Keeping your passion alive is not an easy task – especially for OFWs who have to manage their time working overseas and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Despite such a challenge, the inner resilience of Filipinos shine: In the case of 2017 TFT Filmmaker of the Year Archie Enriquez, it shows in the world-class quality of the films he and his team produce.
From simple presentations to award winning films
Before he and his team managed to direct “Lamentasyon”, the first-ever Filipino feature film by UAE-based OFWs, as well as other award-winning feature films like “Agent Who?”, “Anibersaryo”, and “Kaarawan”, he started off with the most basic movie editing software with a cheap digital camera that fueled his drive to do more videos. “I created my very first short film with the help of my friends which became viral in our company. When the HR Department saw that video, they asked me to direct my first induction video for the company. For years, they commissioned me as a film director in various projects, until our Marketing Department saw my works and hired me as one of the creative artists,” shares Enriquez.
Creating a cohesive team
Enriquez founded APE and Company in 2013 with a single vision – to form a group of OFWs in Dubai who all have the passion for acting and filmmaking to showcase the excellence of Filipinos when it comes to creating films. “As a film director, it is my obligation to inspire and motivate the team (casts and crew) to produce the film we all have envisioned while keeping my self-belief and determination to succeed,” said Enriquez.
Coursing through challenges
Not everything was smooth sailing for Enriquez however, as he struggled with lots of mistakes along the way. “Imagine, out of 50 entries in film competitions, I was only selected in two or sometimes I am not even selected at all,” he recalls. However, with each failure, Enriquez managed to stand once again and learn from each experience. “I’m not looking at these failures as my personal letdowns, instead it encourages me to do better, to learn more, to be more innovative and to love my craft as part of my life. Filmmaking is a learning process; it requires a lot of passion, determination, time and resources,” said Enriquez.
Showcasing the passion of Filipinos in filmmaking
In “Lamentasyon”, Enriquez managed to prove to the international filmmaking community that Filipinos have world class talents in the fields of filmmaking and acting worthy enough to be remembered for generations. “It is not enough to entertain the viewers but to retain the movie in their minds. We are not just making a film but a history in Filipino filmmaking. We want to be an inspiration to all Filipino filmmakers based here in the UAE that our love for the craft have no excuses, just start doing what you love doing, fail, then try again,” said Enriquez.
Enriquez knows that a film can only be made with the efforts of a united team, and his efforts paid off with international accolades: “At the end of the day, the film will not be possible without the team’s contribution, everyone was treated equally because all jobs matter and has its own challenges, thus deserves empathy and respect. The quality of the film will come from the people in front of and behind the camera. As their director, it is crucial to build confidence and trust among the team by sharing my vision and knowledge in filmmaking and likewise learning from what they know as well. I do not embody the whole production but I put myself as a part of it.”
