We get inside the creative mind of the 9th Mindanao Film Festival’s Best Director, Glenmark Doromal. Originally from Iligan, he moved to Manila to fulfill his passion for filmmaking.

He recently graduated as a film major from the De La Sall-College of Saint Benilde. He says, “filmmaking is a collaboration of people with different expertise, wherein for me, I do more in post (mainly editing) and camera work. During college, we are faced with numerous hands-on projects so everyone has to learn almost every aspect in film then eventually figure out what to specialize in.”

Get to know him more as we ask questions about his first entry to the Mindanao Film Festival, coming out from the box of his action films, his favorite entries from the festival and what’s next for him.



LIEU: From your end, what was the story of Walay Kahumanang Adlaw? Was this your first entry to the Mindanao Film festival?

Glenmark: Ang Walay Kahumanang Adlaw combines stories of unrequited love, long-distance relationships, and waiting into one. Adlaw is very personal to me (at some point the waiting part did happen) but I gathered accounts from different people and moulded my main character Chester from those stories. Chester is a believer of destiny which affects his perception about life and love. He created his own world and an ideal girl (Madison), which are only inherited from a past he can't move on. Reality ultimately breaks his ideals and teaches him that there are no meant-to-be's and his fate is decided by his own choices. I also like the irony of how Chester remains committed to someone he haven't talked to for four straight years, when there's no Facebook or mobile phones at that time. But even in this digital age, long-distance relationships still hardly work despite the abundance of communication. Setting the film in the 90's with music as backdrop critically puts nostalgia to the frontline as Chester unwinds his cassette tape of memories. Yes, this is my first entry to the Mindanao Film Festival and I am happy that the theme is "Style Nato", presenting each filmmaker's unique perspective and personal take on cinema.

LIEU: In your speech, you said that the award winning film was your coming out of the box of action films. What were your musings when you decided to make something new? What were your inspirations?

Glenmark: I am a big fan of action and science fiction films so naturally I do more films in those genres. But there's no denying when exceptional drama films bring me to tears. Since the film was my thesis requirement, I told myself it's the perfect time to prove that I can do something else. This is the first time I wrote a love-story and actually did a complete screenplay with many dialogues. The experience was very challenging and at the same time a lot of fun. I am very passionate in terms of visuals so I kind-of mixed fantasy elements and reality in the film. The French film Amelie is a good example and an inspiration, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is several times more profound but the film also mixes fantasy and a tragic love-story. 500 Days of Summer, Annie Hall, and Before Sunrise/Sunset are also among the influences.

LIEU: I understand that you were from a film school, what did you think of the entries that you've watched during the screenings?

Glenmark: Unfortunately, I was not able to watch most of the films since I arrived in Davao late afternoon just before the Awards Night. But judging from the number of entries which is 57, it's a good sign that filmmaking is becoming active in Mindanao. It's also nice to know that regional cinema is growing and we are starting to have bigger audiences.

LIEU: What was your favorite film in the 9th Mindanao film fest?

Glenmark: I only got to catch the Down South and DDS (Director's Showcase) categories. Among those films, I'd like to mention Alaala Alley and Ang Wig ni Happiness.

LIEU: What's next for you?

Glenmark: I just graduated and I'm just starting, but the film industry here in the Philippines is growing and more indie films are getting recognized. Filmmaking is not something we do every day but I'm fairly open to experimenting and possibly be doing short films every now and then. For now, I'm thinking long-term and most probably be starting a career path of my own just like what everyone does, but the passion for film will always be there and who knows, one day I'll get my first feature film produced. As an emerging filmmaker, I have a long way to go, learn many things, but I'm sure it will be a fun ride, a rare opportunity that not everybody gets to experience.