Eero Francisco blasts claim that Pinoy films are all about ‘kabitan’

“Dude, what’s the last ‘Kabitan’ film you saw in the country?” he asked, pointing out that Hollywood and South Korean cinema also produce films dealing with infidelity and marital affairs.

Francisco then challenged audiences making sweeping judgments about local cinema to examine what they are actually watching.

“Anong pinapanood mo at ganyan ang gusto mo? Ang daming pelikula sa Cinemalaya ngayon. Ano do’n ang kabitan?” he wrote.

He also reacted to a comment claiming that AI-generated advertisements were more enjoyable to watch, noting the irony that many such ads themselves rely on melodramatic plots involving cheating partners, extreme wealth and poverty.

But Francisco argued that the issue goes beyond personal taste.

“I will never shut up about how this matter is an educational concern. Film appreciation is an educational matter,” he said. “Even in Film History, Cinema is a form of education.”

He further linked film appreciation to politics, arguing that education becomes a political concern when government officials “want to dumb you down so you vote for them.”

Francisco is a three-time Gawad Urian and two-time FAMAS winner for Best Production Design. His filmography includes “Leonor Will Never Die,” “Babae at Baril,” “Third World Romance,” “Sunshine,” “Arisaka” and “The Missing.”

He was also selected for Berlinale Talents in 2023 and completed a Pop Up Film Residency in Bucharest, Romania in 2026 with support from the Film Academy of the Philippines and Screen QC.

For Francisco, before dismissing Filipino films as repetitive and obsessed with “kabitan,” perhaps audiences should first look at what Filipino filmmakers are actually making.

READ: