It's film festival season here in the Philippines, though it doesn't feel like it given the fact that we're still in the middle of a global pandemic. In this piece we talk about 15 short films about pandemic life in all its varying degrees of darkness and light.
We start off with Basurahan, depicting two decapitated heads as they rot inside a trash can. While the heads' presence may be interpreted literally, considering our current state as a nation where murder is normalized, figuratively it may refer to people like us, trapped in our own isolated little boxes, while our government and society at large pisses and vomits on us. Our only recourse, then, is to scream.
Bond's direct relation to pandemic life is tenuous at best, but its depiction of human relationships still counts, literalizing the idea that every separation is painful, composed of hundreds of smaller goodbyes that cut, and cut deep. In a time where people are separated, and not by choice, it's a poignant meditation on that idea.
Cats and Dogs' world is a silent world, without dissent, anger or rage. It seems like a peaceful world, but it's also a world without people, showing us that a world like that is empty and perhaps not worth living in.
Happy Life Pilipinas starts with inanities, recommendations for self improvement that work only for some, and other miscellaneous nonsense. It does nothing for its sleeping protagonist, whose boredom and ennui probably resonates with a lot of us right now.
Swipe Right is a small hopeful snippet that communicates that, even in a time where separation and distancing have been normalized, people still find ways to find each other.
The only documentary in this lineup, Sigpat sa Paglaum, tells the story of a mother who struggles to teach educational modules to her children (she has 9, of whom 8 are of school age.) It's a damning indictment of the Department of Education's policies (and by extension, the policies of the government itself) - full of big ideas with little to no thought to the socioeconomic minutiae and complexities involved with bringing those ideas to fruition.
Mga Filipinx sa Panahon ng Pandemix is filled with faces - often with mouths agape - contorted in confusion, anger, or sheer incredulity at the stupidity being uttered on screen. The usual suspects utter those words, (which is not particularly surprising) making the proceedings hilarious and also infuriating.
Namnama En Lolang is a dramatized (?) account of events that ring all too true in light of current events. It is one of two films that touch on the plight of health workers during this crisis, and it goes straight for the heartstrings.
Miss You, George is the second of those two aforementioned films, and this one hurts even more. Personally, it's my favorite film of all 15 shorts because of that personal resonance.
Island Symphony in C Major 19 fills its frames with images of travel, both in open, 'free' spaces (such as a beach or on provincial roads) and in the strange new reality of a pandemic-stricken cityscape. The irony lies in the fact that the former resides only in dreams and hopes, while the latter resides in the here and now.
Naraniag A Bulan tells a story of separation and yearning in the context of the pandemic. It's images are lush, but in terms of content it comes out a bit short compared to its fellow short films.
I've been told that the word Mingaw could either mean silence, or the act of missing someone. In this short film of the same name, both definitions apply: the peaceful silence of old age, the loneliness that comes when longing for separated loved ones.
One of the lightest entries in this batch of shorts is Pitch to the Stars, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's nothing too deep or profound, but it's very entertaining, and we could all use a bit of laughter right now.
Maski Papano is another whimsical, lighthearted short film about finding ourselves whenever we feel lost and alone. At least that's what I think about it. You could say I'm pulling stuff out my butt this time but who cares, I really enjoyed this one.
And finally, Mask4Mask is a short meditation on how people maintain relationships and form connections with each other during a time when the environment isn't exactly conducive to such activities, similar to Swipe Right from earlier.
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That's all for today, stay tuned for more articles coming soon.
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