An interview with Filipino film director Kenneth Lim Dagatan

At this year’s Cinemalaya film festival, 10 talented directors treated audiences to a smorgasbord of shorts. One of the fest’s breakout auteurs was the Cebuano filmmaker Kenneth Lim Dagatan, who directed the stomach-churning horror short “Sanctissima.” Those who saw Dagatan’s picture could barely stay calm in their seats, a sentiment that the director counts just as much of an accomplishment as his short winning the fest’s Audience Award.

Congratulations on winning Cinemalaya’s Audience Award. What was the impetus or inspiration for you to write and direct “Sanctissima?”

My inspiration to make this film was to reshape, remold and reset the Filipino mindset about Filipino horror films. In the past few years or decades, there are only some legit horror films that were released in the independent film circuit here in the Philippines (e.g. “Violator” by Eduardo Dayao).  As a young filmmaker, my dream is to make horror films that Filipinos can be proud of and can meet the standards of Asian horror films, especially [in] the country’s neighbors: Korea, Thailand and Japan.

What were the steps that occurred from moment of inspiration to your short being chosen for this year’s Cinemalaya festival?

My film [was] my thesis film back in college. We struggled a lot in making the script for the film.  My scriptwriter and me, [we] always fought a lot because I always revised the script. We reached the 20^th revision [and could] finally say that it was the final script before shooting. I [had] many inspirations in “Sanctissima,” [but] my No. 1 inspiration for that film is “Visuvius” by Erik Matti.  He said to me, he loved my film and it’s an honor that my film was chosen for this year’s Cinemalaya festival.

Director Kenneth Lim Dagatan on the set of “Sanctissima.” (photo courtesy of Kenneth Lim Dagatan)

Is there any message, be it political or social, that you were trying to get across with the film, especially since the short hinges on a woman who performs abortions on young women?

My theme in “Sanctissima” is about motherhood, that every mother in this world will love her son or daughter no matter what. They will do anything to make them survive, and I think it’s obvious already and a given if you watch the film. I just want to make a horror film in antagonist perspective, to make a conflict in mainstream horror films, and I think, by taking the antagonist side and learning their backstory and their motivation why they do such bad things and I think it’s a big challenge to make your antagonist as a protagonist and make it relatable to the audience.

“Sanctissima” is such a powerful horror film, and in my opinion, some of the best films screened this year were horror films. What do you think interests Filipino indie filmmakers about horror, and what is it about the horror genre that interests you?

I think, there are only some Filipino who understands how “smart” horror works. Normal Filipino audiences will only look for the best jump scares in a horror film, throwing the narrative and the purpose of the film away, I understand that horror is like riding a roller coaster, to get a pump in adrenaline: even if it scares us, we want to ride it again. Filipinos are just looking for that pleasure [but] I think it’s the right time to make a move and educate Filipino audiences how smart horror really works. Philippine cinema is already on the stage of mainstream independent – we call it “Main-die” – and I think if we Filipino filmmakers make a move to educate mainstream audiences, I think they will accept the elements in indie filmmaking. I know it’s hard, but it’s possible.

For me, the horror genre is one of the [most] powerful genres out there. It interests me how hard [it is] to make a person afraid. You can make a person fall in love with cheesy romantic comedy, but for a person to be scared, you need to threaten their life. For me, people are there to watch horror films to give them pleasure do the things they can’t do in real life or to experience in real life, because after watching in the end you’re alive. The horror genre is like riding a roller coaster.

[Ed. Note: As festivals like Cinemalaya have grown in popularity, a new sub-genre that combines elements of mainstream and indie cinema has emerged in the Philippines. Labeled “Main-die”, these films are more creatively daring but have budgets that are high enough to include publicity efforts and a strong distribution network.]

Continuing on the topic of genre and filmmaking, during your Q & A session after the screening it was obvious that you were a cinephile due to your name checking a lot of international directors, e.g. David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, when discussing your film and filmmaking. What film or filmmaker changed your perception of cinema as something that exists merely to entertain into something more akin to an art form?

I think I forgot to mention to you about Guillermo Del Toro and how he made classic, smart horror films. I think Del Toro and Roman Polanski changed my perception towards film, specifically in the horror genre. Del Toro uses fairy tales and fantasy as a kind of horror and the origin of all horror. Del Toro introduced me to my past horrors as a kid. Polanski on the other hand introduced me to smart, moody and atmospheric horror [in] “Rosemary’s Baby.” After watching “Rosemary’s Baby,” it changed my perception towards horror films, especially in mainstream horror because I grew up watching Asian horror (Korea, Thailand and Japan).  After watching moody horror [films], I wanted to make one. Moody in a sense that there are no jump scares – you’ll follow the character in his or her realistic horror experience inside the film.

For a neophyte like myself, what separates the mainstream Philippine film industry and its indie film scene?

I think they don’t really separate in terms in audience but they separate in their story arcs. There are 100 [million] people or more in the Philippine population but only 1 million watch Filipino mainstream movies in cinemas. That’s only 1 percent out of 100% of the Philippine population.  For indies, their target audience is other countries.  I think it is the same percentage that watches indie films [as] in mainstream cinema. Here in the Philippines, we reached in a stage of mainstream indie, so indie films can be mainstream. So both are the same but have different target audiences, that’s my opinion.

As a filmmaker that is originally from Cebu, are there any differences between the Cebu and Manila film scenes?

Yes, in Cebu there are not that many filmmakers who make narrative [films] or even make movies for that matter.  The Cebu film scene is alive, but as much as [the] Manila film scene.  In Manila, everyone is running and everyone is making films, but in Cebu you can be an editor without an editing experience.

The thing about Cebu is that, if you can make a film that matters, people will easily recognize you.  But if [you] make a film that matters in Manila, everyone will talk about it, everyone is buzzing all around social media. I think it’s about the cultural response in both cities.

Do you have a desire to make mainstream films?

Yes of course! Today, I work in the No. 1 mainstream film company in the Philippines (Star Cinema).  I learned a lot about mainstream filmmaking and how to write for your audience, not for yourself.

Before “Sanctissima” was chosen for Cinemalaya’s short film competition what other projects were you working on?

I made a lot of personal films back in college, art films and straightforward films without any story arcs. ““Sanctissima”” is my first film with story arc [that] was released in public.

Please talk about your work as a member of the rock band Drop Decay.

I’m the bassist in Drop Decay, and I’m handling our visual output in the band like music videos and lyric videos. I directed our 3 Studio music videos and am working on our newest music video. I think my band helps a lot with my connections in the film industry. My band is planning to move to pursue our career in the music scene in Manila.