Everyone loves a good story. As a writer and a freelance journalist, I’ve seen the power of great stories and how these can move people to move, to act, to cry, to love, to forgive, to hope. But, the writer in me aside, the best stories are always the visually compelling ones. Where everything–even the tiny details that we already know by heart by virtue of being alive–becomes magnified, larger than life, more real than reality itself.
Tuesdays are Artsy F.A.R.T Nights at Tomato Bomb, Xavierville Avenue, Quezon City
Having met and made friends with a number of filmmakers throughout my 10-year-career, I have every reason to respect these brilliant, inspiring, and dedicated men and women. They have made it their life’s work to show and share stories that make OUR lives richer and much more meaningful. For that, The Art of Changemaking offers this little tribute to the filmmakers that animate our world.
1. Great filmmakers make us shut up, sit still, and pay attention.
2. They show us realities outside our own and make us a bit more aware, a bit more learned, a bit more compassionate, a bit more human.
3. They do the dirty job behind our everyday pleasures 
4.They bring out into the open what others don’t dare talk about, exposing secrets, lies, unsung heroes that deserve to be seen.
5. From cyber activist Jen Aquino-Xavier: “They offer life’s events on a short-term basis, making it look as if life’s that easy to tackle… [They offer] an escape from the daily grind.”
6. They take tremendous risks–sometimes all for the sake of telling a good story.
7. We have a great crop of Filipino filmmakers who’ve brought worldwide acclaim to our indie film industry! 
8. They’re masters at magnifying beauty. And ugliness. And pain. But I prefer to focus on beauty.
9. Their stories make you feel that even YOUR little life can have something to offer the world.
10. From blogger Neva Arboleda-Santos: “They make me see the world differently. They always present new perspectives.”
11. They can say in two hours what it will sometimes take me two weeks to read. (A great shortcut for book reports!)
12. If Rizal were alive today, I suspect he would’ve made the Noli and Fili into indie films that definitely would’ve sparked a bigger, probably more successful, revolution.
13. If you want your cause to be understood and supported, turn to a filmmaker for help. (Case in point: I couldn’t stop shedding tears over Ditsi Carolino’s Lupang Hinarang and became more sympathetic to agrarian reform issues after that. Ditsi’s Bunso also helped us gain more supporters for the Juvenile Justice Law.)
14. They show very well what a circus Philippine politics (or any kind of politics) really is. (Any doubts? Ask Juana Change!)
15. They know how to give you a good scare.
16. Simply put: they are just waaaaaaaaaaay cool. (Wanna watch indie films and hang out with these great guys? Come visit us at Tomato Bomb, Xavierville Avenue, Quezon City every Tuesday night.)
17. Wonder what dates would be like without films? 
18. They’ve mastered the art of getting you to shell out money with a smile on your face.
19. Filmmakers, especially this generation’s crop of visual storytellers, are the new focal points of revolutionary thinking and gamechanging, changemaking ideas.
20. Without filmmakers, think of how many industries, jobs, and sources of livelihood would disappear?
21. From Emmanuel Garcia:”I love filmmakers because they tell stories the way they see them. I am reminded that perception is subjective whenever I indulge in celluloid fantasies. It makes me want to look deep into the filmmaker’s intentions. It’s like a peek into their minds.”
22. They bridge language barriers and are able to capture the world’s imagination using the universal language of life.
23. From Plurker Sybhel Cordero: “[I love filmmakers] because they can see real beauty in everything. They are artists who pour all their hearts and minds into what they’re doing.”
24. From my good friend Randy Bautista, also via Plurk: “They bring out what’s only in our imaginations “
25. Filmmakers are masters of illusion, but they are also catalysts for changing our reality. By showing us snippets of real life, glimpses of worlds unseen, or visions of imagined realities, they strengthen our capacities for visioning and for reaching for a better future.
Cheers to the filmmakers of the world! May you continue to inspire us and give us reasons to believe and to hope.
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