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.
FILM AUTEUR. As in all his previous works, whether short films or full-length features, Tarog writes and directs Senior Year. Apart from those, he's a multitasker who edits and does musical score and sound design for his films. Faculty and Senior Year are no exception.
A glimpse into the lives of ten students at a private secondary institution, the St. Frederick's Academy, Senior Year follows the story's main characters as they struggle through the final months before graduation.
"I wouldn't say it's a serious look at high school life. Kasi yung treatment namin, medyo light," notes Jerrold. "Or light talaga, may comedy at drama; our goal was to capture high school life. And in our research, we even attended the high school students' classes [at an exclusive southern metropolis school] and ended up casting real students."
What made Jerrold decide to write and direct a film on high school life for his third feature?
"Honestly, yun lang ang available talaga," he said. "If I had a choice, I would have done my third film on the 'camera trilogy,' but the opportunity presented itself. So, ito muna."
SYNOPSIS. As written by Jerrold, Senior Year examines the "bitter-sweet" travails of interesting teen personalities belonging to an exclusive secondary academic institution.
Nobody knows what to make of high school, not when you're 27 and dealing with real life. This is what Henry thinks, as he sits inside his car figuring out whether to meet his old classmates at a high school reunion.
As Henry remembers the past, there will be a flashback to his senior year at St. Frederick's Academy. Viewers will get to witness the lives of ten students as they struggle through the final months before graduation. Sofia is a quiet student growing out of her old shell. Briggs and Bridget are a couple about to realize certain truths in their relationship. Solenn, one of the "It" girls in school, is restless about attending her dream college. Meanwhile, Carlo deals with rowdy boys making fun of his ways while his friend, Stephanie, tries to find the identity of a secret admirer. Another friend, Jackie, strives to forget a troubled home life by focusing on art.
In the midst of all this, school "oracles" Mitch and Chito size up the entire batch with their knowledge of facts, trivia and gossip while Henry is left with the daunting task of summarizing high school life in a highly‐anticipated graduation speech, all while dealing with conflicting emotions about a certain girl.
But how does one sum up the end of high school? Is it really the end of childish ways and the beginning of maturity? Or is it the start of a bumpy ride towards the crazy mess of real life?
STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEMBERS. The ten students who were picked to play important roles in the film went through a rigid two-month acting workshop, facilitated by Jerrold himself. Before the start of the shoot, Direk Jerrold was both a teacher and acting coach to his student-actors, namely: Aaron Balana, Celina Peñaflorida, Eric Marquez, Osay de Boda, Franzes Bunda, Sheila Bulanhagui, Mary Lojo, Nikita Conwi, and Daniel Lumain.
Indie actor Daniel Medrana was chosen as the replacement of Carlo, after the original student-workshopper backed out for personal reasons. Medrana is currently enrolled at the Philippine High School for the Arts. He played a major role in the Cinemalaya entry Engkwentro, which won two awards in the 66th Venice Film Fest.
In Senior Year, each student will have an adult version played by the more seasoned actor-performers like RJ Ledesma (as Henry), Ina Feleo (as Mitch) and Arnold Reyes (as Carlo). Their younger counterparts in high school would be the ones played by Aaron Balana, Celina Penaflorida, and Daniel Medrana, respectively.
"I can mention only the three characters, for now, para hindi siya spoiler," volunteered Jerrold. "There's the class valedictorian, Henry, na genius, may pressure from Ms. Joan Aquino [played by Che Ramos] to write an inspiring graduation speech; at the same time, he's 'in denial' that he has feelings for a certain girl..."
Actress Ina Feleo plays the grown-up Mitch (Celina Penaflorida), while Arnold Reyes portrays a former "sissy-like" character, Carlo (Daniel Medrana), who is often bullied by the rowdy boys in campus. Actress Dimples Romana has a special role in this film.
Other seasoned actors play members of the faculty. Aside from Che Ramos, there's LJ Moreno, Angeli Bayani, and Ramon Bautista. A couple of well-known character actors, like Kalila Aguilos and Archie Adamos, play two of the parents' roles to some "troubled" teenagers.
For the two films, Senior Year and Faculty, Jerrold was joined by Bianca Balbuena (assistant director), Mackie Galvez (cinematographer), Ben Padero (production designer), and Nicholas Barela (sound recordist). Franco Alido is line producer for Metric Films and Big Top Productions.