Ted Unarce takes indie film in a new direction
BY STUART ALSON
And now a few words about GTC Films, an indie production company espousing progressive media values—and determined to make a difference. If film has been used for many years as a tool for communication, be it to entertain or to educate, GTC doesn’t detract from the centrality of either role. What does set this company apart is its conscientious willingness to repeatedly go out on a limb to spearhead a movement, namely one of raising awareness for dealing with the urgency of contemporary social ills at hand.
Ted Unarce, (pronounced “you-NAR-say”), executive producer at GTC, in an attempt to rearrange the landscape of filmmaking, has continued to seek like-minded individuals in his ongoing quest for larger numbers of poignant, meaningful films that get to the heart of the matter; that is, films that are not only content-based but relevant catalysts for social enhancement. That there have been such copious quantities of horror flicks packed with gore, wistful romances that put us in that dreamlike state, and senseless shoot-‘em-ups and thrillers, poses no surprise to Unarce. Yet they speak to him volumes about how we often wish to cover up, or be taken away from, the here and now, as an escape from reality.
If examined closely, we’d have to admit that such horrors sought, these romances and thrills, aren’t divorced completely from the world outside. Notwithstanding the box office’s role played as barometer for what audiences want to see—along with Hollywood’s making sure to feed them more of what they paid for—viewers’ motives for wanting to see more violent, sexual films is worth examination. Unarce might ask us, granted we see this as a self-perpetuating cycle, how good is this for us, really?
There is so much we could ask insofar as the origins of this craving for thrills and gore and what it is doing: Is it desensitizing us? Has film been exploited to drive a wedge between us and our authentic selves—perhaps even from one another? Has the role of film itself in recent years also deteriorated to a point that it no longer holds up a mirror to ourselves?
Unarce would like to see larger numbers of films—especially documentaries—brought to light to tell the truths experienced by everyday people—particularly the underserved and the disenfranchised. To him, this squeaky wheel does indeed “get the grease,” as demonstrated through GTC’s primary focus and projects, from the anti-human trafficking film Modern Day Slaves, which deals with abuses perpetrated on Filipino overseas foreign workers, to the ongoing Third World Independent Film Festival, a one-of-its-kind celebration geared exclusively toward engaging Third World filmmakers’ voices, visions and concerns.
GTC Films proposes that filmmakers readjust their sails in light of the catastrophes plaguing our planet. Hunger, pollution, wars and hatred, economic collapse—and most of all ignorance—threaten our existence on multiple fronts and must be faced in order to make the world a better place—a safer, happier home.
GTC is one of a growing number of production companies working to revitalize film as a powerful medium. According to Unarce at least, if we have become accustomed believing that documentaries are tame, boring, didactic, or even unprofitable, we might already have become overly acclimated to a consumer mentality. What film can do is actively stir people toward joining a cause, break us out of boxes toward enacting relevant social change, toward starting movements, even toward changing national and foreign policy.
If we don’t focus now on making films whose experience reflects the struggles we face—that is, by breaking free from the norm—Unarce insists that pressing issues may compel us to do so once they become too hard to ignore. For GTC Films, that day is today.