Before attending MDAFI, I had the impression that I would only learn the technical side of filmmaking; blocking actors, dressing the set, using the right lights, etc. However, the first month proved to me that before anyone can learn the technical aspect of the craft, one must first realize the core and essence of filmmaking, and its importance to the world. Direk Marilou’s first lecture made me realize that entertainment has been around for thousands of years, since the era of the cavemen. Specifically, these cavemen gathered around a fire and shared stories with one another after a hard day’s work as a form of healing. And so, this reinforces my belief that entertainment will never be obsolete since people will always want to be entertained. People will always look for characters that they can relate with, no matter how fast technology changes.
The first set of drills was tiring, yet fun. The class was able to develop a stronger sense of camaraderie during production, and even in post production, as I remember scoring my classmates’ short films. For the first drill, we were only taught camera-character rapport and directing actors. Now that we are studying sound and music the whole of February, and anticipating the lectures on lighting next month, I can’t help but imagine how our films for the next drill will look like (and sound like).
-Francis Concio,
Director and Musician
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I didn’t have any formal film school training. For someone like me who has been directing TV commercials and feature films for the past years, there was always this hesitation to go back to school. “A total waste of time! E, nagdidirek na kayo ni Veronica (Inang Yaya and Maling Akala co-director), ano pa ba ang kailangang nyo matutunan?”, some friends and colleagues say, but after months of MDAFI training (and still on-going) through the Star Cinema Directors’ Training Program, I realize that there is so much to learn about film making.
What makes the program very even more illuminating is the dynamic exchange of ideas through forums and lectures by established industry practitioners, film screenings, group discussions, analyses and practical drills designed to make each one of us better film makers and an essential member of a creative community. Aside from the comprehensive Film Directing program, MDAFI offers an ideal environment for learning.
-Pablo Biglang-awa
Director, Inang Yaya and Maling Akala
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I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker so that I might be able to direct actors the way I always wanted to be directed. I had many situations in the past where in the director does not understand the process and requirements of an actor’s craft. As an actress and a filmmaker it gives me that reflection to the essential oneness of the actor’s craft and the director’s vision. My quest as a filmmaker therefore is for me to be able to bring my own vision of that oneness to the screen with full sense of responsibility to the creative process. But this process is inconceivable to me without formal education in filmmaking despite my experiences in the industry as an actress-producer. MDAFI provides me the right learning tools to fulfill this dream and even more. Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya is an extraordinary gifted teacher… being in her class reconnects me to my passion for the craft.
I have searched for meaning in my acting career and it has been a long road for me. After years of acting, I finally found the most favorable role for me – that of a director.
-Vivian Velez-Groskopf
Actress
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It’s in Antipolo? Are you kidding?! That was one of my first reactions to the Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute. Not a very encouraging beginning but after spending more than four months in the institute, I can definitely say that the twice-a-week drive is always worth it. I have been studying filmmaking for more than ten years now. I have attended a four-year-film-school, certainly more than one filmmaking workshop, and I have even dared to study filmmaking while making my own independent film. These forays have only resulted in more questions and more uncertainty. Am I saying that attending MDAFI rid me of those questions? Definitely not. The institute bombarded me with even more. But this time there is a difference. This time I welcome the questions. As Direk Marilou always reminds her students, good directors may not always have the right answers, but they definitely ask the important questions. Who is your story about? Who does he love? How does he love? These questions are deceptively simple but not completely knowing the answers to them can break your film. The stress on the importance of questions such as these, in my opinion, is what differentiates the institute from other film schools. So is the spiritual manner that Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya teaches directing, or Direk Laurice Guillen and Sir Johnny Delgado for acting, Sir Nonong Buencamino for musical scoring, and Sir Mike Idioma for sound. Their love and respect for their craft can make converts out of anybody and can only make any committed student better. In MDAFI, not only am I learning about the techniques of filmmaking (this institute can rightfully claim that it is responsible for finally making me understand line of vision), I am also learning about myself. Sappy-sounding that may be, but it is true. This institute pushes you to know not only the characters in your imagination, but also your own. Is that vital to being a good filmmaker? That important question can only be answered by making that twice-a-week drive to Antipolo.
-Arah Jell Badayos,
Director, Mudraks
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The Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute has been equipping and molding me into a director who will use his creativity to it’s full capacity. The institution instills honor and professionalism in its students and how they progress. It’s a team effort as well as an individual one. Being a Fil-Am, I wasn’t sure what I was going to expect from an all speaking-Filipino School amidst the humid green hills of Antipolo. To my satisfaction, the school reflects the very name that everyone respects and honors and Marilou was gracious enough to teach in English or Taglish. Thank goodness for that.
Continuing my education at MDAFI has definitely immersed me into the culture and a history I could not get anywhere else. Something Marilou Diaz-Abaya was adamant about in the beginning is that she doesn’t want to make carbon-copies of herself through this school. She understands that every individual is a creative person who will eventually figure out a style of their own. She teaches us the very rules that have made the film industry what it is today and to drill us until we drop. Talk about boot camp for film school.
Besides all of the protocols and drills one needs to know about filmmaking, the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute is a great place to learn the ropes in becoming an emerging director. Director Marilou’s influence and the passion she has for teaching film, scriptwriting, and being a mentor to us individually and collectively is irreplaceable. Bottom line, she loves what she does and it’s clearly visible when she passes her knowledge down to us.
-Alan Marasigan
