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Bert sent me this snippet from a newspaper article quoting the filmmaker Jim Libiran.

‘“It’s possible that viewers became interested in ‘Astig’ because they want to see these popular actors. But a box-office hit is not necessarily the best movie in the competition,” said Jim Libiran, director of “Tribu,” 2007 Cinemalaya Best Picture. The top-selling movie in 2007 was Aureaus Solito’s “Pisay,” Libiran added.

‘Libiran, who also appears briefly in this year’s full-length entry “Engkwentro,” said what happened to “Astig” is an example of what he calls the “vanilla ice cream syndrome.” “We know how vanilla ice cream tastes like. We buy it to play safe. We don’t want to experiment on other flavors,” Libiran explained. “I hope the audience would be open to watching the other entries.”’

That ticked me off. The more I thought about it, the madder I got. It is unseemly for a filmmaker who’s been the recipient of so much generosity to be stingy and mingy towards other filmmakers. Look, we all have to live on this small planet, let’s not make it tougher than it already is. I’m with Hannibal Lecter on this one: You are what you are, but don’t be rude.

So I sent Jim a text message going Emily Post on his ass.

An hour later I got his reply. ‘I’m in Mt. Banahaw and I didn’t get to watch the films except for Engkwentro. The reporter insisted that I give a comment. That’s the only reason for my comment. What pissed you off?’

Before I could compose a reply he called me. He said he’d been receiving complaints about something he said and wasn’t sure what it was exactly. I read him the offending quote. He said that when asked for a comment he declined, not having seen the movies except the one he appears in. The reporter insisted that as a former winner (for Tribu) he say something. She asked him why he thought audiences liked Astig, and he replied that it must be because it stars popular actors. According to Jim he added that all the entries are already Best Picture.

“People have been very kind to me, I wouldn’t repay that with unkindness,” he said. We’re all trying to elevate Filipino cinema, we’re not going to do that by picking on each other.”

That’s the story I got, haven’t heard the other angles.