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Why is director Erik Matti scared to do films after the lockdown?

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Leo Bukas

Papayagan ng bumalik sa syuting ng pelikula o taping ng mga teleserye ang mga artista, TV networks, at film companies simula May 15, 2020 sa mga lugar na may GCQ o general community quarantine status na lang. Pero dapat daw na ipatutupad pa rin nila ang strict health standards para makaiwas sa COVID-19.Masaya si Direk Erik Matti sa balitang ito pero hindi siya sigurado kung totoong good news talaga ito para sa industriya ng telebisyon at pelikula.Aniya, “There&#x27;s a lot of uncertainty when this is all over. Yes, it&#x27;s easy to think that we can just resume what we have been doing before this lockdown happened. I have yet to finish my shoot for On The Job 2. And we still have pending projects that we can start on.“Just thinking about working to earn a living I think there&#x27;s a lot to be excited for once we are all allowed to go back to the outside world. But would it still be the same?“Several times during this lockdown we had thoughts about all these as a welcome break. But also the other side of it, that keeps you awake at night, is whether things will be better for all of us after this.”Hindi rin sigurado ng premyadong director kung anong istorya ang magugustuhan at panonoorin ng mga tao pagkatapos ng mga naranasan sa COVID-19 pandemic.“I am talking here as a filmmaker. As someone who tells stories. What stories can we tell after this? Do we all just go back to how we used to be telling random film stories for everyone&#x27;s entertainment?“Certainly after the scare we all went through, we all just need mindless fun to get us through being imprisoned for more than a month. But isn&#x27;t that what we&#x27;ve been doing all this time? Watching anything and everything that can take our mind off the worst that&#x27;s happening out there?“The other side to all these is that the lockdown has given us time to think of things that matter. And when we are allowed to go back, we will start telling stories that matter. Entertaining still, but matters.“We don&#x27;t have a monopoly of what the audience wants. Either we go back to how we were, which was already slowly moving towards doom, or we start making films that matter to try to leave a mark in this world like the end is just around the corner? Well, only the audience can tell,” pahayag ni Direk Erik.Patuloy pa niya, “This whole time - when all of us were devouring content - showed us that content is cheap. It&#x27;s everywhere.“We can start an episode for a few minutes then let it run while we finish a level of Homescapes, rewind it when the story gets interesting so we can catch up. We move from one series or movie to the next, confusing and mixing the plot points altogether, mixing cast faces and seeing de ja vus of the same conflicts and imagery, dialogues mixed up but does it matter?“We can replay it, right? And we get into content fatigue. Crime, love, heist, Jordan, comedy, Spanish, German, Indian, British, Australian. Accents mixing up. I sometimes get confused if I&#x27;m watching a full movie or a series. We just click and click to get through the boredom of this long break. And then what? Where do we go from here?“Is it enough that as storytellers we just resume our lives and do a version of the top popular hits we saw during this lockdown? Let&#x27;s do something like Money Heist but with a bit of Crash Landing on You. Patok yan!!!“Or do we do something so original and out there of a story but deep down inside know that no one will bank roll it because no one can see its promise?“Where do we go from here? Certainly, we will rush back to work after this long haul because why not? We need the money. But the question is, is it still what we want to do?“Deep down inside when we ask ourselves, with no regard to earning a living or finishing contracts, what do we really want to do? Do we still just go where the tide brings us even knowing the uncertainty of things all around? Or do we now deliberately drive our filmmaking lives to something that will matter before the next pandemic stops our world once more?“I don&#x27;t know. I really don&#x27;t know. And I&#x27;m scared to go back to work because I don&#x27;t want to know how this pandemic has changed my views of the world. I hope it is for the better“Let&#x27;s see. That&#x27;s all we&#x27;ve been saying these last few monts anyway. Let&#x27;s see.”

Erik Matti expresses his fears about changes in what audiences will like post-lockdown.