MANILA, Philippines - Independent filmmaker John Torres confesses that heartbreak led him to his current passion, cinema.

Four years ago, an unemployed Torres set out to pursue his dream. With a broken-down Sony VX100, he shot in the streets of Quezon City ?at odd hours.?

He recalled, ?I didn't know what to do with the unrelated scenes ... one day, I woke up with all the right words to string them together.?

The product of that exploration was ?Tawidgutom,? his first short film. ?It's about surviving each day, waiting for something to happen, for someone to come into your life.?

Fast forward to the here and now: Torres has achieved a certain measure of success, with his films winning awards and accolades here and abroad. Most notably, his short film ?Salat? won in Cinemanila 2005, and his first feature, ?Todo, Todo Teros,? at the Vancouver film fest in 2006. ?Todo" was also one of 47 Filipino films showcased at the recent Paris Cinema festival.
His second feature, ?Years When I Was a Child Outside,? was screened in international film fests in Rotterdam, Berlin, and Singapore.

Variety critic Robert Koehler commends ?Years?: ?Torres is making his own brand of diary film ... his approach freshens up a stale, overworked genre.?

Philip Chea, Singapore festival director: ?With his films, [Torres] is actually whispering in your ear. It's cinema so personal, it's like a confession.?

What led you to filmmaking?
I was always the shy kid who sat in a corner, looking at beautiful faces from a distance. Early on, I was trained to observe and make friends with images and details, and I would try to convey a certain feeling or tell a story to myself. I had my own little cinema in my head.

What led you to do ?Years??
I've always wanted to pay tribute to my dad (Rodolfo Torres), a writer of children's books and how-to materials for adults. My father was a long-time hero, but something happened, and he was taken off the pedestal. I [figured] that, if I were to move on in filmmaking, I should resolve certain issues. So I went ahead on my own journey. Though I didn't exactly abandon my family, I spent lots of time away from them. I attended festivals abroad, which gave me the much-needed distance. Meeting people from different circles made me realize that we are always obsessed with being an insider. I discovered things quite the opposite: That I am an outsider in this journey, and that I am, in fact, also a 'child outside,' and it's quite a liberating thought, actually.

Filipino films are getting noticed abroad. What's your take on this?
It's encouraging for independent filmmakers. We see ... that our films can cross cultural differences, communicate things that are Filipino and universal at the same time. It's unfortunate, however, that these films [need to] have all those laurel leaves printed on posters just to attract viewers to local screenings.
Then there's the problem of making a 'festival film.' There is the formula trap, using the same ingredients [for] a greater chance to be accepted. I am not saying that I'm faultless in this regard. But all of us need to find our own way of telling stories. We need to be fearless and less 'safe.' After all, Filipino filmmakers are known as mavericks on the world stage. We don't stick to a uniform aesthetic, a specific look. And the diversity of our works interests audiences and critics alike.

Who are the filmmakers you look up to? Favorite movies?
Kidlat Tahimik (?Mababangong Bangungot? and ?Turumba?), Mike de Leon (?Kisapmata?), Krzysztof Kieslowski (?Dekalog,? Colors Trilogy), Chris Marker (?La Jetee,? ?Sans Soleil?), all the Andrei Tarkovsky films I've seen so far. I respect and admire Lav Diaz (?Evolution of a Filipino Family?), he's the best Filipino filmmaker right now. We need more Roxlees, to remind us not to lose that spirit of fun.

How can indie films reach a wider local audience?
We can tap schools and have discussions with students, and, with the help of school administrators and the government, maybe [integrate] these into the curriculum. We should ask cinema owners to give discounts to [students]. We should have more mall screenings, more venues like IndieSine in Robinsons Galleria, and we should encourage more festivals like Cinemalaya to tour entries nationwide. We should also encourage film criticism [to] elevate film literacy.

Where is the Filipino indie scene headed, with filmmakers going in different directions and tackling diverse themes?
And that's good ... we have much to say. I'm interested in how a lawyer-filmmaker will tackle life in Davao or how a chemist-filmmaker can convey a broken heart. I'm excited that a housewife in Bacolod is learning to use a battered video 8 cam that a high-school kid in Pangasinan is shooting with his friends in the deep seas. Digital video has made filmmaking accessible, and everyone can attempt to make one. A lot of it will be crappy, but out of the pile will emerge future masterpieces and the next rock-star directors.

Is digital technology a boon or bane?
I couldn't have made my films if not for digital video. But there shouldn't be a quarrel between film and video. You pick one based on aesthetics. Video offers more possibilities. But some stories won't work with video.

What are your future projects?
I'm working on a film set in Mindanao (?Moro2Moro?). I asked (Davao filmmaker) Sherad Sanchez to write the script. I'm fleshing out the dialogue and the love angle. I'm lucky to have grants from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Hubert Bals Fund of Rotterdam, and the prize money from the Jeonju film fest.

E-mail bsandiego@inquirer.com.ph