The Philippine Online Chronicles

It was one of those relatively uneventful years for Philippine cinema – 1999 did not have any big scandals, no elections for actors to run, dance, and sing in, no international film festival awards to speak of. Regal Films and Viva Films, together with Seiko and Star Cinema, provided the Filipino audience with most of the films produced in 1999 with titles such as Scorpio Nights 2, Katawan, Ang Kabit ni Mrs. Montero, Banatan, Warat, Isprikitik, Unfaithful Wife 2—Sana’y Huwag Akong Maligaw, and Walastik Kung Pumitik. Amidst the mediocre yield in 1999, a few films received critical recognition such as Mario O’Hara’s Sisa and Jeffrey Jeturian’s Pila Balde which won a special prize at the Cinemanila International Film Festival and screened in festivals abroad such as the Goteberg, Munich and Singapore. Philippine cinema also saw the emergence of Lav Diaz with two films - Burger Boys and Hubad sa Ilalim ng Buwan (Naked Under the Moon), both shown at the Berlin Film Festival. The annual Metro Manila Film Festival conducted every December yielded films such as Esperanza, Sa Piling ng Aswang, Pepeng Agimat, and Ako ang Lalagot sa Hininga Mo with Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Muro-Ami bagging the Best Picture award over the more critically acclaimed Bulaklak ng Maynila by Joel Lamangan.

Amidst all the noise of the Christmas festivities and the brouhaha that is the MMFF, a full-length independently produced film shot using a digital video camera, Jon Red’s Still Lives, was shown at the Mowelfund compound in December 1999. This signaled the emergence of digital cinema in the Philippines.