Filmed dog kill still biting ‘Oro’ makers

BEFORE THE SLAUGHTER Many hearts bled for this poor, furry extra in one of the movies that competed in the 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival. —screenshot by Anna Cabrera, paws executive director

The controversy over that dog killed on camera keeps biting the filmmakers behind “Oro.”

After being stripped of the FPJ Memorial Award, the film’s director and producers are now also banned from joining the next Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

This is for showing “dishonesty” when they were addressing criticism over a scene that showed a dog being slaughtered for real, according to MMFF executive committee member and Film Development Council of the Philippines Chair Liza Diño.

Diño on Friday said the sanction was imposed on director Alvin Yapan and producers Felix Guerrero and Mark Shandii Bacolod because they misrepresented themselves when they claimed that the dog was unharmed.

“The dog was harmed, killed during the filming of the movie. The dog we saw in the film was the same one that died. It’s not just proven; there was an admission,” she said. “When we called their attention, they denied that there was a dog harmed in the film.”

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, which oversees the MMFF, also said the “Oro” crew had been “dishonest and did not come out with the real circumstances surrounding the controversy.”—JOVIC YEE