SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Getting a little more personal

I have my own world. I live in this world we all share. But at the end of the day, I find solitude going to my sacred space. My experiences help me come up with good ideas and concepts for my films and artworks.

To each his/her own. I live by this. Being individualistic and yielding to the extremes or sometimes trying out the fad bearing my own twist to it, I tend to come up with the sweetest works and still yield for something morbid at times (and everything else in between). It's fun 'coz I try lots of things and it gets rid of the boredom from routines.

For me, film is a magical medium that has the power to combine the many forms of art, science, and even history together (photography and visual arts,sound and music, culture, literature, dance, martial arts, physics, chemistry, and the list goes on…) as it expresses and chronicles bits and pieces of life stories and people’s thoughts, words, and convictions.

You laugh, cry, and feel for a character while in front of a 4-sided screen in front of you… How more magical can that be? You come out of the movie house jaw-dropped in amazement, or pondering about the film’s message, or reacting to what the story has brought upon you.

For me, art is an expression of a person's soul. Art is magic. Art taps the hidden consciousness... The interpretation, the influence, and the emotional value for it varies everytime. It tends to relate to one's recent mindset and experiences. And it has a therapeutic effect to people (films, paintings, music, poetry, and the rest of the known and not yet so known art media). For me, though the artists do make artworks more often, all people tend to make artworks and appreciate various forms of art – and these have been a significant part of humanity ever since. The balance in life should include this one in order to come to terms with being human.

I love studying the various cultures of the world. They give me life lessons that make me live my life way much better. They influence me with their art forms. They touch my heart with their histories. From the folklore of my homeland (Philippines) to Norse mythology, to the Greek Pantheon, to the Hindu culture, to the Celtic symbols, to the American-Indian shamans, to the Muslim teachings, to the Buddhist ways, to the pagan rituals, to the African music, learning about all these gives me fulfillment and I pay homage to them with my art works. I also live by their ways accordingly and I don’t box myself just merely within my Catholic upbringing by living by things I learn from my interests – incorporating the good, applicable ones to my life. For me, every religion and culture both have beauties and flaws, and I believe that each one of them should be given utmost respect. Each one won't necessarily be in line with what you believe in; but the point is that, there are many paths in this world and this life, and each one is different from the other. And what matters most is that we all live in this world with balance.

I love films, photography, music, blades, swords, daggers, knives, poetry, drawing, painting, singing, acting, fencing, horses, mythology, advertising, and the internet. Having fascination with swords, knives, daggers and all kinds of blades, as a hobby, I and some good friends sharing the same inkling to such weapons of history love shooting ourselves with our sword collections.

The music I listen to

I love music. It uplifts my spirit. It enhances my moods. It heals me when I feel bad or I am stressed out. I love singing too. I love the music of Enya, Tori Amos, Sarah MacLachlan, Cynthia Alexander, Coldplay, The Cranberries, Dave Matthews, Incubus, Duncan Sheik, U2, Nickelback, Dido, Alanis Morissette, Bob Marley, Noel Cabangon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Sting, Switchfoot, Charlotte Church, Lea Salonga, Nirvana, Garbage, Third Eye Blind, John Mayer, and lots more. I also love listening to chants, zen, and meditation music. I personally love listening to Filipino ethnic, Nordic, Celtic, American-Indian, African, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian music.

I mainly love rock and alternative music since my grade shool years. When I was in high school, I also learned to appreciate R & B, ballads, and house music. And when I was in college, I also started appreciating classical music and I also started listening to progressive music. And being a DJ for a few years, the diversity of the music I have played back then influenced me much, too. I also enjoy listening to OSTs of epic films and animated flicks.

Going a little deeper

In seeing the broader spectrum, I am really hoping that the Philippine film industry will continue to find its way towards the light (after decades of it considerably lying on its deathbed). It's good that now, more and more venues are coming out to help save it. Also, I really hope that the government will already give more support to Filipino arts and the Pinoy artists.

On a global note, what the world needs now are people, groups, things, events and happenings who/that can influence them and make them ponder on how important it is to make the wisest decisions to benefit the greater sphere. Surely, this is not gonna be a one-man show. People should really work on it. And speaking for the artists' side, we contribute to this by making artworks that speak for the needs, or angst, or wishes of the people, or make our own statements in various issues, may it be personal, social, political, spiritual, or anything else in between; while those who are in the fields of medicine, law, public service, business, engineering, sciences, and the rest of the other professions, they also do their work with love and they maintain that sense of fulfillment in what they do for themselves and for the society. And having these things considered, the world would surely have a smoother flow. It wouldn't be a perfect one, but maintaining a peaceful and free-flowing environment amidst some form of negativities can surely give an edge on life.

The ultimate cure for all is love and respect. Call it mushy, cheesy, yeah... But if we just live by these and the virtues that live by their sides, our free will wouldn't pose much problem in the world. ;-)

Filmmakers I admire and my influences

I look up to filmmakers Tim Burton, Stanley Kubrick, Darren Aronofsky, M. Night Shyamalan, Quentin Tarantino, Mike de leon, Lino Brocka, Martin Scorsese, Kidlat Tahimik, Jeffrey Jeturian, Christopher Nolan, Yimou Zhang, Peter Jackson, Alfred Hitchcock, Roxlee, Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Copolla, Sofia Copolla, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Wong Kar Wai.

My visions for my films get influences from Tim Burton and Stanley Kubrick. When I was a kid, I loved "Edward Scissorhands," and I realized when I was about to shoot my second 35mm short film, Burton’s films were what gotten into me. I get fulfillment watching his films. I can relate to his style. When I was in college, I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Clockwork Orange," and "Eyes Wide Shut." And they totally blew away. And until now, everytime I watch them in DVD, they further convince me how films can bring magic to immortalize stories into celluloid, DVD, and tape – to be seen not just by the people of today, but also by the next generations to come.

I am into visually rich scenes and dark tones. I love magic realism and film noir. I am generally influenced by German Expressionism. Most of my stories yield towards an expressionistic style. But right now, I am quite a minimalist on special effects in such a way that it should still generally blend with realistic stories and/or treatments. Maybe this is because of the fact that I tend to adapt to my limitations in finances and resources as a Pinoy independent filmmaker.

All Rights Reserved. 2007.
All photos/artworks used in this page are owned by Rianne Hill Soriano unless noted.
Rianne's "300" artwork made by RDP with minor color enhancements from Rianne.