In the Middle of Things: Lighting the Fires of Regional Cinema, One Grassroots Initiative at a Time
In the Middle of Things: Lighting the Fires of Regional Cinema, One Grassroots Initiative at a Time
There is something quietly powerful about grassroots cinema initiatives taking root outside the usual centers of Philippine cinema.
In the regions, making films can sometimes feel like trying to keep a small fire alive. There are filmmakers, stories, audiences, and communities, but the kindling–the opportunities and spaces that connect them–is not always available. They can be few and far between. Sometimes we make films simply because we want to prove that the stories from where we come from deserve to be told, seen, and remembered.
And yet amid these limitations, there remain spaces such as small festivals, workshops, screenings, and collectives where filmmakers and communities can find one another. I know this because I come from one of those places.
During the maiden edition of the Saliduwa Film Fest held in Baybay City, Leyte earlier in May, we hosted filmmaker Keith Deligero’s inaugural In the Middle of Things, a non-traditional script workshop that invited filmmakers to approach the writing process differently.
This was not the kind of workshop where participants were taught the fundamentals of screenwriting or instructed on how to properly format a script. Instead, they brought their first drafts into the room and shared them with Deligero and the other participants. They read one another’s scripts, commented on them, questioned them, and tried to imagine the stories as their writers had imagined them.
As the founder of Saliduwa, a regional film festival in Leyte dedicated to experimental or playful cinema, there was something compelling about that approach since it perfectly aligns with our vision for the festival. The workshop didn’t seem interested in telling filmmakers what a script was supposed to be. Rather it created a space where a story could simply be opened up, examined from different perspectives, and reimagined through conversation.
But perhaps the most striking part came after the discussion: the first drafts were burned.
It was an unusual gimmick, but it carried a simple idea: a first draft does not have to be precious. Sometimes we have to let go of what we have written to discover what the story can become. More than anything, it’s not about writing the most polished script but about staying in the middle of the process, where ideas could be challenged, dismantled, and rebuilt.
Now, In the Middle of Things moves to another part of the country.
The second edition will be held during the 6th Oroquieta Film Festival, on October 12 to 14, in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, continuing its invitation for local filmmakers to engage with their stories and their writing in unexpected ways. Deligero will venture there and teach another batch of aspiring storytellers on how to burn their first-draft scripts.
One thing I’ve learned is that initiatives like Deligero’s In the Middle of Things don’thave to be confined to one place. They can exist across islands, cities, and provinces throughout the archipelago. One initiative lights a small flame somewhere; another carries it somewhere else. Over time, these scattered flames begin to form something larger: a collective effort to nurture regional cinema, strengthen local filmmaking communities, and ultimately bring the stories of our islands to wider audiences.
They may seem like small things when viewed individually. But from the regions, we know that small things matter. Perhaps more importantly, these small initiatives are how we keep local art and cinema alive.
