world better for all to enjoy the work and find dignity in our choice of profession?..." - Cherie Gil, Rappler 30 March 2013 (READ MORE)