THE OTHER night, Agustin "Hammy" Sotto, founding member of the Society of Filipino Archivists, had a dream. It had turned into a nightmare before he finally woke up. It all started with Hammy waking up to another uneventful day, until he received a phone call from an unknown caller. "All Filipino films before 1990 are gone… the films have deteriorated because of the vinegar syndrome," the mysterious voice reported.

Hammy was speechless; he did not even bother to find out who the caller was. The vinegar syndrome is the dreaded condition when film deteriorates and smells like vinegar. The films of Brocka, Bernal and Mike de Leon of the '70s and '80s passed through Hammy's memory. And all the studio films of LVN, Premiere and Sampaguita were gone--"Anak Dalita," "Badjao," "Biyaya ng Lupa." The films of Gerardo de Leon--"Noli Me Tangere," "Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo," Sanda Wong." Gone.

Then, one early morning, Hammy was awakened by the incessant ringing of the phone. It was an overseas call. A festival on food and cinema was being organized in East Timor. The international community was participating. Japan was sending "Tampopo." Mexico, "Like Water for Chocolate." Denmark, "Babette's Feast." The US, "A Wedding Banquet." Vietnam/France, "The Scent of Green Papaya." Would the Philippines send a film or two? Hammy studied his list of the surviving films of the '90s. Finally, he sent "Talong." The latest oeuvre titled "Monay" was still in production. At that point, fate was merciful on Hammy and he woke up from that nightmare.

It's all fiction, of course, my imagination of Hammy's nightmare. But, what if the films that are now in the canon of Philippine cinema suddenly disappear? At the rate archiving is done or not done in the country, that is not a big "if." What will remain of the Filipino national cinema? What films will represent the country--the best of our cinema that will stand for our artistry and artistic integrity?

Hammy and his group of archivists won't have too many choices, for sure. In fact, at the rate trash is being churned out by the industry, our archivists would have a difficult time rationalizing their existence. Who would want to fund the archiving of trash? (Of course, the hardcore archivist would say anything is worth archiving.)

But, my main concern for the moment is not the question of archiving, but what is happening in the film industry. The industry is now under fire because of its own doing. Artists are gone. Artisans prevail, selling their talent to earn a living.

Because of its marketability, the industry produces a commodity that now qualifies as soft pornography--"Mister Mo, Lover Ko" and "Sutla," for example--two movies that have crossed the line between decency and kalaswaan. Aside from the bodies of their stars, these two movies ride on the talent of the director, Joel Lamangan for "Mister Mo" and Romy Suzara for "Sutla." Both movies are written by Lualhati Bautista, award-winning novelist and screenwriter of "Bata, Bata… Paano Ka Ginawa?" who is displaying unabashedly anti-feminist practice in her two recent works.

The people behind a number of sex movies that now proliferate are award-winning filmmakers. Their names are an imprimatur that these sex movies are worth seeing and are expressions of their art. Of course, the business people financing these sex movies would like to hear that. The well-known artisans endow the commodity with a semblance of respectability. But the fact is, the male and female bodies directed by talented artisans from scripts written by known writers are all part and parcel of the tempting package. Everyone is part of the packaging of the commodity called the sex movie.

One argument that proceeds to tolerate sex movies in commercial theaters states that "if you don't like them, don't watch them." Well and good. But what other Filipino films are there to watch? There are not too many choices, are there? An alternative would be to watch teen films like "Labs Kita, Babe." That doesn't look like a real alternative. It is a well-made film, but it is as thin as wafer.

The real alternatives lie in foreign films, notably the ones that come from the various foreign cultural agencies--Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, Alliance Francaise, Australian Center, Japan Foundation. The European community, for example, is sponsoring the second Cine Europa at the Shangri-La where film buffs can watch contemporary European films for free. On the commercial scene, the Glorietta offers alternative films in its excellent theaters--an ongoing series is on the contemporary Chinese cinema.

The local movie industry chooses to serve a limited audience. This audience may be classified into two--the barako audience for the sex movies and the fans for the teen films. That is unfortunate. The industry must be blind not to see the other audiences--children, professionals, students, film buffs. And it is losing these audiences to the cultural centers and the progressive theaters like the Glorietta, Shangri-La and Louie's Cinema.