The Bit Player

Jeffrey Jeturian's 2013 Filipino film follows a single day of Loida, who works as an extra on soap opera sets. She leaves early, waits on set and stays for hours for a scene lasting seconds. The interest is the hierarchy on set. The distance between the stars, the director, the crew and the extras is shown in detail; the queue for food, the toilets and the pay sit at the centre and the comedy comes from there. Vilma Santos leads, and casting one of Filipino cinema's best known actors as an extra is the film's deliberate choice. The narrative gives the exploitation not in the language of accusation but through everyday detail. Who it's for: those who like Filipino cinema and narratives from inside the industry. Who it's not for: viewers waiting for an event; the film is the course of one shooting day.