The turning point

'Jamir' – was the title of my second short film. So far, it was the turning point of my career as a filmmaker. Why I say so? Because making this short film taught me a memorable lesson that is useful in my future projects. 

The film is about a boy who is torn between his familial obligations and his education. ‘Jamir’ is somewhat my statement about the peace agreement between MNLF/MILF and the Philippine Government. This short film was supposed to be premiered in foreign film festivals. Unfortunately, it did not make it nor should I say I did not submit it because of the “disastrous” outcome of it. 

I felt disappointed because of many reasons. One of the main reasons was I collaborated with the wrong people. That time, I was so overwhelmed by the idea of collaborating with Andrei Karoly Hernandez (a.k.a. Amaya Han) and my batch mate in GenSan Summer Film Camp 2013, Meika Vieve Catog (a.k.a. Lady M Chua). I thought they were good as a team in the film project. It turned out to be the opposite. 

My instinct told me not to pursue it because it shown signs like they did not read the script before we shoot the film. But I did not mind it because I was too stupid in clinging in such idea. I’m expecting that they’re good because Amaya Han is a film student in San Carlos University (in Cebu City) and Meika is a Mass Communication student in New Era University (Manila). 

That stupid mistake led to a domino effect type of disaster. I don’t mean to be a whiner here or to play the blaming game but after our shoot I was a bit depressed because of its outcome. I contacted them for several times. All they have were excuses implying they’re not interested anymore. I contacted them due to the fact that the film is problematic in terms of its technical aspects. I don’t know why they acting that they are not part of the film project. 

Instead of stressing myself of contacting them, I made a plan B to fix it. Instead of reshooting the film (as suggested by Teng Mangansakan), I only reedited it. My sister (who is the Producer of the film) and I decided to move on with it. If someone asks about the project, we never say any remarks on it. 

We are thankful that Teng Mangansakan considers ‘Jamir’ for the 2014 SalaMindanaw International Film Festival. And because of this, I submitted the film to the 10th Mindanao Film Festival and it was nominated for Best Film (in short film category). 

Even though they are spreading bad rumors about us, my sister and I don’t give a damn on it. We already moved on and looking forward to make the next film project. Because of this experience, we now assess our collaborators before a project begins. We really learn our lesson. 

I write this blog because it’s part of (my) history. It serves as a reminder that I should be smart, strategic and faithful to my vision as Director. It serves as proof that I should collaborate with people with the same wavelength as mine. This is not the sign of bitterness but enlightenment. I write this piece because I moved on.