02 July 2009
Philippine Filmmakers Find Success in “Democracy”
East Asia-Pacific duo’s film wins Democracy Video Challenge
Washington — Sometimes, the smallest notions turn out to be the biggest successes.
In the Philippines, Melissa “Aissa” Peñafiel, 22, and Juan Miguel “Migs” Ocampo, 20, wanted to make a film. But about what? And why? Then Peñafiel saw a notice about the Democracy Video Challenge, and the duo’s desire for a socially relevant film found its purpose. Their resulting three-minute video, “Long Live the Fearless Man,” is one of six winners in the global online video contest, as the winner for the East Asia-Pacific region.
The two Manila-based filmmakers are now the focus of much attention in the Philippines, appearing in television interviews and featured in newspaper articles and blogs all discussing, dissecting and ultimately celebrating their winning video. Thanks to efforts by the public affairs section at the U.S. Embassy in Manila to promote and explain the contest, “Fearless Man” aired regularly during an entire day on one of the major Manila television networks and the clip has been viewed on YouTube more than 168,000 times.
“We had wanted to make a film for quite some time already but we hadn’t had the opportunity,” Ocampo told America.gov. When they heard about the Democracy Video Challenge, “we thought it was a great opportunity to make a film of social relevance that many people could watch because it was on YouTube.”
The Democracy Video Challenge, created in 2008 by the U.S. Department of State, YouTube and 10 additional partners, will celebrate the six winning films with events in New York, Washington and Los Angeles in September. Peñafiel will travel to the United States to accept the prize, along with winners from Nepal, Poland, Zambia, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.
The contest asked videographers to create three-minute films posted to YouTube that complete the phrase “Democracy is … .” The contest received more than 900 entries from 95 countries.
Additional partners included the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, the International Youth Foundation, the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association of America, NBC Universal, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, TakingITGLobal, and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, with help from William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
Peñafiel and Ocampo said they wanted to present democracy as they witness and experience it in the Philippines. The duo eventually came up with the winning notion of using stark imagery, body art and a poetic soliloquy to present their vision.
“We didn’t want to portray democracy in a very cheerful manner because that’s not how we experience it here in our country,” Peñafiel said. “The [film] treatment is dark and it’s heavy, but at the same time, it’s real.”
The film shows an actor whose exposed body is covered in phrases about democracy, written in Tagalog, while a narrator asks, “Who is in control in a democracy?”
“The democracy made by the people, for the people — it rings so sweetly on the ear,” the narrator continues. “The phrase which teases and lures the weak and unprepared mind, drawing it into the blade. Yes, democracy. The weapon of the selfish man.”
Yet Peñafiel and Ocampo finished the film with this thought: “I hold no grudge against you, nor against the democrat. I just know this one thing: Those who choose not to speak drink the toxin of their own spoiled saliva. I’m not into dying just yet.”
The filmmakers started work in January, working out a detailed list of the visual shots they wanted to match the script Ocampo had written. “He’s the poet,” said Peñafiel, who handled much of the camerawork and technical aspects.
They filmed on a single day in January, for only a few hours. “We had to finish it in three hours because our actor had to go to his first day of work,” Ocampo said, laughing.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney lauded the filmmakers in a statement: “Their three-minute video shows the real power of Filipinos increasingly in the film and creative arts industry.”
“Fearless Man” was the first film Ocampo and Peñafiel made together. It was followed by a film they placed at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The partners are now conceptualizing a feature-length film. Ocampo is continuing his studies in physical education at the University of Philippines, from which Peñafiel recently graduated with a film degree.
“We made a film that’s something we both felt strongly about,” Ocampo said. “We didn’t want to compromise what we felt.”
That idea led to the unexpected, Peñafiel said: winning the Democracy Video Challenge.
“We just saw it as a good opportunity to voice out, to say something about how we experience [democracy] in our own country and to share it with the world,” she said. “So this is really amazing for us.”
To view this film and the other winning entries, visit the Democracy Video Challenge Web site.
