JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

Thank you Marlon Rivera (director), Chris Martinez (writer), Eugene Domingo (star) and everyone involved in the making of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, the box-office hit and awards juggernaut at the recent Cinemalaya festival. You have saved me the trouble of letting off a rant that might’ve spoiled my mood and that of the sensitive people who would feel alluded to.

Everything we’ve always wanted to say about poverty porn—movies, mostly independently-produced, which focus on the squalor and desperation of the underclass in Philippine society—is encapsulated in Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, the story of young filmmakers making an “authentic” “social realist” film that they hope will win Oscars (Note multiple ironies in that sentence). Except that the movie says it visually, hilariously, and better.

To recap:
1. Independent cinema—Indies—used to be an economic model, i.e. movies produced outside of the studio system. With the success of local indies, “success” being defined as entry into the international film festival circuit (there being few local indies that have had lucrative theatrical runs), Indie has become a style.

Therefore the attributes that used to be associated with low-budget indie guerilla filmmaking—shaky, grainy, poorly-lit, underexposed photography, terrible sound, poor-quality technicals—are now required of the movies. These have become their “signature”.

It appears that the godfather of local indie cinema is The Blair Witch Project.

Indies denounce mainstream movies for sticking with tired old formulas—now they have their own formula.

2. The fact of the matter is that foreign film festivals are partial to Filipino movies with this “style” and subject matter. (They’re like the visiting photographers who demand to be taken straight to Smokey Mountain or Payatas. We cannot deny the reality of poverty, but that’s not all we are.)

In effect indie filmmakers are making movies for foreign festival programmers and critics. They ignore the general Pinoy audience which “doesn’t understand” their work, and the general Pinoy audience ignores them right back because they’re “depressing”.

3. The makers of poverty movies are tourists, and not because they travel the international festival circuit. Tourists as in “sightseers”, the slums being the sights.

4. Whatever the intention, however faithful to “grim reality”, poverty movies are still a form of exploitation (hence, porn).

5. Poverty movies are every bit as artificial as slick studio movies. They’re movies, aren’t they?

When actress Eugene Domingo playing the star Eugene Domingo who may or may not be based on the real Eugene Domingo discusses the three types of acting—”Elevator”, “TV Patrol” and “As is, where is”, the chips I was eating shot out of my nose.

Bravo everyone, particularly Marlon Rivera. Not content with being the overlord of a multinational ad agency, a teacher at the UP College of Fine Arts, a fashion designer, florist, and so many other things that we grow exhausted from enumerating them, Marlon has gone and made this clever movie. Do not miss it.

Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank is now showing in Power Plant, Glorietta, Trinoma, Market Market, Gateway, Robinsons and all SM theatres.