MANILA, Philippines?We are heartened by some legislators? recent moves, however belated, to boost local movie production by providing much-needed relief from the onerous taxes that have hobbled filmmakers here for decades.

The taxes eat up more than half of producers? grosses, a shark-like slice that?s bigger than most other industries have to contend with. For the record, the levies include amusement tax, withholding tax, corporate income tax, and value added tax. Ouch, that hurts!

So, legislators? efforts to help producers? cinematic products end up in the black should be supported by all concerned film buffs and fans.

Expanded view

While they?re at it, however, government people worried about the (bleak) future of Filipino movies should expand their view of the film industry?s woes, and how to alleviate them.

Because, truth to tell, tax relief is hugely welcome, but this alone won?t save local movies from bankruptcy, since their woes aren?t just or even mainly financial.

The film industry?s basic problem in relation to the government is that many of the country?s officials think that filmmaking is a ?luxury? industry. This mind-set not only results in huge taxes, but also in the government?s generally cavalier regard for the movies we make.

If entertainment products are thought to be shallow and irrelevant, why should the government support or even subsidize their production?

Fact is, however, movies have become an important component of modern life. Granted, many films are shallow and irrelevant, but others offer significant views of life, and moviegoers benefit a lot from them.

Value judgment

So, government people shouldn?t judge the value of the local movie industry by the worst of its products, but by the best.

For them to manage this radical shift in attitude, they should become film buffs themselves. In other words, they need to learn to appreciate and understand movies and their effect on viewers.
This shift isn?t easy to pull off, since it requires some imagination, visual sense, psychological understanding and emotional intelligence to appreciate how films impinge on viewers, or both the conscious and subconscious levels.

Despite the difficulty, officials (especially those who deal with art and communication issues) should give the desired paradigm shift their best effort.

Next, officials should learn from the experience of other countries, who have successfully rescued their film industries from bankruptcy. They did it not just by providing tax relief, but by offering production loans and outright grants, so better movies could be made.

Those films did well, first in festivals abroad, where the favorable reaction they got buffed up the international image of those countries? movie industries, thus making it easier to sell their film products to different markets and territories all over the world.

This resulted in increased income in dollars that beefed up producers? coffers. And the acclaim some of the movies reaped abroad encouraged local viewers to patronize them when they were screened in their home countries.

26th Luna Awards

The Film Academy of the Philippines has appointed Manio Events Management to produce the 26th Luna Awards show and festivities. The film awards show will be held at the SMX Convention Center on Aug. 30.

?Scrolls?

IVI Avellana Cosio?s latest art exhibit, ?Scrolls,? is ongoing until July 31 at Le Souffle Rockwell (tel. 890-6543). The exhibit is curated by Albert Avellana.

Next month, it?s Ivi?s husband Allan Cosio?s turn to exhibit his latest paintings, 10 large composites of nudes, at Alliance Francaise.

Nonoy Zuñiga for Power Joints

Natural & Organic Way (Now) president and pop icon Nonoy Zuñiga is the endorser of the all-natural health supplement, Power Joints, to alleviate osteoarthritis. Nonoy is also the project director of the Power Joints Wheelchair Race at 6 a.m. on July 20 at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Q.C.