‘Transit’ director, producer plan ‘unique and creative campaign’ for Oscar bid

Ping Medina and Marc Justine Alvarez in a scene from 'Transit'.

Now comes the hard part.

It’s one thing to be selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the American Academy Awards, it’s another matter altogether to clinch one of the five coveted nomination slots.

Director Hannah Espia accepts the 2013 Cinemalaya Audience Choice Award for 'Transit' in August. (Rhoy Cobilla/InterAksyon)

“Now the real work begins. First of all we have to think of a good strategy to be recognized by the Academy. We will need all the help we can get,” director Hannah Espia told InterAksyon just days after “Transit” was selected by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the official Philippine entry for that coveted Oscar.

Fellow filmmaker Paul Soriano, who produced the film, is hopeful that the film industry and all Filipinos, for that matter, will rally behind “Transit” in its quest to get the nomination.

Not since Manuel Conde’s “Genghis Khan” became the first Philippine entry to the Foreign Language Film category of the Oscar in 1953 has there ever been a Filipino film that was nominated.

Just how much of a herculean task is it for “Transit” to get a nomination? Ruben Nepales, the Los Angeles-based resident Hollywood columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, explained the arduous process undergone by “Ploning”, the 2009 Philippine entry directed by Dante Nico Garcia and starring Judy Ann Santos.

The film received around P2.5 million in financial support from various sectors including the government of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

“It was the first time that the Philippines aggressively made a bid for a nod. Some prominent Filipino-Americans in Hollywood lauded Santos and company for at least making a sincere effort to bag an Academy nomination,” Nepales wrote in his 2009 column for the Inquirer.

A respected Filipino journalist in Hollywood who in 2012 was elected chairman of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that organizes that annual Golden Globe Awards, Nepales also reported in his 2009 column that the campaign strategy of “Ploning” included hiring Murray Weissman, that man considered “one of the deans of Oscar campaigning who helped engineer the upset victory of ‘Crash’ over ‘Brokeback Mountain’ for Best Picture in 2006.”

“For Your Consideration ads of ‘Ploning’ ran in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment industry’s trade bibles. Several screenings of ‘Ploning’ were held, some attended by Santos. The campaign was seen by some Filipino-Americans as having helped promote awareness of Filipino films in the world’s film industry capital,” Nepales added.

Despite these laudable efforts, “Ploning” still failed to crack the magic nine shortlisted films that was ultimately trimmed down to the top five nominees. That year, “Ploning” was one of 65 official entries vying for the nomination.

Last year, Jun Lana’s “Bwakaw” mounted a similar campaign and partly through the backing of Fortissimo Films, an international film, TV and video sales organization, made it as far as the Top 5 of one respected Oscar prediction site, AwardsCircuit.com, last November.

But lack of funding and its failure to attract a US distributor ultimately doomed the Oscar chances of “Bwakaw” as well.

Soriano and Espia both know that “Transit” has an uphill battle to climb and are not shy about admitting that they will need a lot of help, financial or otherwise, to mount a successful Oscar bid.

Producer Paul Soriano accepts the Cinemalaya 2013 New Breed Best Film trophy for 'Transit' in August. (Rhoy Cobilla/InterAksyon)

“I’m currently talking to a couple of major Hollywood film production companies that have expressed their interest to help ‘Transit’ in its Oscar campaign. I’ll also do my best to use my connections to get the financial support we need to make the best campaign possible. I pray that there will also be people out there willing to help us. I plan to seek advice from the fellow filmmakers that have experienced this already so that we know what to do and what not to do,” Soriano told InterAksyon.

Soriano conceded that ‘Transit’ “needs to come up with a unique, different and creative campaign for the Oscars so that we can be seen, heard and noticed by the Academy”.

“As executive producer and producer of the film I will make sure we give it our best shot. ‘Transit’ is now representing the Philippines and it will take a lot of prayer and hard work to make history, by first getting the nomination, then the Oscar,” he added.

Even with the daunting task ahead, Espia still likes the chances of her multi-awarded Cinemalaya feature in clinching a nomination.

“’Transit’ has always been the ‘little film’ that kept surprising us. From its conception, to Cinemalaya, and now the Oscar selection, ‘Transit’ has really come a long way, and we are humbled and grateful for everything that’s been happening so far. I am mostly still overwhelmed by everything, and inspired by how much people are supporting us,” she exclaimed.

“Whenever we talk about plans for ‘Transit’, I can’t even count how many times I’ve told Paul that it’s ‘a long shot’. I’ve said it about getting into Cinemalaya, then about having a commercial run, and then being selected for the Oscars. But again, and again, ‘Transit’ kept surprising us. So we never know. Nothing is impossible with God.”

‘Transit’ director, producer plan ‘unique and creative campaign’ for Oscar bid

Source: InterAksyon.com (September 23, 2013 at 01:01PM)

Continue...