Third member of a trio that also includes filmmakers and producers Sheron Dayoc and Arden Rod Condez, Sonny Calvento is the director of “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss” the first Filipino short to screen in Sundance. His latest work, “Primetime Mother” has already screened in Toronto, Singapore and the Red Sea.
Primetime Mother screened at Red Sea Film Festival
The 15 minute short begins with an audition of a game show titled “My Amazing Mama” showing a number of women dressed in flowery clothes and wearing something like a garland on their heads. A woman's voice from a speaker informs the women, who have been waiting for days, to get ready, as only three of them will be chosen as contestants for the episode of the day, among the first seven that manage to reach the audition set. The protagonist barely makes it, and founds herself completely out of place, as all the rest of the contestants have definitely come to play. An obviously sick one is immediately dismissed, as does the second who has to offer nothing new, apparently. The “martial arts” one gets selected, while the ridiculousness continues with the rest of the contestants. The protagonist, however, is just herself, talking about the issues that she faces being poor and having a sick son, although the director demands some more spectacle, with the next ‘mommy' definitely delivering, earning a slow clap from him. As the number of contestants decreases, both the demands of the director, and the ridiculousness once more, increase.
Check also this article
In economical and condensed fashion, Sonny Calvento manages to make a series of rather pointed comments about (Filipino) society, and particularly how show business works these days. In that regard, a poor mother with a sick son, instead of having some kind of help from the government or any institution for that matter, finds the only potential for some relief from a daily tv show. The people who run it, however, are not here for charity, essentially exploiting the need of poor mothers, asking them to participate in a ridiculous ‘race', and in a series of disgraceful actions, simply to attract audience, who might as well watch the show to laugh at the participants.
The way Calvento shows the ‘protagonists” practically making fool of themselves may appear to be funny in a way, but the tragedy of the whole thing emerges as quite eloquent, particularly the way the TV people exploit the whole concept of motherhood that essentially means that these women will do anything for their children, in order to make money. That none of them is graceful or a real ‘talent', adds to the dramatic aspect of the movie, even if the approach remains light throughout the short.
Lastly, the finale, which presents, in metaphor, the trap that is instigated by the system and fully exploited by show business, cements the overall comment, concluding the quite rich comment here.
In that fashion, both DP Ian Alexander Guevara's bright and motley visuals and Carlo Francisco Manatad's sharp editing, which results occasionally in a frantic pace, add to the pointed satire “Primetime Mother” offers, in perfect harmony with the narrative. Meryll Soriano as Minda, the protagonist, embodies all the aforementioned comments with a restrained eloquence that is eventually transformed into something completely different, in one of the most appealing aspects of the movie, which also extends to the acting of the rest of the ‘mommies'.
“Primetime Mother” is an excellent film, both well-shot and quite meaningful, which, additionally, manages to show the impact satire can have when done smartly.
