Well, Filipino independent movies win international awards that our regular movies cannot because as the foreign film award-giving bodies say," Filipino indie movies reflect the social realities of their country." Its producers and directors were not afraid that these would tarnish the nation's reputation, as long as they believe they portray the truth.
Kubrador, for example, reflects the reality of jueteng in the Philippines. It is illegal in our country and yet the poor get their living only from this game of chance. It's hard for the foreigners to imagine being part of this illegal game and the policemen raid your town every now and then and you might be arrested without warning...
The movie about the blooming Maximo Oliveros also flowered in international competitions. In a predominantly Catholic (and macho) society like the Philippines, it is a grave sin against God to even confess that you are homosexual, though in my belief, only homosexual orientation is the grave sin, and never homosexual preference. You might be homosexual, but you can marry someone from the other sex to save your soul from the fires of hell. By the way, young homosexual boys like Maximo were usually beaten up by their macho fathers and/or older brothers to force them to become real boys, for as what I have said earlier, even having homosexual preference is already immoral in the Catholic Philippines. But they still uphold their sexuality and were never ashamed to be gays. In fact, gays in the Philippines are excellent beauticians and comedians. If you're depressed, call a gay friend to pick you up, and he will do so in a snap.
As with the regular movies, it's not really the effects that make it unpopular internationally. However, effects are a reasonable criteria because no one would be stupid enough to make a bad film with 3D effects, as the latter will turn into waste. It is the colonial mentality that makes our regulars unpopular. We try to be like the Americans, for example, when we just can't do it due to lack of technology. And also, we keep on putting elements of romance in our movies until it becomes the primary part of these. Sabi nga natin, corny na masyado, puro na lang romansa. Kahit comedy or superhero movie nagiging romance na rin. The real action is the most important part in any movie, but since romance is one of our movies' primary parts, we become so focused with the romance that when the action comes, we often blend it with romance.
Another factor is the kind of characters we have. Most Filipino characters, whether protagonist or antagonist, are square. Protagonists are always good, while Antagonists are always evil. Even the endings are square. We could easily predict that the antagonist will not succeed and the protagonist will live happily ever after. With constant use of these kinds of characters, the element of surprise is gradually lost.
It is high time for Filipino screenwriters to have more mature style of writing, but their new ideas should not be necessarily from foreign streams. In that way, we could hope that one day, we will get the Oscars for the Best Foreign Film.
present and do not go beyond their imagination. hehehhehehe
