WEATHERING A FILIPINO STORM @TIFF2021

There was much to learn from the journey of fellow Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad. For most filmmakers, making a passion project is never easy. Especially having to go through a pandemic whether or not your film is ready for the film circuit or not. A lot of the filmmakers with their submission at this year’s TIFF was shot during the pandemic. Many like Manatad who was near finished had to wait until this ongoing crisis settled. The waiting game of being able to travel around the film circuit to promote their film was torture.

Before our interview at Ration Beverly in Toronto, he told me his wait for a visa in Turkey. I could tell something right away from mobile filmmakers like Manatad. That making it into the city for this year’s digital and in-person version of TIFF is more stressful than ever. But Carlo Francisco Manatad remains to stand stall despite travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Typhoon Haiyan

The Filipino director has been through it all. His film Whether the Weather is Fine (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon) serves as his reflection. Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 hit his city of Tacloban which his film is based on and serves its landscape. Manatad wanted to tell his own story about the outcome and recovery of this disaster and crisis.

Trying to avoid most clichés and stereotypes of Filipinos in a emergency crisis, Manatad stuck to his guns. He spoke of his disappointment of Filipino films that were based on stories from this disaster. Much of them were based on speculation and heresay which is not alien to Filipinos. Manatad wants to tell his story his way which was the only way which only serves as therapy for his post trumatic emotions.

Strange Love

This crisis is the backdrop of the love story. It is between Miguel from Filipino star Daniel Padilla and Rans Rifol who plays Andrea. He did not mind the stereotypes and clichés that a global audience would have when watching this film. It was second fiddle to what was really going in the story. He has a “let’s all move on from this” attitude when it comes to this. Pity isn’t want he expects and wants from the audience. Love conquers all at the end but not it in the corny fairy tale Filipino way that always manifests itself.

Rather it is the resilience that is the utmost importance to Manatad in relaying his message to the audience. The resilence of having your basic needs taken away from you without a hope in hell in navigating life. Being resilient of finding family members in which he did himself after a typhoon. The character of Miguel seeks his mother played by veteran Filipina actress Charo Santos. She too is wondering if her estranged husband is also alive through this mess.

Filipino Cinema

There is an accountable storm that director Carlo Francisco Manatad has to whether. That is to be able to handle potential backlash that he might receive from Filipinos. Whereas much of Filipino cinema focuses on emotion and dialogue, Manatad’s film concentrates on experience and behaviour. Time will only tell whether Filipinos are ready for classic Filipino cinema to evolve in the future.

Carlo Francisco Manatad could not have chosen a better time to take this chance. You now see the rewards for stepping out of the box. Which leads us to believe here on FERNTV that now it is time to lead a whole new generation of filmmakers to step out of their own country’s comfort zone. That is universal language that will speak to a global audiene that can only be drawn from doing this.