HIS NAME does not ring a bell yet. But senior Roel Mendoza is well on his way to making a name for himself in the local film industry.

In December, his film Organic Texture won the Piling Obrang Vidyo (POV) 6 under the Experimental Category. It also won the Cinemaster’s Choice Award and the Best Experimental Film Award while his other entry, -headz-, was a finalist in the Animation Category.

Before joining POV 6, Mendoza was also a finalist for the Ateneo Video Open 9 and 10 under the Experimental Category and Music Video Category, respectively. He was first runner-up in the Bonifacio Global City: Passionfest 09. His film has also been featured in Cinemalaya: Cinco, a Philippine independent film festival for students.

But Mendoza only joins competitions on a whim. “I like doing films; joining competitions is just the icing on the cake… mas fun pa rin naman ang may icing sa cake, di ba (it’s still more fun if there’s icing on the cake).”

‘Honest filmmaking’

Mendoza’s ideology is ‘honest filmmaking,’ when the original concept is retained in the final output of the film.

“Some point while making the film, someone tends to inject their opinions to your concept. Nawawala yung parang essence ng concept mo. Yung gusto ko, mas lumalabas yung input mo (The essence of the concept is lost. You want that most of your input is shown on film).”

Most of the elements in Mendoza’s films are abstract and may be confusing to some.

-headz- shows a clay figure searching for a ‘head’ in an amusement park. Meanwhile, another one of his short films called Entropy 001 shows the audience lines and shapes of different colors inching itself quickly at the left side of the screen.

Mendoza said that he finds film ideas in the most random stuff. “I guess I like making films that are random… the idea just pops in your head, although it may seem crappy and sometimes others won’t get it.”

Active member of LFC

For last year’s Loyola Film Circle (LFC) Production Head Mark Peregrino, Mendoza’s works stand out because of the raw aesthetics. “[They] attempt to say something, delivering a message beyond telling a simple story.”

“He doesn’t simply experiment with out-of-this-world stories but he tries to play with the form itself as well,” he added.

For LFC President Gina Tumlos, Mendoza is perhaps the only artist in his age group who raises the bar when it comes to experimentation. “[He] is the only one willing to elevate the form and his audience by insisting on the enigma of the equivocal, unexplored, unchartered territory of the mind,” she added.

LFC and everything else

Tumlos said that Mendoza is very dependable and is willing to contribute despite academic work and professional job orders.

“He’s not afraid to take assignments even if it means going to distant locations for shoots,” said Tumlos. “Roel always makes it in time for his deadlines and [one] can trust that his films are of good quality.”

“He knows how to take charge and contributes well in discussions. He is not at all condescending as he is really quite very friendly,” said Peregrino.

Mendoza also gets along with people of different ages. “He’s able to join discussions from the most obscure topics, like really weird trivia about animals to intellectual topics beyond-average cinematic discourse.”

Tumlos added that almost everyone in LFC knows who Mendoza is, especially since he is a constant source of amusement. “Despite having a crazy schedule, he finds time to go out with LFC people and we do enjoy having him around.”

Peregrino shares that “He [Mendoza] knows really weird karaoke songs, both foreign and local. He can be playful and deliver the corniest punch lines.”

“And oh, of course, he loves the color pink,” Peregrino added.

Rekindling the passion

This senior Interdisciplinary Studies major has been doing films since he was in Grade 6, but was sidetracked when he thought he wanted to become an engineer. The passion was rekindled during his senior year in high school.

“May pinagawa sa amin na (We had to do a) minor project, and I had to do the editing. As I was editing the video, I realized that ‘Uy, ang cool pala nito (Hey, this was cool)!’”

Editing is just one of Mendoza’s favorite things to do in films. He mostly does animating, and a bit of directing, although rarely.

His passion continued when he joined the Loyola Film Circle (LFC) where he is an active member and part of the production core, but he also helps in other committees and LFC projects.

After graduation, Mendoza wants to take a year off to “find himself.” But he added that “Hopefully, prod forever.”

He told those who want to go into the film industry to continue making films and not take criticisms harshly. “Take it as a challenge to improve.”