Can Tondo underdogs become PHL Azkals?

The unexpected advance of the Philippine Azkals to the semi-finals of the Suzuki Cup, Southeast Asia’s premiere football tournament, has turned many Filipinos into fans almost literally overnight. But the Azkal’s triumph was surprising precisely because football has never enjoyed much support from Filipinos. Before their win versus defending Suzuki Cup champion Vietnam last week, the Philippine national football team was ranked 151st in the world, few Filipinos even knew who they were, and they enjoyed little support from Philippine sports institutions. They were true underdogs. Football lovers in the country have often lamented the fact that so much money and attention has been heaped upon our basketball players, even though Pinoys’ height disadvantage makes it difficult to be internationally competitive in the sport. Football advocates have argued that Pinoys may be better cut out for football, where being close to the ground can actually be an advantage. The same realities are highlighted in a new film by former broadcaster turned filmmaker Jim Libiran about a group of football-playing street kids from Tondo. Entitled Happyland, this is the second feature film by Libiran, whose first film, the gritty and rap-infused Tribu (2007), won the Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Sound awards in the 2007 Cinemalaya Film Festival. While Tribu portrayed the violent gangster culture of Tondo, Happyland tells the uplifting story of a Spanish missionary priest who tries to form a group of disadvantaged boys from Tondo into a fighting football team. The story is based on true events that took place in Tondo in the 1980s, when Spanish priests from the Don Bosco parish and youth center began teaching football to local out-of-school youths. These boys eventually formed a football team that became legendary for playing barefoot because they couldn’t afford to buy football shoes. Libiran describes the film as a “coming-of-age story about poor young kids who learned to dream and dared to fight for their simple goal." “The main character is still Tondo: that face of the Filipino as resilient, defiant, and happy, despite all the problems. In Tribu, I showed a darker side of Tondo. This film is still Tondo, which is still Filipino, but it shows the next generation. It shows that we have a bright future," says Libiran. As he did with Tribu, Libiran has again chosen to use non-actors to play the main roles in Happyland. To find real Tondo football players to act in his film, Libiran contacted Peter Amores, the founder of a non-governmental organization that provides football training to youth in poor communities around the Philippines. Called Futkal or Futbol sa Kalye, the organization aims to build self-confidence and discipline among poor kids through football, at the same time cultivating the next generation of Filipino football players. With Libiran’s encouragement, Amores took Futkal to Tondo. The organization tapped more than 20 boys ranging from 12 to 20 years old and provided them with football training and even acting lessons in preparation for the film. "We try to teach them the discipline of football so it can be applied in their daily lives and help them reach their goals, their aspirations, ang mga pangarap nila sa buhay through using the discipline of futkal or football," says Amores. Like the characters in the film, the filmmakers of Happyland have also struggled to make their dream a reality. After taking several years to write the script, Libiran began filming Happyland in the beginning of 2010. He originally intended to release the film in June or July 2010, around the same time as the World Cup. However, problems encountered during post-production delayed the film’s release and put the production into debt. Part of the reason for the delay in the release of the film was the high cost of production. The film was shot on Red One Cameras, perhaps the industry's most expensive digital cinema camera. Surpassing even the most powerful high-definition cameras, Red One Cameras capture digital images in full 2K resolution (2048 x 1152). Only a handful of Filipino feature films have been shot on Red Cameras -- including Raymond Red's Himpapawid, and Chito S. Roño's Emir. "I wanted to present our country, Tondo in particular, in a different light. That's why I used the best equipment I could get my hands on." said Libiran. "What I didn't know was that using expensive recording equipment like that will entail also very expensive post production. That's where we fell short financially." Libiran said that they had initially set out to make a film on a P25 million budget, which has since been reduced to just P12 million. But as of now, Libiran's team has only been able to source P9 million. “We are still raising the last P3 million. The film is finished, but we still have a lot of utang (debt)," says Libiran. The filmmakers have set up a website, SaveHappyland.com, to raise the remaining budget through individual donations. "Independent filmmaking is a misnomer. We're very dependent on everyone's love and money," says Libiran. At the end of the day, Libiran says he’s happy that the film provided opportunities for personal growth to the more than 20 teen-aged football players who joined the cast. “The silver lining is that I got a bunch of street kids and sponsored them to play football for two years. Those boys, psychologically and physically, have changed a lot," says Libiran. He hopes to use the film to inspire more youth to take up football, and even wants to work with the Department of Education to show the film in schools and poor communities around the country. "Ayaw namin na panoorin mo ito sa mall, pagkatapos, kakain ka ng hamburger. (We don’t want you to just see this in a mall then rush off for a hamburger.) It's not that kind of film. Gusto namin na panoorin ng mga bata (We want kids to watch it) —children who are out of school. Tapos we want to give them a sport, teach them football, especially in depressed areas, or in conflict areas like Mindanao," says Libiran. Happyland premiered at the Cinemanila Film Festival last December 5 at Robinson’s Galleria. Though its release was delayed by several months, it may have come at no better time. Maybe the coincidence of the Philippines’ Suzuki Cup success and the release of Libiran’s film will finally make Pinoys realize that if we can excel at football, despite their own poverty and despite the sport’s lack of popularity or public support, then maybe Filipinos really do have a shot at becoming world-class footballers. And Tondo kids can start believing that even underdogs can become Azkals. - HS, GMANews.TV