Programming specifically to the large Filipino population in San Diego seems like a no-brainer. However, it took the suggestion of an Ultrastar Chula Vista employee to get the ball rolling.
The result is the Philippine Cinema Showcase, which opens tonight at the Ultrastar Chula Vista 10. The showcase, which will screen Philippine-language films in a commercial venue, is not only the first of its kind in San Diego, but also the first in the United States.
Arnold Marquez, the program's film curator, has helped organize the event for the San Diego Asian Film Foundation.
“The idea came entirely from Ultrastar Cinemas' organization,” he said. “Ultrastar contacted the SDAFF, which has run a festival for the last nine years, seeking their expertise.”
With the support of the SDAFF, the showcase will screen Filipino films for the next 365 days, a far cry from the typically short-lived events for imported fare.
“The emphasis has to be that this is a yearlong event,” Marquez said.“People hear 'series' and think one-night stands and one-weekend kinds of exhibitions. Any single day in the next year, people can identify that they are available to see a 7:30 p.m. Filipino film.”
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Philippine Cinema Showcase
When: Today, 7 p.m. (through next year)
Where: Ultrastar Chula Vista 10, 555 Broadway, No. 2050
Tickets: $5.50-$8.50
Phone: (619) 338-4214
Online: philippinecinemas
howcase.org
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Marquez attributes the theater and the film foundation's desire to put on this yearlong showcase to the newer possibilities of narrowcasting to the interests of subpopulations.
“Just as in TV and the Internet, you have massive niche audiences coming into being. We are seeing that now in film,” Marquez said. “There is so much content, and the audiences have grown so much (so) you can begin to serve those communities with specialized niche programming.”
Marquez says now is a fortuitous time to feature Filipino filmmakers.
“It's the Philippine indie films that are drawing international attention,” Marquez said. He cited the recently held Paris Cinema International Film Festival, which named the Philippines this year's country of honor.
The film kicking off the Philippine Cinema Showcase, “Donsol,” was chosen for its independent roots.
“There's a wide range of (Filipino) films, but a lot of them are very celebrity-and blockbuster-driven,” Marquez said. “('Donsol') is an example of an indie film from the Philippines, so it doesn't take part in that celebrity/blockbuster mentality.”
Screening times for the PCS films are available online along with the rest of the Ultrastar Chula Vista 10's programming. However, Marquez and the SDAFF plan to cater to the Filipino population of San Diego.
“We definitely want to make sure that our entire community, the 250,000 Filipinos in San Diego County, are completely aware of this,” he said.
With that in mind, there will be free quarterly calendars at grocery stores, coffee shops and other Filipino businesses in the county. “That way,” said Marquez, “they can check (movie times) the way most people check. We don't want to make this something they have to search for.”
He added that Ultrastar is open to expanding the showcase to other theaters in San Diego if it is successful.
Kate Stanhope is a Union-Tribune intern.
