Fight Club! Let’s talk about it, even if that breaks the first rule of Fight Club.

Last November, Loyola Film Circle gave aspiring directors, screenplay writers, actors, and cinematographers a chance to test their skills and make a mark. Two production teams premiered their student-made films in this third rendition of Fight Club. They showcased to the attending audience what it means to grab those creative dreams from the ashes and embers, igniting them into a spark with their hard work, dedication, and passion. It is also during this event that director Nathan Dela Cruz debuted his Sine Loyola-produced film, “You Were Here Once,” to kick off the finale with a bang. In this article, we explore how all three tales conveyed the journey to a more profound and truthful self— how legacy is not solely from the acts of glitz, glamour, and grandeur of what we are fed constantly by our screens and that it can come from somewhere closer to home.

B-Roll - Red Team (Winner of Best Editing, Best Sound Design, & Best Production Design)

B-Roll is very much about the tug-of-war between desire and duty. We have Bea, a girl fueled by her love of film, who reckons with the reality that what she loves— the very thing that connects her with her treasured friends— is something that has to take a backseat due to the academic and familial responsibilities she and her friends have.

Artists can feel a sense of death when a muse or a creative partner eludes them. It is a dramatic statement, but art bringing aid and comfort to the masses is a tried and true notion, so what more when we talk about the weaver of said art? There is an intense intimacy between friends with the same values and creative outlets as you. And when your support system and passion are seemingly ripped away from you all at once, it can be as if the world has suddenly gone bleak and the sharpest shears have cut a necessary cord. In some ways, there is also the message of the difficulty of holding such ambition for an art form that requires more dedication than most. More obsessively committed creators and enthusiasts can hold a grudge and ask why others won’t share their thirst. But we see in the climax that it’s not just Bea fighting tooth and nail as she balances her sanity, health, studies, and internship. Her friends are also in equal states of yearning to pursue what they had all once done without restraint but continue to experience their fair share of tremendous real-world challenges. 

In the end, however, Bea realizes it’s not always about the art. There’s more to her and her friends. Losing them due to resentment would be the real tragedy. Overall, this is a movie the brightest legacy chasers can learn from and how it isn’t a no from the universe. It’s just a not now, and that is okay.

Zero Hour - Green Team (Winner of Best Cinematography, Best Script, & Best Actress: Leibniz Parra)

People tend to realize what they want most and what truly matters to them when they are on the brink of losing everything. Zero Hour explores that phenomenon by depicting a group of students facing the catastrophic situation of an asteroid in position to hit Quezon City. However, they find themselves locked inside the classroom they’re residing in, making them incapable of evacuating to safer grounds. Trapped and unable to continue denying their reality because of the intercom announcement of the impending collision, they go through the succeeding stages of grief. It starts with bursting into anger at one another, then bargaining through banging at the doors and screaming for someone to find them. The cast soon sinks into depression as they all begin confessing their regrets: their lack of direction, succumbing to pressure, acting uncouth when kindness was an option, and not knowing or pursuing what their hearts genuinely desired sooner. And finally, they reach acceptance as they cling together in quiet anticipation of their demise. 

The movie, however, ends on a happy note when a classmate unlocks the door and finds the main characters, informing them that the asteroid was a complete farce from the start. Each expresses their relief and leaves what they initially thought was their casket. The final shot of them walking side-by-side instead of sitting apart in the first shot shows them coming back to life with all the drive, solidarity, and hope their old selves were in much need of

You Were Here Once - Nathan Dela Cruz

There is a precursor to legacy and art. It can range from a sign on the road to somebody whom all the signs seem to point towards. A muse is a formidable partner to success. Some people are lucky enough to marry their muses, while others lose them to the trials of time and distance. But heartbreak and loss do not diminish the power of the muse, and You Were Here Once depicts that in a raw, grounded, and romantic tale between two starry-eyed university kids, Owen and Basilio, who grow a special bond before it severs all too fast when Basilio has to leave overseas to pursue his studies.

An aspiring movie director and scriptwriter, Owen is undoubtedly emboldened by Basilio’s encouragement and admiration of his work. In the movie, we follow Owen's perspective, from the golden days of his close friendship with Basilio to his black-and-white present, in which he’s dropped writing to work a more practical and stable job. Owen's passion recharges when he unlocks old memories after rediscovering a box of his old work, where Basilio’s sticky note remains on the front page, and initiates a phone call for closure. We might also acknowledge the irreversible change Owen has caused in Basilio, who has come to appreciate and crave Owen’s dreams to come true. The bittersweetness stems from how it mirrors Owen’s yearning for Basilio to the present day— a muse that evaded him. A muse who will most likely be the root cause for the creative accomplishments to come, but not a muse he will hold the hand of as it transpires and his legacy solidifies itself.

Legacy. It can be hard to comprehend the magnitude of that word at a young age when the notion of this stage in life predicates itself on mistakes, pleasure, and keeping up with schoolwork. When someone utters the word legacy, what comes to mind is likely your favorite renowned Hollywood actor with an impressive film portfolio or a famous humanitarian who has held TED talks in prestigious universities all around the globe. Sometimes, that person who embodies legacy is both of these things. So, it causes the more ambitious crowd in the sea of everyday people who lead everyday lives as they navigate a world that promotes the idea of anyone and everyone making their “big break” to ask themselves these specific lines of questions:  Who am I? What does all my work amount to? Am I my university course? Am I the extracurriculars I take? Am I my heartbreak? Am I the singing, dancing, and all the other crap of the world? What does legacy look like for someone like me? Does someone like me have a chance at legacy?

The answer is yes. Legacy is just as potent in the humble surroundings of our classrooms, mundane apartments, and regular spots. The human connection spurring a flame in one heart after another is legacy at its finest. With such an enriching Fight Club that left its crowd proud and inspired, we would all do well to anticipate the fourth round and what meaningful insights the next contenders have to say.