The Philippine Online Chronicles

Yesterday we posted Part 1 of our interview with Ria Lu, regarding Project 20:10. In part 2 of the interview, Ria details the mechanics of the Project, as well as gives a short list of Filipino creators of prose, comics, animation and games that have works available for public consumption.

The project encompasses four different disciplines: prose, comics, animation and games. Why these four in particular?

In the creative industries, we believe these four are the ones that need most help. And they're pretty much connected to each other.

How does the project work exactly - support 20 creators across the four disciplines, or 20 in, say, prose, and then I create a 10 page story after?

The ideal is you support 20 creators in the field that you've chosen to create for. So if you plan to write a 10-page prose story, it is encouraged that you read works by 20 authors. In some fields, however, there's a bit of a shortage in creators. Like in games and animation. In those cases, participants might need to fill their 20 with creators from other fields. But it's alright to cross disciplines if the participants really want to. We must not forget, those are media. Underneath every format is still the story.

By local content, do you mean any content created by a Filipino? Whether it is published here or abroad, whether it uses English or Filipino or Ilokano or Mandarin?

As long as it's made by a Filipino, but preferably locally distributed. Language doesn't matter, as long as you understand it.

Will the Project be asking participants to submit their "Create 10" contributions for some sort of compilation/event?

Are you familiar with NaNoWriMo? The National Novel Writing Month challenge is to make a 50,000-word novel in one month. NaNoWriMo does not publish the works of the winners, though. It's just a movement to get people to finish writing a novel. We're going for something like that for Project 20:10. However, we do encourage the participants to submit their works to publishers for consideration for publication. For the Project 20:10 launch, we've invited three publishers. Two publish prose. One publishes both prose and comics. Throughout the year, we'll be inviting other publishers in the different fields to give talks and invite the participants to submit. We'll also be posting calls for entries on the project website.

For those who are at a loss of where to start with regard to supporting local content: could you give some Filipino creators in each of the four disciplines who you think deserve more attention?

For prose, I'd suggest going for the short story anthologies, initially. There's more variation. And once you find writers you like, you'll find that most of them are published in other publications as well. For prose, try the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, Usok, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler. Also, if you're particularly into fantasy, try A Time for Dragons from Anvil Publishing. The Kite of Stars by Dean Alfar is also a must read. And if you're into horror, try Yvette Tan's Waking the Dead. She's a fantastic horror writer.

For comics, try Trese by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. It's a great take on the lower mythology creatures. Underpass from Summit Publications is also a good starting point. If you like something funny with a hint of drama, try Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah by Carlo Vergara. Lola: A Ghost Story, by J. Torres and Elbert Or, is also out. If you're into the older komiks, "El Indio" is out. It's by the late Francisco Coching. Wonderful art. Oh, and the Summer Komikon is on April 17. You'll get a lot of choices there. You can check out Gerry Alanguilan, Bayan Knights, and there are a lot of independent comic groups and artists there whose works are just waiting to be read.

For animation, there's a 3D animated film that's slated to come out sometime October this year. It's called RPG, by Thaumatrope Animation. I've seen the trailer. Nicely done. You can also look for Tuldok Animation's Libingan. They're coming up with another one called Pasintabi. There's Cutting Edge's Dayo, and there's APT Entertainment's Urduja.

Now, for computer games, we've got a shortage. The last locally-made game for locals I came across was called Bangu-Bang Mania from Vitas Development. It's an online fighting game. But that was years ago. And before that was Anito by Anino Entertainment. Most studios nowadays are doing outsource work only. For participants who are into games, I encourage you to make games. We need more. For the moment, you can go to newgrounds.com and kongregate.com and look for local independent creators there.

For card games, there's Talecraft. And we're coming out with a new game this year called Talecraft: The Duel. If you're a writer or storyteller, we recommend the original Talecraft. If you're more of a tabletop gamer, we recommend the Duel. It should be out around the middle of the year.

You use the phrase "local content for locals". Do you see a distinction between content created for a Filipino market as opposed to a Global market?

I hope in the future there won't be a distinction. But at the moment, yes, I do. We seem to be more open to the [works] made for outside [consumption]. Right now, many times, a piece of work has to win or gain recognition outside the Philippines first before we accept it. Also, I used the phrase so that people won't just watch Pixar movies as [part of] their 20 (Pixar has Filipino animators).

When does the project officially launch?

January 30, 2010, at the Ateneo High School Fair. (Here's a link to a trailer for said fair.) To get the participants started, we've invited several publishers, writers and comic artists to do talks on creating characters as part of our launch. Speakers include the horror writer Yvette Tan and comic artist Elbert Or. And some of the students are going to tell their Talecraft stories during the launch--And I've heard these boys storytell before. They're good.

Are there any other events you have planned during the year?

Talecraft will be holding workshops and talks throughout the year to help with the "create 10" part of the project. But we're trying to get other groups to participate, too, and hold activities throughout the year to help participants reach their 20:10.

By the end of the year, what do you hope that the project will have achieved?

We hope that by the end of the year, there will be more creations for locals, and by that time, people will be more open to accepting local work.