BUKAS, araw ng Biyernes, ay inaasahan nang ihahayag ng screening committee ang mga opisyal na kalahok sa Metro Manila Film Festival this year.
Ito ang panahon when every film producer—big or small—would wish that his production outfit’s entry make it to the list.
No other season is as thriving and advantageous as the 10-day festival run kung saan higit ang tsansa ng mga prodyuser to get their ROI (return of investment).
Kapaskuhan kasi, maraming pera ang tao. Mahaba-haba ang break lalo na ng mga bata who are actually the target audience of most entries.
Kaisa kami sa mga umaasa na hindi mabibigo ang bagong produksiyon na CineKo with its entry “Mang Kepweng Returns” na pinagbibidahan nina Vhong Navarro at Kim Domingo na remake ng classic Chiquito film.
If we get our facts straight, ito ang pelikulang unang nagsimulang mag-shoot at una ring natapos. Sa katunayan, it made it to the deadline set by the festival committee.
Hindi rin apektado ang “MKR” sa “lock period” (an editing phase) na inaalmahan ng ilang MMFF hopefuls as its compliance to the otherwise strict guidelines has been to the letter since the beginning.
It’s interesting to note that while most, if not all films employ nameless bit players ay mas piniling kumuha ng “MKR” ng malalaking artista bilang support sa bida to achieve grand scale proportions.
Semantically, its head publicist Aster (Amoyo) may sound like “austere,” pero hindi tinipid kundi ginastusan nang bonggang-bongga ang maiden project na ito ng mga bagitong film producer.