CINEMALAYA SPECIAL: #9 "THE SLUMS" (short film category for competition)

jan andrei: young filmaker

"THE SLUMS"

BY JAN ANDREI COBEY

SHORT FEATURE CATEGORY

LOGLINE: A documentary team progressively intervenes and trespasses into the lives of a poor family living in the slums as they try to cope with the loss of their TV.

SYNOPSIS: The Slums is a mockumentary that follows a documentary team as they terrorize a poor family living in the urban slums of Manila. The film features the colorful lives of the Reyes family: Nayda, the family's loving mother with body image issues; Julio, the hardworking but not very bright father; Oliver, the fabulous son who wants to be a supermodel; Boy, the youngest and naughtiest child; and Pam, the feisty eldest child of the family. The family TV is broken and as they struggle to fix it, they grow increasingly annoyed as the documentary team becomes more involved in their daily lives.

FILMMAKER PROFILE: JAN ANDREI COBEY, a 24-year-old filmmaker from the Philippines, is a visual artist who specializes in video post-production, digital design, and print media. He graduated from the University of the Philippines Film Institute with a BA Film degree in 2019. He won the Best in Production Design in the Piling Obrang Video XIII for the film “The Last Gig on Earth,” directed by Mariah Reodica. He received the Audience Choice Award for the film “And A Hundred Roses Bloomed” at the 2017 Black Beret Student Film Festival. From 2016 until 2018, he was graphic editor for layout and the resident video director at the Philippine Collegian. Since 2016, he is a member of the UP Cineastes’ Studio, the first and premiere student film organization in the Philippines. In 2016, he participated in ...and Action! Asia, an international cultural exchange program for film students held in Tokyo, Japan.

MAJOR CREDITS: CAST: Sunshine Teodoro, Jorrybell Agoto, Dylan Ray Talon, DMs Boongaling, Kenken Nuyad PRODUCTION STAFF: DIRECTOR AND WRITER – Jan Andrei Cobey; DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – Moore Minglana; LIVE SOUND RECORDIST – Robe Dagcuta; SOUND DESIGNER – Yves Patron; PRODUCTION DESIGNER – Kendra Millario; ASSISTANT DIRECTORS – Patricia Camille Cruz, Jasmine Mendoza; PRODUCER – Bam Manlongat; EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – Rex Cobey, Arlene Cobey

19:46 MINUTES Comedy

blob:https://onedrive.live.com/b86e244a-e3db-4353-b134-52e0795ceb1c -- (TRAILER LINK OF "THE SLUMS")

FILMMAKER’S STATEMENT

THE SLUMS

Directed by Jan Andrei B. Cobey

"My parents grew up in poverty. My father, at a young age, started working to provide for his siblings. My mom grew up in the slums of Malate, Manila, helping my grandmother sell goods through a small store in front of their house.

Their stories are what I grew up listening to – the difficulties of their everyday, the issues of their community, and the uncertainty of their tomorrows.

However, portrayals of their community in popular media turn out to be caricatures of outdated and insensitive stereotypes. Their struggles are either downplayed or exaggerated.

This motivated me to make a film that gives dignity to the people belonging to marginalized communities. I wanted to portray them not as objects of pity and destitution, but strong and discerning individuals able to fight for their rights and their community. The film is more than a family film; it is made to be a scathing critique of media, society and our own biases towards the impoverished".

"THE SLUMS" BTS AND STILL PHOTOS BELOW: