No Filipino film has ever bagged the Oscars for the International Feature Films category, and award-winning actor John Arcilla, on Friday, December 10, says it has something to do with resources.
In the virtual media conference of A Hard Day, a possible entry for the 93rd Academy Awards, Arcilla pointed out that the American populace can choose which movie could win the award. If the Philippines could not reproduce copies available for Americans, then the film can “never” appeal to the voters.
“If you don’t have the money to reproduce all the copies that you can spread all over America, they will not even hear, even the title of your project, of your film. Even if they will feature you in major broadsheets in the States,” he explained.
Americans, according to Arcilla, were like Filipinos: needing attraction to appreciate a foreign filmmaker’s work.
“Like the Filipino masses, the American mass, they have to be titillated. It has to be bombarded to them. And all Americans lang ang kanilang nakikita in their television, in the mainstream.”
If a Filipino producer aims to win the Best Feature Film category, they have to allot a lot of money to make their movie known across America.
“So ang hirap i-penetrate sa mind nila yung ibang culture. So these voters are all over America. So you really have to spend a lot of money to make a noise. And we don’t have those big budgets to lobby for our projects. That’s the sad truth.”
Other than that, Arcilla pointed out that the category panel was very critical in judging the entries.
“And I think very strict din sila sa mga color grading, things like that. Parang sila yata ang pinaka-metikuloso sa lahat nang categories, ng qualifications.”
Despite the difficulty and the slim chance of ever winning an Oscars, Arcilla still hoped that someday, the Philippines could receive such recognition.
“Sana, sana, sana. I really wish and I’m praying so na manalo rin tayo.”
In the meantime, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) opted to not enter the Oscars’ Documentary Feature category. The organization might choose from the entries for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) such as Kun Maupay Man It Panahon, A Hard Day, Big Night, and OTJ: The Missing 8 to represent the country for the International Feature Film category.
