“Tuta” is a terse and tense short film featuring a grappling Metrocom officer and his activist son against the backdraft of Martial Law. On Nov. 19 to 22, the said entry will compete against 46 competitors—the Short Film and Student Film categories of the International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM).
Co-directed by ID 118 Digital Filmmaking students Celina Marie G. Makani and Ma. Nadyn A. Estacio, “Tuta'' was originally a submission for their FLMPROD subject. Its Martial Law concept fell right into their laps as it was the decided theme for the task, whereas the idea of the IFFM came as a suggestion from a friend of Makani.
A collective effort
"Every other idea for the script just flowed from there," Makani shared in an online interview with The Benildean. Meanwhile, the familial relationship was a display of smart storytelling as it cut to the chase and saved more time for advancing the plot than setting it up on the film's running time—as it is one of the first challenges they had to overcome. Estacio, however, shared that "directing the film [was] not hard since the actors fit their role as well," noting that it is a 16-people-show in total.
Much like one of its messages, the directors disliked iron fists and allowed the cast to speak up and truly collaborate with them. With main actors such as Emman Dauigoy in the script and gaps in the story, and “[actor] Sir Geronimo [suggesting] a lot of props to use and the like,” it made the class project a team effort closer to the IFFM.
Road to Manhattan
Estacio found out that “Tuta” had made it to the IFFM through two fateful emails. The first from The FilmFreeway and the second from Mr. Luis Pedron—the head of International Film Festival Manhattan.
"Honestly, when I checked my email and it said that our film was selected, I was shocked that I literally thought that it was a joke," Estacio admonished.
Nonetheless, it was then Makani's turn to be dazed as their semi-finalist status for the Short Film category was sealed. "I had to ask again if it was true. I really didn’t expect anything since a friend of mine told me about this last minute. I even thought we’d waste money paying for the entry fee for this since this wasn’t going anywhere; (...) [yet] this gave me a lot more confidence, since this is the first film festival I submitted to.”
In light of such a feat, and to be one of the 22 Filipino films in an international roster totaling 79 films, this pair of Benildeans was definitely grateful to their cast and families alike. They would also like to extend gratitude to FLMPROD professor Mr. Jag Garcia. "Without the constant pressure he gave us during the subject, this literally wouldn’t have been possible," Makani shared.
Support local filmmakers
In this end, budding Benildean directors have taken away a thing or two from this experience so far. Estacio concluded that "as a filmmaker, I learned that it doesn’t matter how long or short your film is, the important thing is that it will trigger the emotions of the audience."
Speaking of audiences, it will be quite interesting to have international audiences learn about this tumultuous period in Philippine history, by having a chance for Filipinos to revisit it by availing tickets at https://www.iffmnyc.com.
Ultimately, Makani encouraged aspiring filmmakers to set aside fears as "it may be as cutthroat as other people say but if you’re heart is in it, you can improve on your own craft and make your way to whatever position you’re aiming for."
The Benildean community can support them by simply seeing the film or by sharing its trailer on their social media accounts.
