The Philippines’ enhanced community quarantine in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic caught us all by surprise. Now, nearly the whole world is staying indoors, adjusting our daily lives inside our homes, and dreaming of the day we can head out again.
Because we have the time, we decided to catch up with some of the wave-makers of the country’s sub-culture scenes to check in on them through this time. Normally always on the go, now they have no choice but to sit still and answer some of our questions. Welcome to Lockdown Sessions.
Writer and director Rae Red may seem soft-spoken and unassuming in person, but she is the screenplay powerhouse behind films like Birdshot, Neomanila, and Eerie. She also directed the black comedy Si Chedeng at si Apple. Her latest film, Babae at Baril, premiered at the QCinema Film Festival 2019 and bagged a host of awards including Best Director, Best Actress, and Gender Sensitivity award.
Before the lockdown, describe a usual day for Rae Red?
May usual day ba for a freelancer? But I guess it’s either I’m attending meetings or locking myself in a room to write.
What does your day look like now that we’re all on lockdown?
My days since the lockdown seem more jam-packed. I finally have a routine! It’s wake up, drink a cup of coffee while vaping/smoking, cook lunch for my siblings (I wake up around noon and I fast so I usually eat at around 6 pm), run, eat dinner, and then, finally, I write.
What was the last thing you did before the Luzon-wide quarantine?
The night before the quarantine I went out for a drink with some of my film friends. I guess that would also be my last party?
I’m currently directing [the] second unit for the HBO series Halfworlds Season 3. Our last shoot was on March 4. Since then I’ve only been doing writing projects which are the following: an IWant series, which I’m writing with my friend Kenneth Dagatan and Jericho Aguado, a Singaporean/UK series, and a Star Cinema film which I don’t think I can disclose the details of yet.
Your film Babae at Baril was in competition at the Osaka Film Festival. Congratulations! Why aren’t you there?
I canceled my Osaka trip one day before my flight (March 10). It was a really hard decision given that it’s Babae at Baril’s first festival abroad and it would have been my first time in Japan. I was really looking forward to [seeing] how a foreign audience would react to my film, something I never thought of while I was writing as I had the Filipino audience in mind.
Kobe Film Commission even offered us a free tour. I could be eating Kobe beef right now! But, all things considered, I can’t complain. Our pantry is full, I’m still able to make a living by working from home, unlike most Filipinos who do not have a choice but to go out to work. If only this government cared about them as much as they care about maintaining a good relationship with China. #MassTestingNow #NoToVIPTesting
Are there other local female filmmakers you’re looking out for? Anyone you’re excited about? Shout them out!
Dwein Baltazar! Eve Baswel! Martika Escobar! Pam Miras! Hiyas Bagabaldo! Jewel Maranan! Shireen Seno! I admire their works so much and am looking forward to new ones!
What makes female directors different from their male counterparts?
I know some might disagree with me on this and this doesn’t apply to every male or female filmmaker, but there are certain nuances and insights that we as women notice that often get overlooked when watching works of male directors–insight on struggle, on power relations. And these insights can show themselves in the tiniest details whether it be the dialogue word choice, the way this character holds this character’s hand, or the composition of the frame.
We need to watch more films by women or by anyone from the margins (Indigenous Peoples, LGBT, people from the lower classes, etc.) because these are the stories [that] often go unnoticed. Most of our films, whether we like it or not, have a capitalist and patriarchal view of the world. They’re often the points of view of the privileged, even though the subjects are the marginalized. Stories that come directly from those who’ve experienced the struggle and have lived it can often give a completely different perspective. I’m not saying that privileged people shouldn’t be allowed to make stories about the marginalized, I’m saying that we should watch and consume more content made personally by people on the fringes.
Your cousin, Mikhail Red, loves his sneakers. What’s your version of that? What unexpected thing is Rae Red passionate about?
I wish I had one. I kind of have this reputation of being very stringent with money. I won’t, however, look at the price if it means eating or drinking out with friends no matter what the time is.
Now that we’re all on lockdown, how are you using all this free time?
I don’t really have free time despite the lockdown. Most of my writing deadlines are slightly adjusted but the lockdown means I don’t have an excuse to delay them anymore.
I’ve had more time to run and spend time with family though. I’ve been trying to learn how to grow potatoes in case, you know, the apocalypse.
What’s your favorite part of your house?
The balcony, which I never used to go to before!
We have a few more days before April 15, the supposed end of the lockdown. Kaya pa ba?
Ask me again next week.
What’s the first thing you’re going to do when the lockdown ends?
Eat/drink with friends. Write in a café. Go back to attending meetings that could’ve been an email or a conference call.
What can we expect from you when this lockdown is over?
Halfworlds Season 3! My IWant series which I’ll be writing and directing. It’s working title is The Tenement.
All photos provided by Rae Red
Follow CLAVEL on Facebook and Instagram for news, culture, and more.
