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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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I did not kill the cat alone
HOW SO EVER it looks and sounds like a one-man job, I did not make the monster short film Ikapito nga Adlaw alone. Sure, I wrote it, produced it, art designed it, directed it, even acted on it; but still, I wasn’t really doing everything all by myself all the time. It was not at all an I-me-myself-and-Peter Solis Nery production.
And I wouldn’t want it to be. I mean, why would I create a monster, and not have a lot of other people to blame? Why should I be held responsible for all the shortcomings of a short film? Don’t we invent the position of the production manager for that? Haha.
A film is a lovely enterprise. Just like the theatre, it’s a fusion of many arts: photography, literature, fashion, choreography, music, and so on. Unlike the very solitary writing job, filmmaking is a collaborative effort. I mean, even if I end up taking my shirt off as a producer, at least, as a director, I get to ask other people to take off their clothes first.
I like filmmaking not because I know that two heads are better than one, but precisely because I understand that too many cooks spoil the stew, or brew, or whatever it is that can get spoiled. I like the idea that whatever crap I make I have actors, cinematographers, editors, and even film donors to blame.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I cannot fault Ikapito nga Adlaw. I really like this film among my films, and I don’t have much in my filmography.
My actors may have been my little headaches during production, but after viewing the film at least a hundred times since we canned it, I really admired them and the job they have done for Ikapito nga Adlaw. I’m really grateful, for example, that I met Kim Villaluna who had quite the balls to do some bold and daring scenes with me in the movie.
Just how great an actor was Kim in making the movie? Imagine an actor jumping right from the boat (the roll-on, roll-off barge) in the Port of Dumangas, and running into the scene where he slaps me hard with a kiss. You don’t believe me? Well, this is my story to tell. And I was there, you were not. I mean, I got slapped or I got kissed. Watch the movie!
Then, there’s the movie’s star-crossed lovers: Zyra Doronila and Christian Divinagracia. Granted that they are newbies and first-time actors, I love how the camera loves Zyra. She’s a beauty in real life, but really gorgeous, luminous even, in the film. The scenes atop the acacia tree are priceless. And however funny the actual shoot of “Tabang! Tabang!,” the resulting sequence is rather very moving in the movie.
The other night, on my 106th viewing of the film, I finally fell in love with Christian’s acting. Christian is a pretty boy, kind of the James Reid type. I actually want to say Sam Milby, but that would reveal too much of my age. Well, Christian delivers the Sam Milby and James Reid kind of acting. Did I want to kill Christian during the shoot? Of course, I did.
But not as much as I wanted to kill Menzie Jun Diamante and Lilibeth Laraño. I actually almost kicked Menzie during the shoot, but stopped my foot just inches away from his body. Shamefully, we got a behind-the-scene video of that, which you probably have already seen if you liked and followed our Ikapito nga Adlaw page on Facebook.
Why did I want to go physical with Menzie? Because I wanted him to get physical with Lilet! I wanted the 18-year-old school boy to kiss the 50-something shoe repair woman. Is that too much to ask? And they almost got it right on the second take, but Menzie began to smile. I mean, he might have smiled excitedly, but it wasn’t quite the look and feel that I wanted as the prelude to the kiss.
So, in the behind-the-scene video, you see how I have total control of my body. Which is to say, just because I see a beautiful boy doesn’t mean I lay my hands, or foot, on him. And if I was ever high pitched in that video, it was because I was screaming, “Nga-a nagyuhum ka?” (Why did you smile?!!)
I really think that I should apologize for my behavior on that day of shoot. The weather was so against us, and the filming has been postponed three times already. It rained earlier in the morning, and there was a threat of rain in the afternoon, too. The market was getting crowded and lookers-on were starting to be noisy. I didn’t want to mess up, or pack up the set, that has the biggest gathering of cast and crew. It would be hard to gather them again. And yes, the municipal traffic enforcers, who are ambient characters acting as traffic enforcers, have to do their real job, too!
But watching the resulting scene in the movie, and seeing the reaction of viewers during the previews, I am not ready to be apologetic at all. Oh, go on! Sue me for assault, and lock me up with sex-starved criminals. Ha!
I cannot thank enough my excellent stable of character actors Regor Decolongon, Efren Bustamante, Jr., and Lilibeth Laraño, for turning out, again, reliable performances. Some of these folks may give me real headaches in real life, but their characterizations and face value are truly priceless. Newcomer Paul Michael Mahinay joined Regor and Efren’s company to make a pretty believable menacing trio.
I’ll say this again: I did not do this film alone. I am forever grateful to my ever-supportive buddies Joey Rap Decolongon (cinematographer and editor of both film and sound), and Jeremy Arguelles Azucena (cinematographer and poster/publicity design) for working with me on this film. Film is, foremost, a visual medium; and so in a way, this is really their film, too. Their first completed film. Their first best completed film. And if they think of my way as the Peter Solis Nery School of Filmmaking, then this is their graduate thesis which I proudly award with flying honors.
Oh, and I did mention the blame-all position of Production Manager. Well, we got Irv Dedel Salvacion to blame for everything that went wrong in making this movie. But the thing is, I cannot really punish Irv because he is also my personal assistant and road manager, food taster and wardrobe consultant. Having worked in five-star hotels abroad, Irv has intimated to me that some waiters actually spit on the food of very rich customers they hate. He also tells me that housemaids in the Philippines do the same for their snotty masters. I understand why he’s telling me that and it’s not because he hates spittle.
Last night, some of the cast and crew gathered at my penthouse pad in PRIMA City for some sort of fiesta despedida. I’m leaving for Vietnam on Friday, and I was giving instructions on how to promote our film, to include a radio program guesting at RMN Iloilo’s DYRI on Sunday, Nov. 27, 9:30 am. And then, I realized for the nth time, this is really my family. These are the people that I love. And I think that more than just putting into reality my artistic vision, these people are the bigger reason why I like making movies in my hometown of Dumangas, and not, say for example, in America.
No, wait! That’s bulls. I made a movie in America! Haha. Ever heard of “Tom Hayden: In Hiding”? Well, look it up again at IMDb (yes, that’s the International Movie Database, dummy!) Or just Google: peter solis nery tom hayden in hiding. What, you got no wi-fi?/PN
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