The writings on the wall...

Scratching through the Kuris dream,

comment response and Lambunao

Kuris Animators are heating up the trend of animation in Iloilo City once again via their upcoming animated trailer entry for ACPI’s Pinoy Animation Film Festival this year. The breakthrough animated project entitled “LAPIS: Epic of the lost key” has been envisioned by the group as the expression of their artistic identities, reinterpretation of local history, highlighting actual cultural landmarks fused with fictional ideas and reigniting the power of imagination to create a stunning, never-before-seen execution of Ilonggo artistry.

Since last year, “LAPIS” have already popped in our minds to animate, give life to original animated characters as part of our individual project in the 2D animation training at Western Visayas College of Science and Technology. Even before the conception of “The BEQUEST: Origin of Dinagyang”, our foremost successful but risky project, LAPIS was already listed on top of our future priorities. But hesitation to financial risk and pressure hold us for a while. At the back of our minds, the passion to make the project a reality is burning and igniting our artistic inclination for a long time already.

But things fall into place sometimes. The commercial success of The BEQUEST with the support of Iloilo’s tri media and private companies became evident due to the project’s social and cultural significance. Though talent counts most in a world of tight competitions, marketing strategy is another factor to consider success and create a possible cultural phenomenon. Big things are not always destined to happen, they are made and pursued by people who are brave to risk.

What happen if you throw a bunch of animation geeks in a society enclosed with conservative culture like Iloilo? Oftentimes, they are doubted of their capacity to ensure their staying factor and branded as another one-hit wonder act (if you compare us to an uprising popstar). But there’s always a “gamble factor” in everything we do in life. And we believe with all our heart that we can’t start the journey by not taking the risk and the first step to do it.

Great people and iconic popstars started from scratch, from nothing, from simple dream of expressing what they know about life or how to get a life. Just count in Martin Luther King, Ferdinand Marcos (don’t make faces with this one, hehe), Walt Disney, Micheal Jackson, Madonna, The Spice Girls and most recently, Charise Pempengo (I intend not to include her in the list but let’s give the girl a chance). So who are the Kuris Animators? Do they have what it takes what they claim for—Talent? And how could they make it out there…somewhere when they are just a bunch of daydreaming Ilonggo artists trapped in the backward city of Iloilo miles away from Capital Manila? For detractor like “Animedrool” who posted discouraging comments about the group and branding them as “worse class animators”. Think again pal: we sleep, we dream and wake up with the same unfulfilled dream everyday…but we keep dreaming coz it’s FREE (and you’re not going to pay the bill if ever dreaming is taxed). Hiding behind the shadows of anonymity and dragging dreamers down your own hole of self-initiated misery is an obvious display of your “talangka” nature. The best response we can give is to understand that life is spicy when you can’t please everybody. The next comment you post will just pass by our eardrums and move on to the next step. Let’s walk our talk!

Okay, let’s skip this “dream stuff” for now. What to expect from LAPIS when it will be shown this year would surely summarize our own definition of “best”. Not that it will be the best among other animation works considering we are still amateurs but it would make up of “the best thing we can do by giving all our best shot”. Honing our imagination for the planned flashy, action-packed animated scenes and artistic take on fictional stories, we will also try to have a different kind of “blast from the past” for Ilonggo history and landmarks. Reinterpret some of them and inject our own maverick perspectives. Yes, it’s going to be a short trailer (probably 4 minutes) considering the expensive risk involved in making a full-length animated film. We are just amateurs, struggling artists, and financially incapable to do it the Hollywood or even just the Manila way. What we have is just an artistic gift to celebrate the artistry of the Ilonggos in a humble way of admitting our limitations and expected capacity.

Last Monday, we were glad and grateful to a great journalist like Jeehan Fernandez who wrote an article about us and our upcoming endeavor in the pages of The Daily Guardian. The respected and trusted tabloid in Iloilo, has always been supportive with the aspirations of the group and published our past articles since we graduated last October. In a short yet concise feature story, the writer stated how everything started for Kuris Animators as a group of hopeful dreamers. He even revealed our struggle and good intentions to uplift the tourism potential of the municipality of Lambunao through LAPIS. You see, there’s so much to know about Iloilo beyond the revelry of Dinagyang Festival or the tasty flavor of Batchoy. Lambunao’s Tinagong Dagat (hidden lake) on top of the sandwiched-mountains is an enchanting mystery and enigma waiting to be unveiled again. The ethnic tribes of the town which include the “Sulod-Bukidnons” and its legendary dance “Binanog” were another treasures worthy to be given another glimpse through the artistry of animation. And we are glad that Kuris Animators started this humble yet significant endeavor.

Next time, we will post the whole article written by Mr. Fernandez. But for now, here’s the cut-out article taken from the pages of The Daily Guardian.