From its humble beginnings, cinema has been heralded as a uniquely endowed art form providing an escapist for a socially alienated audience. From a historical point of view, cinema seems to have played the same social role in the 21st century as that of the novel in the 18th century. Filmmaker and writer William Burrough writes, "What has made money will make money." This axiom encourages studios to the tried-and-tested formula rather than experiment with a new twist or a new technique.

Screenwriter Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr., Ph.D (University of Iowa), illustrates the "Filmaking Universe" explaining the inner circle as the mainstream industry, whereas the outer circles reveal for alternative films. "The farther the screenwriter is from the center, the more independent he or she becomes," Del Mundo says.

It is important to know that there are different audiences. The commercial industry already has a niche market but independent filmmakers still have to look for their own audience. Apart from being financed by independent producers and agencies, alternative films can also be sponsored by embassies and screened for festivals (i.e. Cine Europa, Spanish, and Japanese films).

"The idea is not to compete but to make films that the mainstream is not doing. It is important to think of subjects that the industry does not deal with, and look for new and different ways to tell stories," adds Del Mundo. Today's trend also reveals computer-generated films and characters - the Transformer, among others. "It all depends on what one is looking for," he asserts. For the industry, a good film is the one that will make money. The quality of the film is incidental. However entertaining films can also be good."

How successful has the underground art film been as an alternative to the commercial films? Experimental films, which presumably are not concerned with commercial viability, have an entirely different set of criteria. For example, in the commercial films of Anthony Balch, it has been said that the conscious, logical part of the mind is like the tip of the iceberg that appears above the water. What he is trying to do is to jar people into developing an awareness of an area under the water by actually showing them mechanisms of perception that, of course, go on all the time.

"In writing a film, one has to be interested in the project. That is a prerequisite. In my case, I try to write the best I could. I work outside the mainstream so I do not get projects often. However, I have a regular job as professor. In that way, I can choose projects I want to write. My two jobs complement each other."

Certainly, the cinema is privileged for this double adventure of acknowledging and exploring the strangeness of the world. That which takes place in our dreams is infinitely more interesting (because it's richer, less prearranged, more capable of revealing our relations with reality) than the gestures and words, the thoughts and settings, that constitute the fabric of our socialized life. Cinema is an instrument for understanding the contemporary man and shaping the man of the future as well.



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