Mga isyu ukol sa censorship at ang bagong panukalang batas hinggil sa pagbabawal manigarilyo sa mga pampublikong lugar ang binigyang-linaw ni Laurice Guillen sa kanyang interview sa PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at iba pang piling kinatawan ng media.

Ito ay naganap sa press conference para sa 7th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and Competition, sa Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater lobby kahapon, June 8.

Si Laurice ang competition director ng taunang indie filmfest, na gaganapin sa July 15-24, 2011 sa mga venue tulad ng CCP sa Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, at sa Greenbelt Cinemas 3 and 5 sa Makati City.

May paglilinaw rin ang premyadong actress-director hinggil sa pagkakaroon ng premiere ng Cinemalaya entry sa international filmfest, tulad ng Cannes, at ang posibleng kuwestiyon ukol sa pre-judging.

TOTALLY INDEPENDENT. Kaugnay ng pagiging independent film festival ng taunang Cinemalaya ang mga opinyon at pananaw ni Direk Laurice hinggil sa bagong batas na nagbabawal manigarilyo (no-smoking law) sa mga pampublikong lugar sa Metro Manila.

Nagsimulang ipatupad ang batas noong May 30.

Ani Laurice, "Cinemalaya is an independent film festival. It is an alternative to the mainstream [movie industry].

"So, if life is idealized in the mainstream, na may mga subject matter na hindi tina-tackle, what we try to show in Cinemalaya ay ang realidad ng buhay.

"Kung ang realidad, may mga taong naninigarilyo and it's really the characters in the story, as such, then we'll portray it as it is in real life.

"Now, this doesn't mean that I am for it.

"Personally, I don't smoke...stopped smoking. I also feel that smoking is hazardous to one's health. But that is one thing.

"Sa pelikula, kung may mga character man na naninigarilyo, hindi nangangahulugan na pinu-promote natin yung paninigarilyo."

CENSORSHIP. Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) as an institution, and in accordance with the law, "is really exempt from censorship," ayon pa kay Laurice.

Hindi ba saklaw ng censorship ang mga Cinemalaya 7 entries na itatanghal sa Greenbelt Cinemas?

"Now that we are going to expand to Greenbelt Cinemas, for the festival period, the MTRCB [Movie and Television Review and Classification Board] Chair has been understanding about the spirit of independence of Cinemalaya, and has graciously exempted censorship from the films that are going to be shown at the limited venues."