In its launch year, Negros Season of Culture pays tribute to film maker Peque Gallaga, Executive Producer of Magikland the movie. Negros Season of Culture proudly endorses Magikland as an entry in the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival.



The fantasy adventure film Magikland, which  is rooted in age-old Negros myths,  is one of the 10 official entries to  this year’s  Metro Manila Film Festival that  will be streamed online beginning December 25.

The names of the main characters of the movie, Boy Bakunawa, Mara Marapara, Pat Patag and Kit Kanlaon,  also  pay tribute to the Negros landscape.

The  Brightlight Productions film  is directed by Christian Acuña with  former Negros Occidental representative Alfredo Abelardo “Albee“ Benitez,  Aton Land and Leisure Inc. president Rey Bantug,  Negrense director Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes as executive producers.

Gallaga,  a multi-awarded Filipino film-maker who passed away on May 7, 2020, had said that the theme park in Silay City, Negros Occidental, of the same name,   was the inspiration for the film.
             



The Magikland park, themed after the ancient  legend of the Bakunawa,  features the characters in the film that Gallaga conceptualized.
 
Benitez, founder and owner of Brightlight Productions, said Gallaga was their  first choice and it took awhile to convince him to make Magikland, the movie,  because he was on  a semi-retirement mode already. “So when he said yes to making the film I left everything to him,”  Benitez said. Benitez  said he left it to Gallaga to  decide  the story, the cast as well as the filming of this movie.

“Undoubtedly  Direct Peque is one of the pillars of the film industry in the country…You know that he has the stature because he commands a certain respect  from  other players in the industry,” Benitez said.

Benitez added that Gallaga had “the expertise  in shooting scenes, the production set, the costumes,  everything just fell into place as if it was second nature”.

 They are hoping Magikland created by Negrenses, since he and Gallaga come from Negros,  will become a legacy film, he added.

The Negros Season of Culture in November  honored  Gallaga for teaching Negrenses to express their  “creativity in big bold ways that contribute to the story of this place we call home”.

Negros has a very bright culture that is worth sharing with the world, and is something that we should be proud of,  Benitez said.

Benitez said he will continue to promote Negrense culture that is also key to developing tourism.
Producing more films, or creating more  interaction to promote Negros culture is definitely part of his future plans, Benitez said.

Maybe now that Brightlight Productions is into television,  a series  on Negros folklore  can also  be discussed, he added.

Negrenses are very artistic, they have a lot of  talent and are very creative, which is worth showcasing to the world, he said.

Benitez said Magikland is probably the first Filipino film that is heavy  on computer graphics compared to any other  film ever made in the Philippines.

Ninety-five percent  of the shots for the film  were meticulously created with state-of-the-art visual effects that took almost two years to complete.

More than 2,000 scenes in the movie have  computer graphics in them, something one usually sees in Hollywood films, produced by purely Filipino talents,  Benitez he said.

Filipino films don’t  usually have this much computer graphics because  of the cost of technology and  the time you need to develop it, he explained.

Magikland was initially targeted to cost less than P100 million but they exceeded the budget, Benitez said.

Making money was secondary, it was more about producing a film that would  highlight the talent of Filipinos, particularly Negrenses, and hopefully the people will like it, he said.

It is a family oriented movie with very nice computer animation, it will be good to watch, Benitez said.
Magikland, the movie, will be available  at  www.upstream.ph/mmff starting December 25 and will be in theaters in January, he said.*

TEXT BY CARLA P. GOMEZ


How to get your ticket for Magikland movie. Follow these steps:
1. Go to upstream.ph/mmff to view the available entry films. Click "Reserve Now" below Magikland.
2. Click "Pay" to buy your ticket via the ticketing site GMovies.ph.
3. Click "Create an Account" if you don't have an account on GMovies.ph yet. It's FREE!
4. On December 25, you may now access and watch your chosen film at "My Shows" in your GMovies account.