NYAFF 2023: 12 WEEKS - Q&A
Summary
TLDRIn this interview, writer and director Anna Isabel Montadina discusses her first feature film, a deeply personal exploration of a woman's internal and external conflicts amidst the backdrop of the Marawi crisis in the Philippines. She shares the challenges of being a female filmmaker in a male-dominated industry and the importance of authenticity in storytelling. Montadina also addresses the film's reception, her documentary-influenced aesthetic, and the decision to focus on the relationship between mother and daughter rather than solely on the issue of abortion. The conversation touches on the film's impact on audiences, the importance of choice, and the universality of the story.
Takeaways
- 🎬 The filmmaker, Anna Isabel Montadina, discusses her journey in a male-dominated film industry and the challenges faced by female artists.
- 📽️ Anna's first feature film took almost 20 years to materialize due to limited opportunities for women in the film industry.
- 🌟 The film is semi-autobiographical, reflecting Anna's personal experiences and thoughts on motherhood and societal pressures.
- 🏆 The film was recognized as the Best Philippine Film of 2022 by the Critics Society, highlighting its significance and quality.
- 💰 Anna had to work with a tight budget, shooting the film in just eight days, which was a luxury compared to the common five-day shoots in the Philippines.
- 👩👧 Anna chose to cast real-life mother-daughter duo Max Eigenmann and Grace to play the roles in the film, adding authenticity to their performances.
- 🎵 The film's aesthetic includes a lack of soundtrack, emphasizing the documentary feel and allowing the audience to focus on the raw emotions.
- 📹 Anna's documentary background heavily influenced the film's style, with a focus on authenticity and avoiding melodrama.
- 🏥 The film's setting during the Marawi crisis and Duterte regime was intentional, aiming to highlight systemic oppression and the cycle of abuse and trauma.
- 🌐 Anna's goal is to make the film accessible to communities fighting for women's rights, using it as a tool for activism and conversation.
Q & A
Who is Anna Isabel Montadina, and what role does she play in the film industry?
-Anna Isabel Montadina is a writer-director known for creating films about women in a male-dominated industry. She has been making short films since 2004, and this is her first feature film.
What challenges did Montadina face in making her first feature film?
-Montadina faced difficulties because of the male-dominated film industry. It took her nearly 20 years to create her first feature film, facing obstacles like limited opportunities, budget constraints, and skepticism from people who believed women's stories do not sell.
Why did Montadina choose the story for her first feature film?
-The story is personal to Montadina, dealing with themes of motherhood, societal pressure, and women's rights. It also reflects her experiences turning 40 and contemplating whether to have children.
What real-life events influenced the setting of Montadina’s film?
-The film is set during the Marawi crisis in the Philippines in 2017, during President Duterte's regime. The crisis and the struggles faced by women, especially mothers, during that time deeply influenced the film.
How did Montadina’s documentary background influence the aesthetic of her film?
-Montadina’s documentary background helped her maintain a sense of authenticity and realism in the film. She used handheld cameras and avoided melodrama to focus on internal conflicts. She also emphasized awkward silences and subtle moments to enhance the emotional depth.
What is the significance of the mother-daughter relationship in the film?
-The relationship between the mother and daughter is central to the film, exploring generational trauma and the pressure placed on women in Filipino society. The tension between them reflects broader themes of personal and societal struggles.
Why did Montadina avoid using a soundtrack in the film?
-Montadina chose to rely on sound design rather than music to keep the film authentic. She wanted to avoid manipulating the audience's emotions and maintain a documentary-like feel, using silence to heighten the emotional tension.
How did Max Eigenmann contribute to the film’s success?
-Max Eigenmann, who played the lead role, brought a deep understanding of her character, especially as a mother. Her real-life mother also played her on-screen mother, adding authenticity to their dynamic. Max’s performance earned her Best Actress at the Cinema Live Film Festival.
How did the film address societal issues in the Philippines?
-The film explores systemic oppression, the cycle of abuse, and how trauma is passed through generations. By setting it during the Duterte regime and the Marawi crisis, it highlights the struggles women face in a violent, patriarchal society.
How has Montadina shared her film with different communities in the Philippines?
-Montadina has worked with NGOs and activist groups to make her film accessible to communities on the front lines of fighting for women's rights. These screenings, which were often emotional and triggering, have sparked important conversations about sexism and gender equality.
Outlines
🎥 Director's Journey and Challenges in a Male-Dominated Industry
Anna Isabel Montadina, a female director, shares her struggles in breaking into the film industry. She discusses her nearly 20-year journey to making her first feature film, the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated field, and the personal nature of her story. Montadina reflects on her internal conflict about having children and her inspiration from a friend's unplanned pregnancy. The discussion touches on both her personal experiences and the broader challenges women face in the industry.
🌟 Recognition Despite Challenges in Funding and Production
Montadina's film was selected as the best Philippine film of 2022 by the critic society, which came as a surprise to her. Despite the recognition, she talks about the challenges of securing funding due to the perceived lack of marketability of women's stories. The film was shot in just eight consecutive days, requiring many sacrifices. Montadina emphasizes her commitment to the original script despite pressure to rewrite it and how the film's small budget shaped the production.
🎬 Authenticity and Aesthetic Choices in Filmmaking
Montadina discusses how her background in documentaries influenced the aesthetic of her film. She wanted to create an authentic, non-melodramatic portrayal of internal conflict by using a documentary style, including handheld cameras and awkward silences. She praises actress Max Eigenmann's performance, noting the natural dynamic with her real-life mother, Grace, who also acted in the film. Montadina highlights the importance of authenticity, particularly with the difficult and emotionally intense scenes.
👩👧 Personal Relationships and Cultural Insights
The film's exploration of mother-daughter dynamics resonates with Filipino culture, particularly the casual use of guilt and shame within families. Montadina shares how this theme is prevalent in many Filipino relationships, reflecting the Catholic background of the country. She explains that the tension between Max Eigenmann and her real-life mother added depth to the film’s portrayal of a strained mother-daughter relationship, making the emotional conflict even more poignant.
🔊 Sound Design and Documentary Realism
Montadina explains her decision to avoid using music in the film, instead relying on sound design to create a realistic, documentary-like feel. She was inspired by filmmaker Asghar Farhadi's approach to authenticity and didn’t want music to manipulate the audience's emotions. Montadina used the handheld camera style to enhance the sense of realism and made several post-production edits to maintain the film’s authentic tone, preferring silences and gritty lighting over more polished aesthetics.
🎥 Filming Challenges and Emotional Impact
Montadina opens up about the challenges of filming the movie, particularly the emotional toll of shooting such a personal story under a tight schedule. Filming was emotionally taxing, and she frequently cried on set. Max Eigenmann, however, supported her deeply as the lead actress, especially because she connected with the role as a real-life mother. Montadina also notes that the film’s conclusion, involving a miscarriage instead of an abortion, was her decision to focus on healing in the mother-daughter relationship.
⚖️ Systemic Oppression and Generational Trauma
Montadina ties the story's setting during the Marawi crisis and under the Duterte regime to the larger themes of systemic oppression and generational trauma. She wanted the film to highlight not just the individual experience of abortion but the broader struggles of women living in a violent and oppressive environment. The film reflects on the cyclical nature of violence and trauma passed through generations, particularly as experienced by women in the Philippines.
😔 The Complexity of Choice for Women
Montadina addresses the complex issue of choice for women, emphasizing that it's not just a matter of legality or financial resources. She argues that even with abortion laws, deeper societal issues—such as how women are treated and their lack of agency—must be addressed. Montadina reflects on the global struggle for women's rights, noting that the fight for equal treatment continues, even in countries like the U.S., where hard-fought rights are still under threat.
🌍 Spreading the Film's Message and Impact
As an activist and filmmaker, Montadina is focused on making her film accessible to communities on the front lines of women's rights struggles. She has held free screenings for NGOs and human rights groups, though the emotionally intense nature of the film has required trigger warnings. Montadina avoids showing graphic violence, preferring to let the audience's imagination fill in the gaps, which she believes makes the impact stronger. The screenings have also been an eye-opener for some men involved in progressive movements, highlighting their own complicity in sexist attitudes.
🎬 Universal Appeal and Hope for Wider Distribution
Although Montadina was initially worried that her film’s themes would be too specific to the Philippines, audience feedback has shown that the story resonates universally. The film explores issues that are relatable to audiences worldwide, particularly the struggles of women. There are ongoing efforts to bring the film to a wider audience through distribution deals, and Montadina expresses her desire to continue making films that address important social issues.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Female Filmmaker
💡Personal Film
💡Internal Misogyny
💡Marawi Crisis
💡Systemic Oppression
💡Authenticity
💡Aesthetics
💡Max Eigenmann
💡Catholic Culture
💡Agency
Highlights
Anna Isabel Montadina discusses the challenges of being a female filmmaker in a male-dominated industry.
It took Montadina almost 20 years to make her first feature film due to limited opportunities in the industry.
The film is semi-autobiographical, reflecting Montadina's personal experiences and thoughts on motherhood.
The film's setting during the Marawi crisis and Duterte regime was intentional to highlight systemic oppression.
Montadina used her documentary background to treat the film with authenticity and avoid melodrama.
Max Eigenmann was a last-minute casting decision that turned out to be a great fit for the lead role.
Real-life mother and daughter, Max Eigenmann and Grace, were cast to play mother and daughter in the film.
The film's lack of a soundtrack was a deliberate choice to emphasize the documentary feel and internal struggles.
Montadina's decision to end the film with a miscarriage rather than an abortion was to focus on the mother-daughter relationship.
The film was shot in only eight days, which was considered a luxury compared to the common five-day shoots in the Philippines.
Montadina's approach to sharing the film includes free screenings for NGOs and human rights groups.
The film has been well-received, with Max Eigenmann winning Best Actress at the Cinema Live Film Festival.
The film was selected as the best Philippine film of 2022 by the critic's society.
Montadina's goal is to make the film accessible to communities fighting for women's rights.
The film has sparked conversations about women's struggles and systemic issues, even among progressive groups.
Montadina emphasizes that the film is not just about abortion but about the broader issues of women's rights and agency.
The audience's reaction suggests the film's story is universal, not just specific to the Philippines.
Transcripts
foreign
[Applause]
once again in welcoming writer director
Anna Isabel montadina
it is really a pleasure to be able to
sit once again with a budding artist
who's female who's making films about
females and who's doing that in a system
that is so
um
well must be very difficulty even more
difficult if you were
um
yeah a woman yeah a woman it's difficult
isn't it yeah it's um
that's why it took me a long time to get
to my first feature I mean I've been
making short films since 2004.
so almost 20 years this year yeah
congratulations for surviving this long
without making a feature yeah it's hard
to get opportunities there especially
with a very male dominated industry and
I know it's I'm not the first one who
set it like it's it's also in every
other industry it's not just in film
right and also not just in the
Philippines yeah what we'd like you to
do if you have a question and we hope
you have questions please summon one of
the runners on the side they have cards
and we'd like you to write your
questions on cards and then we'll get to
those in a little while first I'm going
to have a conversation
so this is your first feature after
almost 20 years as a filmmaker and a
documentarian
why this film why did you decide on this
story
well first of all it's of course it's a
very personal film
um and I was at that stage in my life
where I was also turning 40.
so and I wanted to have kids and I
thought about
um do I really want to have kids in this
kind of climate
and
um and at that point also at the same
time while I was
feeling
um there's so much pressure about having
children
another friend found herself pregnant
and it was she was in a very toxic
relationship
and she had no plans of having children
but by the time she found out she was
pregnant it was too late like she was
already five months pregnant
so
so there were a lot of questions in my
head and that was my way of confronting
even my internal misogyny by by writing
the script and then having it done I'm
so glad it's not
semi-autobiographical of course it's not
so
tell me about deciding making this
decision that Alice should also
um not only have this internal conflict
but also this sort of external conflict
which is the marawi
um crisis that was happening at the same
time that the film was set in 2017 right
yeah
um because that that was the second year
under the the duterte regime and we it
was really really bad and I had
I in order to be able to process what
the things that were happening I had to
start writing because it was just too
much and it's hard for
a woman who who knows the suffering that
is going on everywhere
and of course you also have your
personal
stuff that was happening in your life
and most of the front liners are women
you know and even when the marawi thing
happened
we were there for the women the mothers
so
and that was the time when my friend who
was pregnant also came to marawi with me
yeah so I was with her and
because the main problem then was like
the mothers didn't have milk for the
children
or they don't have sanitary napkins
so
um how do you even begin to process what
you're going through the trauma that
you're going through in your life when
you're seeing so much violence or not
I'm sorry I'm very emotional
I said I was going to cry but yeah shall
we change subjects real quick yeah okay
let's talk about the reception of the
film in the Philippines where it was
actually selected as the best Philippine
film of 2022 by the critic Society this
is a big thing yeah it was a surprise
I didn't expect that
um
it's not the most popular film because
it's it's it's kind of hard to sell
films like this
um especially when we were looking for
funding you know it's like one person
told me like
I don't know how to sell your film
and I was going through inside my head
was like okay women stories do not sell
and that was kind of hard to swallow so
we had we really had to limit the budget
so we shot that in eight days
and it was consecutive so it was
exhausting
so we really
cut a lot of things
and
um
and yeah I just didn't want to accept
that I would have to rewrite my film
because another man told me that they
couldn't sell it
thank you for not rewriting it and
sticking with that and even with a small
budget but you know you mentioned the
budget to me before and that's actually
not as small as it is in some other
places so yeah okay Bravo and eight days
we've heard here some people also having
to shoot yeah apparently I'm lucky to
have to do eight days a luxury because
the practice now in the Philippines as
you do a film in five days
yeah that's do you all understand how
crazy that is
I mean independent film in the US you're
never shooting for less than
I don't know three weeks
is that true filmmakers on in the
audience yeah I would say three weeks
and that sounds like oh my God that's
not enough time but okay let's talk
about the Aesthetics then you have this
long career making documentaries and it
feels to me especially the opening
sequence which is really interesting
which really sort of sets the scene for
us introduces us to Alice and
um we see what's going on how did you
decide this is the aesthetic style that
I'm going to go for
yeah I mean from the very start even
when I started pitching the film I knew
that my documentary background was going
to
come into play in the how I treat the
film because I wanted it as authentic as
possible because it's not an easy story
to tell especially
most of the conflict is happening
internally
um and it's like some would say it this
story can get melodramatic and I wanted
to avoid that so I took my documentary
background and Aesthetics into the film
but yeah the first just with the first
shot
and I already wanted to focus on the
perspective this is going to be her
story her version of things every scene
is with her in it
and yeah I'm kind of used being like
whenever I interview subjects it's
usually like that you have someone there
and then they bear everything
and I wanted I wanted that those
awkwardness the the awkward silences
which when when I'm doing a documentary
usually edit those out you know it
because it's for TV but here I wanted it
there because it says more with the
silences when you know she's not really
telling the truth but she has to appear
as if she's
like feeling okay in front of the camera
or in front of whoever's interviewing
her so
that was my angle for that and how did
you find Max Eigenmann she's she's
fantastic in this part yeah and also one
uh best actress at Cinema Live Film
Festival along with your net pack award
win congratulations thank you I actually
didn't know her before doing this film I
don't know her films
um because the other films where she
played as lead hasn't been shown in the
Philippines
um but I was I was actually
that was a last minute casting and she
was the most important piece of the cast
um I was working with two other
actresses and then the schedule then you
know didn't happen and then I was
encouraged to get her
because according to my script
consultant she can surprise you and that
she did and I was also very
um adamant about getting a real life
mother and daughter to play as mother
and daughter in the film
so this so Grace is her real Max's real
mom yeah because you know the reality of
you're shooting for eight days and you
want all the tension there already it
makes my job easier so you don't you
know even after I say cut they're still
like playing themselves
so I mean
line you know you know I mean she
repeats it several times about you know
I
seriously thought of aborting you sort
of thing I mean what a lovely thing to
say to your living daughter is that um
based on a
on their
relationship on a personal well there it
is all it's aside from it being based on
the relationship it's a very Filipino
thing it's something I've heard
everywhere
especially when mother and daughters
don't disagree like
you know I could have aborted you like
it's it's almost like it's something
used very casually
it's because
because we're very Catholic we're
predominantly we're I think we're the
only Asian country that's predominantly
Catholic so shame and guilt is built in
in our culture
so that's one one of the things that we
have to go through
all the time with our parents fabulous
and did had these two ever worked
together these two actresses yes they
have but
um not as much as like this that not as
intense as they had to do here
indeed okay I didn't realize this when I
was watching the film so it was more
difficult for Max I think because it's
like she never she could never rest
because her mother is there like it's
like imagine having your mother around
you all the time I mean and then having
to work with her like
and on something as intense as this with
with a not lovely relationship
great film
how was the decision of lack of
soundtrack in other words music and
um the silence you know became deafening
how did you make that decision
um I think and it also says
um thank you
um
yeah because I am a fan of asgar or Hadi
and the way he makes films and it's also
it also on emphasizes the documentary
feel of the film like it's like you're
watching real life happen right in front
of you and I just didn't because
everything is so I think everything is
so subtle and everything is so
internalized and I didn't want to use
music to manipulate the audience like I
was too scared to use music
I
I relied on sound design like yeah I'm
doing fiction but I wanted to feel as
real as possible
so and I think it works better with a
kind of treatment that I was doing with
the handheld and and the gritty dark
lightning and right someone else asked
about why why was everything so shaky
and I think this yeah handheld camera
and lack of did was there ever a time
because of course searching for
authenticity there's Still Moments where
you think you might have overdone
something was there ever a time that you
stepped back and said okay you know this
looks too good or This sounds too good
or
we need to make it
more authentic and less less polished
well what what happened was because
there's really no time to process
while shooting everything happened in
post-production where we had to delete
scenes
yeah like okay this is not working it it
doesn't feel authentic enough
and I'm sure there are still scenes I'd
love to cut out from that cut because I
don't know I mean of course every film
could be better the more that you watch
it that's why I don't like watching it
anymore yeah you say anymore have you
actually watched it projected ever
I wish I could here in the Lincoln
Center because I'm sure you have a very
good projector but I've watched it a lot
of times in the Philippines for you know
for the first Festival run because
that's where I saw the the DCP was
incorrect I had to check all those
things and if the sound was like yeah so
I watched it a lot of times and I'm just
like okay but now you're and I was also
editing it so I'm I'm just done with it
like I want to move on
um this this you've you've answered a
bit if you'd like to elaborate on it
this decision to set it during the
marawi crisis and during the duterte
regime you know how it affected the
storytelling
yeah it was also part of
um my intention for the film to
to zero on the systemic oppression and
the cycle
of abuse and Trauma and the wars and the
violence that we have to go through and
how gener it's being passed on from
generation to generation because
um I was thinking of
of course I started writing this in 2017
when The marawi Siege happened
and then you you have the the
Declaration of Martial law and then of
course I can't I couldn't help but think
of
How It Was Then in the 70s and
especially since I was doing a 40 year
old woman story she's
she's a pro she's a martial law baby of
course so I would have to reference that
and that also
I think that that makes their characters
and the ones deeper for the mother and
the daughter
so it was important for me to to zero in
on that and not just make it an abortion
film but actually talk about
the struggles of women in a very violent
environment in a very violent country
this ties right into that this is a very
stressful film yeah
um even the tiniest of sounds is is
somehow irritating in a story like this
it depicts how hard women's lives are in
this Society
the question I want to know is how were
you feeling during filming
and I might add you know after spending
were you shooting during covid and did
that affect
you know how you were feeling during
filming that's why I said I wasn't even
able to process what I shot during the
day because you have to think about the
next day because it's consecutive shoots
so basically you get what two to three
hours of sleep before you have to shoot
again
and then of course everything you you
get all the problems as well and this
was also campaign season of the election
so that was hard to do
um so I had to give up a lot of the wide
shots
um
but it was
just shooting it was very difficult
because a lot of it was also from
personal experience
so it was very triggering there were a
lot of times I would cry on set
but were you really feeling like oh Max
is so
um but Max was very supportive the thing
is
she actually she understood what her
character was going through at a very
deep level and I think she understood it
more than I do because she is actually a
mother
so she knows how it feels
also she was a very young mother
here's a tough question did you have to
end with a miscarriage
instead of an abortion
for the sensors
no that was my decision
um
because
and it's not just because I don't want
it to be an abortion film
it's because the store for me the story
is bigger than abortion
um
it was
I wanted it I wanted to bring it back to
the relationship between the mother and
the daughter
and for me it was a way to
close the gap between them like a space
for healing between them
because at least now
um
Alice understood what her mother had to
go through having losing a daughter not
in the same way but losing a child that
she never actually wanted in the first
place
and then she also and then Alice also
ends up losing a child that she actually
wanted to abort also that was like for
like okay finally I I understand what my
mother had to go through that's why my
last frame was also about her mother
having like the the that moment when she
gave birth to Alice
so in the backdrop of you know the war
in
in Mindanao
so for people like Alice is there any
choice at all
people like Alice is there any choice
and what about the people who don't have
the resources that I want to say that
people like not just people like Alice
but everyone should have the choice
but
when you talk about choices it's very
complicated it's not just okay you have
a choice because you can afford it you
have contacts
it's all right it's a human right the
because I want to give back the agency
and maybe that's what needs to be talked
about it's not it's not as easy as
having an abortion law suddenly in the
Philippines but you know
you still you still treat women the same
way
and you know I mean we've seen it happen
in the U.S where they repeal abortion
laws and look where it's got us we're
back to fighting the same
the same monsters so
maybe we need to actually talk about
what needs to be what is the root of the
problem the root of the problem is women
are not
treated as equals they're not treated as
humans they they
yeah they don't have agency they are
removed from that it doesn't matter if
they're financially well off or not if
they're educated of course it factors in
but
first and foremost
treat them as human beings who have
agency
here here here
[Applause]
and I want to ask because I think the
audience would be really interested your
approach to sharing the film in the
Philippines
oh yeah
um well
because this is a very personal film and
for someone who also worked as an
activist
[Music]
um
my my my goal is really to have it seen
more widely and make it accessible to
to communities who are in the front
lines of fighting for women's rights so
I've had a few screenings free
screenings to
to
um ngos
who are like in the front lines also for
fighting for women's rights and who were
actually doing all kinds of Human Rights
work not just for women
so yeah those were the scariest
screenings I ever attended
but yeah a lot of them say it's kind of
traumatic that I should have put a
trigger warning
and I'm like oh this is really tame
I really changed it up like you don't
see any actual violence perpetrated by a
man like the like in full like what you
what we are so used to seeing rape
scenes in movies and really violent
stuff on movies so I I really try to to
avoid that and
and it still works so you don't actually
need to see it I mean
yeah our imagination is far worse anyway
yes so those women's groups have helped
get the conversations yes started okay
yes so
and even the my even the men are
actually quite surprised because
suddenly they realize they've been part
of the problem and these are from
Progressive groups these are leftist
activists and they
yeah it's so much harder
when you discover that the men in the
movement or in Progressive Movement can
be quite sexist
so yeah and there it's kind of like a
wake-up call for them too
so how many of you felt that this film
was a universal story could you just
raise your hands please
see yeah she was very worried that it
was so specific to the Philippines that
no one would be able to really
understand or or even empathize properly
but I think that that's not the case at
all
Universal and we really hope that you
can bring it I know you're
talking to some Distributors and we
really hope you can bring it to a much
wider audience than
than just a few screenings okay thank
you so much keep making films please yes
questions once again thank Anna Isabel
Martina thank you so much for staying
and thank you very much for staying for
the Q a and for your questions we hope
to see you again
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