From making action movies to religious films in the 90s, filmmaker Ben Yalung shares that while he may have found his love for God, his passion for filmmaking remains. And now, after being gone in the movie industry for twenty years, Ben is back with a new religious biopic to direct – the story of Venerable Archbishop Teofilo Camomot.
“The last movie that I produced and directed was ‘Birhen ng Manaoag’ in 2005 kasi I decided to shift from action films to religious films. Medyo na-convert tayo ng konti. I already did ‘Kristo’ and ‘Divine Mercy sa Buhay ni Sister Faustina’ and we plan to produce Kristo Part II and the story of Lipa – this is the story of the petals, Lipa miracle, it is coming very soon. Now, our next project will be the story of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot. As I’ve mentioned napakaganda ng storya niya at hindi pwedeng palagpasin ko lang. Si Celso de Guzman ang gumawa ng storya, siya ang nagsulat,” shares director Ben Yalung.
Cebuano Archbishop Teofilo Camomot is known for serving and loving God and all people particularly the poor, the sick, the homeless, and the suffering. He was a Roman Catholic archbishop from the Philippines. Ordained a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Cebu in 1941, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop in 1955.
He became coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in 1958, becoming titular archbishop of Marcianopolis. While waiting for the then-archbishop James Hayes to retire, Camomot resigned for health reasons in 1970. He was killed in a vehicular accident in San Fernando in 1988 at the age of 74.
‘Yung kwento ni Camomot, hindi namin kilala si Bishop Camomot kasi taga-Cebu siya. Binigyan kami ng isang kopya nung libro niya, ‘yung biography niya. Si Camomot, marami siyang miraculous event na nangyari sa buhay niya. Siya ay nagba-bilocate, nagle-levitate, maraming miraculous scene – ‘yung mga exorcism, makita pa lang siya nawawala na ang sapi. ‘Yung istorya, napakaganda, pero ang ginawa kong approach, pinresent ko mula kabataan niya. Ang nagbi-bridge ng kwento ay ‘yung Vice Postulator which is also the author of the book, siya ang nagwi-weave ng storya. Kunwari, iniimbistigahan niya ‘yung mga binigay sa kanyang mga reports. So, mula pagkabata hanggang naging semenarista siya. Si Camomot ay reluctant maging pari kasi gusto niya maging agriculturist. Makikita ‘yun sa pelikula, kung paano nagbago ang desisyon niya. Ang storya niya inabot ng apat na eras, pre-war, second world war, post war hanggang Martial Law, namatay siya 1988. Period movie ito kaya mahirap at magastos gawin,” shares screenwriter Celso de Guzman.
Teofilo Camomot
This is sort of a comeback for Direk Ben Yalung’s Cine Suerte in producing movies. In 80s and 90s, Cine Suerte produced classic movies such as ‘Kristo’ starring Matt Ranillo III, ‘Cain at Abel’ starring Philip Salvador and Christopher de Leon, Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s ‘Karnal,’ ‘Zuma,’ Divine Mercy sa Buhay ni Sister Faustina,’ some action movies of Fernandoe Poe, Jr., Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid, and more.
Principal photography is set to start later this year. They are still finding the artist to portray Archbishop Teofilo Camomot.
During the media conference, Ben Yalung, together with his grandson, Russel Yalung Oledan talked about the school for young filmmakers, Asia Pacific Film Institute (APFI), owned by director Ben. Also discussed was Emmanuel TV Network or ETVN which is a podcast, social media channel with religious content.
Watch our coverage from the media conference below: