Goodbye Friends

A friend observed that I have been sending off people these past few months. The good thing about it is the parties; the not-so-good part about it is knowing that it will take time before we see each other again. 

Change is the buzzword at the moment, not only the change that the newly-elected president wants to achieve but also change in one's direction in life. In April, we had a send off party for friends and colleagues who resigned from teaching in the university. They went on to have new careers--one went to law school, one decided to be a magazine mogul, another focused on graduate studies. One friend, however, stayed in the teaching profession in a private university. 

It must have been a difficult decision to make, especially that they have been used to their LB way of life for many years. It takes a lot of courage to face the unknown, the uncertainties. But it must have been exciting as well--new job, new environment, new habits, new friends. What I find fascinating is how they knew that it's time to change their life, that it's time to leave what they have been used to. Is it like love that you just know? (forgive me for the comparison)

Last May and June I attended despedida parties of high school friends who left the country to work abroad. With their leaving, the country lost yet again professionals because of lack of jobs that compensate well. In June also, I sent off En who went back to Iloilo, and a few weeks after my sister left the country for Singapore to conduct her OJT. 

It seems like everybody around me are undergoing big changes in their lives, moving on to new directions. It's sad to see close friends and family go, but, as in failed relationships, one must know how to let go of people for them to find where they would excel and grow and be happier. 

  

More on Piracy

Two papers on piracy were presented at the 6th Annual Southeast Asian Cinemas Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last July 1-4. The first one tackled piracy as cinephilia and the other one as an alternative distribution for films.

Piracy as cinephilia, or love of films, makes the ownership of classic films--be it local or foreign--possible for those who can't afford the original copies of these films. The author (a foreigner) of this paper focused on Quiapo, and she analyzed blogs, forums, and websites pertaining to buying DVDs. The comments range from giving tips on how to spot a good pirated copy, maps on where to buy good DVDs, and what to wear and what to bring when going to Quiapo.

One finding that I find interesting is that through piracy, archiving of film classics has become possible. She mentioned a plan for archiving films initiated by the Philippine government before, but it didn't push through because there was no funding. This agency was supposed to be put up in Los Baños, Laguna. 

Until now, there is no concrete government action to archive our old films. Copies of some Filipino films before are found in foreign countries, and we have to buy these from them. Some of these classic Filipino films, however, are in Quiapo. One just has to know where to look for them. In this case, an individual can archive our films better than the government.

The second paper talked about piracy as an alternative distribution circuit for films. Two Filipino attendees shared that there are independent filmmakers who considered and actually contacted "master pirates" to pirate their films and sell them in Quiapo. Another foreign attendee said that one filmmaker will have legal copies of films packaged as pirated and then sell it as a pirated copy. These stories sound ironic (and funny), but it only shows how piracy has become the norm for most cinephiles to own a copy of timeless and beautiful films.

Of course, the ethical question on piracy is still hanging over our heads, but when you see a Kurosawa set of films or Lino Brocka's classics sold at P30 or P40, who has time to philosophize on that?