It’s the start of film festival season again, and Sinag Maynila is back for its 8th edition, featuring six full-length entries, documentaries, and short films.
During the media conference, held at Gateway Mall Cineplex, we asked the cast of ‘Desperada,’ ‘Ang Bangkay’ and ‘All About Her’ what made them excited to do the movies they are part of:
Desperada
Sue Prado: “What made me excited about Desperada? Because it’s a human interest story. Lagi at palagi naman, ang cinema ay reflection ng isang kultura, ng isang society, and ‘yung Desperada is an example of that. May pinagbabasehan ng tunay na kwento ‘yung mga characters namin sa pelikula and to be able to be part of a collective na magkukwento doon sa mga storya at mga tao na walang boses, I feel privileged, kasi may platform ako. At natutulungan akong ma-fulfill ang obligasyon ko as an artist para maging storyteller, para maging documentarist ng ating panahon at makapagbahagi ng kung nasaang estado na ba tayo ngayon bilang mga mamamayan, bilang lipunan.”
Yasser Marta: “Sa akin, simple lang, nung binasa ko ‘yung script, bago siya sa akin, first time ko gumanap ng ganitong role, challenging siya para sa akin at siyempre, hindi ko tatanggihan ang isang direk Louie Ignacio, and of course, si kuya Dennis Evangelista.”
Robb Guinto: “Sa akin kasi it’s very relevant kasi ‘yung kwento namin, nangyayari siya sa totoong buhay. Kaya gusto kong malaman o matutunan kung ano ba talaga ‘yung nararamdaman ng isang may trauma, may pinagdadadaanan sa buhay, kaya mas naging interesting sa akin na tanggapin itong pelikula na ‘to.”
Ang Bangkay
Johnrey Rivas: “Sa amin po kasi, fun fact about us, theater actors kami na lumipat sa pagpe-pelikula and Ang Bangkay is a theater play. Kaya ako nag-yes kasi it’s a full circle moment sa akin, kasi naging usher ako ng produksyon na ito, naging production assistant and ako na din ang nag-music design ng production nito sa play. Then, nung nanalo ako sa Katips, in-offer sa akin ni attorney, and who am I to say no? This is my favorite piece and hindi ko alam na ako pala ang magpe-play at magbibigay buhay ng isa sa characters dito.”
Vean Olmedo: “Actually, hindi talaga ako ang original cast ni direk (Vince Tanada). Original cast ako for theater play, but not for the movie. And then, nagkaroon ng conflict with the main actor, and direk decided to make me act sa movie. Simple lang din ang gusto kong sabihin, kung pangarap ni direk ‘to, kasama niya ako sa pangarap niya kaya napa-oo ako.”
All About Her
Tony Labrusca: “I thought that it was a really cool story when they told me the premise. It’s kinda loosely based on a true story, so I thought it was really fascinating and I was really excited to work with direk Joel again. And also, I’m very close with our producers. I was just really excited to be working with friends this time on a really cool project.”
Kelley Day: “Same for me, the story, kasi during the time na nag-meeting kaming lahat, the true story which we were inspired by, was quite relevant. So, other than that, dream ko talaga mag-horror film or mag-thriller, and beauty queen stuff. I guess it was relatable but not to the extreme.”
Yuki Sonoda: “For me naman, when I heard about the story, kakatapos ko lang mag-pageant talaga. First of all, parang ‘yun talaga ang sinabi ko na if beauty queen ang gaganapin ko, I can portray it. Also, si direk Joel, nakatrabaho ko na siya dati and I know working with him, I will learn a lot more kaya din ako nag-yes dito. Also, Tony and Kelley, they’re my friends, kaya I also want to do a movie with them.”
New stories to discover at the Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival. Happening from March 23 to 29 exclusively at the following cinemas: Gateway, Eastwood, Uptown, Venice Cineplex, and Lucky Chinatown Cinemas.
Watch our coverage below: