PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER TELLING THE FILIPINO STORY TO THE WORLD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010 9

Mes de Guzman MES DE GUZMAN:

“Forget Hollywood.”
ERNIE U. SARMIENTO

M
ES DE GUZMAN lives in a
farm somewhere in Nue-
va Vizcaya.
The gentleman-farmer who grows or-
ganic vegetables for his family, still actively
writes scripts and makes films—mostly set
in the countryside.
This year alone, Mes wrote and directed
“Earth Trilogy,” which received various
grants from abroad: “Ang Mundo sa Pana-
hon ng Yelo” won the Goteborg Interna-
tional Film Fund; the two other parts (“Ang
Mundo sa Panahon ng Bato” and “Ang
Mundo sa Panahon ng Bakal”) received the
Hubert Bals Fund in Rotterdam.
His 2006 feature, “Ang Daan Patungong
Kalimugtong,” won top prizes in the Festi-
val de Cine de los Pueblos (in Venezuela )
and in San Sebastian (Spain). “Kalimug-
tong” also won major awards from local
bodies Urian, Golden Screen and Cine-
manila.
His 2008 feature, “Balikbayan Box”
clinched the Hubert Bals and Vision Sud
Est (Switzerland) grants. Earlier, his short
film “Batang Trapo” (2001) won the grand
prize at the Marrakech (Morocco) fest and
the Ishmael Bernal Award at Cinemanila.
Mes describes the last five years as the
“big bang.” Technology “paved the way” for
local filmmakers, he says. “It’s all intercon-
nected—the Internet, digital gadgets, cell
phones, computers ...”
Filmmakers can tap the World Wide
Web, “the information highway,” to apply
for grants, he notes (although, he also says,
his hometown is plagued with brownouts
and erratic Internet service).
On the set, he enthuses, a filmmaker can
become a “one-man army—shooting with a
camcorder, editing and doing the sound de-
sign using a laptop.” He says filmmakers
can also harness technology to build an au-
dience. “We should establish a movement.
Expose our films to popular media, TV
shows, schools and YouTube.”
He waxes optimistic: “We have an audi-
ence. It’s not as big as that of blockbusters,
but we have it and it’s growing.”
Mes notes that filmmakers can sustain
local and global interest by “discovering
new territories and exploring the Filipino
experience.”
Gung ho about the future, he encourages
young people to make films: “Just do it, no
matter how difficult and complex. Ride
your instinct. Forget Hollywood. [Seek]
stories that have never been told. What is
truly important is your film’s message.
Rock and roll with your camera.”
Bayani San Diego Jr

“ANG MUNDO sa Panahon ng Bato”

“ANG DAAN Patungong Kalimugtong”