5. I don't intend to preach in my films or even pretend to be a moral compass to what is right or wrong for my audience.
For example, my third short film is a contemporary love story between two teenage girls-- a Filipino-American and an all-American girl, which leads to murder, abortion, and the ruined lives of two wonderful young people because of the protagonists' families' contradictory religious and cultural values, and the idea of privation of good, or presence of evil and suffering in this world. My job is to tell the story, and let my viewers decide who and what is right or wrong, and good or bad. As a writer, director, and producer, I aspire to be objective and morally non-judgmental as much as possible in my films.
Integrity in filmmaking for me is being true to my vision of what I perceive to be the whole truth, and presenting it as such on the screen without reservations, even if it hurts, or it turns out to be false in the long run. Why? Because by being honest with yourself and certain conscience, your vision will always be valid, even if it turns out to be erroneous.
For my second narrative feature-- a one hour campy sex comedy-fantasy for cable TV situated in the US and the Philippines is actually a metaphor for four decades of exploitation of the Philippines by the US for commercial and strategic reasons, the disastrous consequences of US policy supporting the dictatorship of the Marcos regime, and the unfinished business of the American government in cleaning up the toxic waste left by the US military in their bases in the Philippines after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo because of non-renewal of the bases agreement promulgated by the government of the Philippines. Being a naturalized US citizen, my allegiance is to my adopted country-- the United States; but my integrity as a filmmaker requires that I tell the truth above, as I see fit, based on my diligent research and ascertained by my conscience; so that even if my premise is proven to be false, as a filmmaker-- my vision stays honest, and my argument remains sound.
Intellectual humility is the ability to accept one's ignorance, or to say to one's self: I do not know everything; I only know some things. This virtue is made self-evident and difficult to attain in this Age of the Internet and Information Superhighway.
As a Catholic filmmaker, intellectual humility dictates that in order for me to achieve my vision, I: must give credit where it is due, and affirm the cooperative nature of the art of filmmaking; mustn't patronize, second guess, condescend to, discriminate against, or reinforce the biases and prejudices of my audience; would avoid using unscrupulous means of marketing my film; would neither use shock value or cheap tricks nor appeal to the lowest common denominator in man to draw attention to my film; and will not exploit my actors, film crew, and myself just to make money.
Film Directing Class ~ NYU '99
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(To Be Concluded...)
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