Tribu (film)

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Tribu
Official Film Poster of Tribu
Directed by	Jim Libiran
Produced by	Dodge Dillague, Jim Libiran, 8 Glasses Productions
Written by	Jim Libiran
Starring	Shielbert Manuel, Karl Eigger Balingit; Honey "Hi C" Concepcion; Malou Crisologo; Charena Escala; Jamir Garcia; Rey Javier Guevarra; Apollo Labastida; Gilbert Lozano; Ira Marasigan; Albert Moreno; Resty Perez.
Music by	Francis de Veyra, Mark Laccay
Cinematography	Albert Banzon
Editing by	Lawrence S. Ang
Release dates	July 21, 2007 (2007-07-21) (Cinemayala) December 3, 2008 (2008-12-03) (Philippines)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino

Tribu (English: Tribe) is a Filipino crime drama film directed by Jim Libiran, released in its home country of the Philippines in 2007. It stars real life gangs members from the films setting in Tondo, Manila. The tagline is "Every night, juvenile tribes prowl the streets of Tondo. An explosive hiphop, freestyle gangsta celebration of inner city Manila." Critics were quick to point out his gritty portrayal of Manila's Tondo district:

"Libiran thoroughly knows his geography. His Tondo reeks of the true effluent of human sewage, pulsing with the din and blare of its noise and confusion, to the howl of animals led to their slaughter in Vitas. But amid the racket are also humanity and tenderness, as shown by the warm interaction during family dinners of the gang members.

"This is Tondo in all its singeing but lyrical heights, in all its ballast and flare. Housewives pounce on a Meralco inspector, who uses binoculars to read the meters perched on extraordinary heights beyond human tampering, to protest high power rates. Gangs foster fellowship though the brutality of hazing and the camaraderie of drinking sessions. They celebrate life in and out of season, even as they seem bent on a bloodbath for the killing season. There’s no let-up to life and passion."^[1]

Most of the actors were, in fact, residents of Tondo, Manila itself, and most were still active in street gang activities in the area during the making of the film. The filmmaker employed real-life gang members as lead actors in this film. Fifty-two (52) teen-agers who were members of seven (7) rival clans, agreed to work together to finish this difficult project and triggered a wave of unification and peace in a large part of Tondo's ghettos.^[2]

According to Variety Magazine the film "... takes the viewer deep inside a Manila slum blighted by drugs and gang violence, "Tribe" is a disturbing snapshot of a community in chaos." ^[3]

Critics described it as (a) "...powerful but downbeat portrait of a world ruled by the vicious circle of poverty and crime, focuses on its main victims, the young generation, angrily self-destructing itself out of sheer desperation." ^[4]

The film received nine awards and 14 nominations: Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Cinemanila International Film Festival and the Gawad Urian Awards. Tribu also won the Pari de l'Avenir 'Bet for the Future award' at the Festival Paris Cinema awards, the only non-European film to accomplish this.^[5] ^[6]

Plot

Taking place at present times, Tribu tells the story of street life in the slums of Tondo, Manila, a lower class suburb in the northwest portion of the city of Manila. The film is told from the viewpoint of a young ten-year-old boy named Ebet who We follow as he witnesses the deadly lives of teen age gang members in Tondo and the events that lead to their explosive confrontation. The film follows Ebet who witnesses three youths being initiated into the Thugz Angels gang. In the opening sequence of the film, the 10-year-old boy explains the genesis of the tribes. They exist, he says, because the children are poor. They are poor because they or their parents lack jobs. In Tondo, the boy says, you have to be tough or you die. Even a child needs to be tough. But in the hell that is Tondo, he says, even a child can be God.

The Thugz Angels tribe members chance upon a blood-soaked body of a member of another gang. Police arrest a Thugz Angels member for the murder. The murdered teen is a member of the Sacred Brown Tribe, whose leaders vow to avenge their fallen member. They learn that Diablos gang members killed the SBT neophyte. During the wake, SBT members forge a reluctant alliance with the Thugz Angels, and assemble to raid the Diablos lair. The dangerous unlit streets and labyrinthine alleyways in the ghetto district of Tondo in Manila, serves as a claustrophobic backdrop to a random killing that triggers a wild and bloody gang war

The Diablos are older, more experienced, and confident of their fighting prowess. They know that they are being targeted for revenge and prepare accordingly. Ebet lurks throughout the story, an enigma that is part innocent child and cynical adult. His loyalties are a mystery, and all that is clear to us is his love for his drug-addicted mother.

Main characters

The main roles are played by actual gang members, who use the real names of their gangs in the movie, like gangsta rapper Shielbert Manuel a.k.a. O.G. Sacred (real OG of TBS TONDO),Young Cent and Raynoa.^[7]

Production background

Making a film with gang members on their competing turfs meant Libiran had to contend with the problem that some members of his cast were being hunted by rival gangs or the police. In fact, he said, production was interrupted every now and then by the news that one of his actors had been arrested or shot. During the acting workshop Libiran held for the cast, several of them showed up with weapons.

Public acclaim

Tribu has won nine awards and 14 nominations and has been praised in its homeland of the Philippines, the success of the film has sparked an increase in independent filmmaking in the country.

Awards and nominations

According to the Internet Movie Database,^[8] at the Internet Movie Database.Tribu won five awards and received ten nominations. Among those:

Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2007^[9]

Won: Best Actors - Ensemble
Won: Best Film - Full Length Feature
Won: Best Sound (Mark Laccay)

Cinemanila International Film Festival

Won: Best Actor Ensemble
Won: Best Actress Ensemble

Festival Paris Cinema

Won: Pari de l'Avenir (Bet for the Future Award)

Gawad Urian Awards

Won: Best Music (Francis de Veyra)
Nominated: Gawad Urian Award

Gawad Tanglaw 2007^[10]

Won: Best Film
Won: Best Director (Jim Libiran)

Notably, Tribu was the only Non-European award to win at the Festival Paris Cinema, Tribu competed with films from France, Japan, China, Haiti, Mexico, Great Britain and Hungary-Germany.^[5]

Cast

The main roles are played by actual gang members, some of whom used their real "gang alias" in the movie, like O.G. Sacred, Young Cent and Raynoa.^[7]

References

External links

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