Faculty, a short film written and directed by Jerrold Tarog, made it to the competition section in the 6th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. It tells the story of how two private college instructors clash, with each having her own view on education and imparting knowledge and social awareness to her students.
Actresses Che Ramos and Bea Garcia, who are both familiar names in the local theater circle, acted out the part of the opposing members of the academe.
Early this year, Faculty was among twenty short films/documentaries that made up the omnibus AmBisyon 2010, which was commissioned by ANC (ABS-CBN News Channel)
The other noted filmmakers/documentarists, with an entry each are: Ditsi Carolino, Jade Castro, Kiri Dalena, Eman dela Cruz, Henry Frejas, Jeffrey Jeturian, Eric Matti, Brillante Mendoza, Ellen Ramos, Jon Red, Raymond Red, John Torres, Paolo Villaluna (entry pre-selected by ANC); and six others who are relatively new but qualified for the project, namely Gym Lumbera, Ana Isabelle Matutina, McRobert Nacario, Pam Miras, Aissa Penafiel, and Emerson Reyes.
AmBisyon 2010 was included the section called Cinemalaya ANI: Harvest of the Year's Best, in which each filmmaker presented his/her views on the various particular issues, like education, poverty, economy, human rights violations, security, population, environment, labor and employment, among others, and their aspirations as to the nation's future.
The feedback on Tarog's entry in the ANC project has been very encouraging that the award-winning filmmaker tried submitting his short film to the Cinemalaya 2010 committee as possible competition entry.
Writer-director Tarog thanked his colleague, Emmanuel Dela Cruz, for encouraging him to submit Faculty to the Cinemalaya screening committee, after making it clear also with ANC that joining the competition, as separate film entry, wouldn't constitute a problem. Tarog thanked ANC's Patricia Evangelista and Paolo Villaluna, the pioneers of the AmBisyon 2010 project.
"It wasn't planned," Jerrold said during an interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal). "Emman just suggested it and I said, why not? Buti naman, nakuha." A production of Metric Films and Big Top Media Productions, Faculty is line produced by Franco Alido. Cinematography is by Mackie Galvez. Aside from the screenplay and direction, the editing, sound design and musical score of Faculty were done by Jerrold.
Joining Faculty as official entry to this year's 6th Cinemalaya Short Films category is another AmBisyon 2010 entry, Pam Miras's Huwag Kang Titingin, about a father and his two daughters talking about their safety in a war-torn area.
The two AmBisyon 2010 entries competed with eight other short films, for Set A Shorts of Cinemalaya 2010. These are: Alistaire Christian E. Chan's Boca, about a chain smoking man, named Charlemagne Alejandro, who has oral fixation and was orphaned at age three; Steven Flor's Breakfast With Lolo, on how a grandson bonded well with his grandfather in his remaining days, as they shared fondness for eating the most delicious pancakes; Janus Victoria's Dalaw, about a young woman's (Che Ramos) return to the home of her grandmother (Ada Dino) and it's painful discoveries; Borgy Torre's Despedida, which follows young man, Michael (Michael Espanol), as he reflects on his life and meets a mysterious woman (Angel Aquino) in the cemetery.
Faculty belongs to the Set A Shorts, while Huwag Kang Titingin belongs to the Set B Shorts in Competition of the 6th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
Set B Shorts consists of: Mikhail Red's Harang (Barriers), which examines the series of strange obstacles and barriers encountered by a man on his way to the city, while driving his jeep in an isolated rural road; Hubert Tibi's Hay Pinhod Oh Ya Scooter (I Want To Have A Bicycle) tells the story of Gum-O, an Ifugao orphaned by his father, who wishes to make a wooden bike for the girl he admires, and in the process came to learn more about his father thru the legacy he had left; Joey Agbayani's Lola, an amusing tale of an "aswang-vampire-shape-shifter" who was hired as an actress by an ambitious director who exploited her supernatural abilities to save on special effects and production cost; and Rommel Tolentino's "P", which tells of a "pesky little boy's peevish and precarious summer prance with his petrifying Auntie Pekta."
SENIOR YEAR. Meanwhile, a third full-length feature, titled Senior Year, is on its last stages of completion (post-production) when the finalists for the Cinemalaya 2010 Short Films category was announced. Jerrold Tarog had his full-length directorial debut in 2007, with his Cinema One Originals competition entry, Confessional, and last year's Cinemalaya feature-length finalist, Mangatyanan (The Blood Trail).
Senior Year is a film that tackles certain complexities, involving teachers and students, at a private secondary school. Thematically, it complements Tarog's short film. In fact, the short film Faculty is considered a prequel to his third feature.
Actress Che Ramos provides the "link" between Faculty and Senior Year, as the former college instructor who opted to resign from her post upon realizing that her views on social awareness remain uninstilled in the consciousness of her students. Her colleague, played by Bea Garcia, made her realize an important aspect in being a teacher, where a thin line separating a teacher from that of a "nanny" exists.
In the end, Che's character declares that she will teach in high school. In Senior Year, viewers will be able to watch the idealistic teacher assume her post as a faculty member of St. Frederick's Academy.
