Director Cathy Camarillo Served Needed "KILIG" in #BarDa Film THAT KIND OF LOVE

Barbie Forteza and David Licauco stars in new funny-romance film THAT KIND OF LOVE

 

(Photo by RandomRepublika's Kate Adajar)

 

After leaving the SM Cinemas during the "THAT KIND OF LOVE" Premiere Night, I felt quite relieved about how Director Catherine Camarillo made her recent films. After the well received "Chances Are: You and I" which stars Kelvin Miranda and Kira Ballinger, this new one probably had easier merits to execute because of the fact that this is the first film of Barbie Forteza and David Licauco. 

 

The pairing had remarkable success in their previous shows (ie Maria Clara at Ibarra, Maging Sino Ka Man), and putting out a film wouldn't be a walk in the park because it doesn't necessarily mean that if you are good on TV, it would be the same with box office returns; because they admit, the movie industry is still ailing in some way shape or form.

This one though, holds a lot of promise. It's way different than what Barbie and David have been doing on TV for sure, and Direk CC took time to execute Ellis Catrina's vision of not only establishing these new characters, but how they could fall in love with their individual quirks, and make people feel that KILIG from start to finish.

This is exactly what the film offers. It's got a bit of laughter, a bit of romance, plus a solid love story. I feel above all, it's a gift for the #BarDa fans out there. She plays a matchmaker, while David is "The Perfect Guy". They have different upbringing, they have different set of friends, their outlook in life is not the same. When David's character talked to Barbie in the movie, he wanted her to set him up for a date. He was perfect, but he wasn't quite successful in that department. They both had egos, and the story of how they eventually fell in love is what's going to make you interested in this movie.

Director Cathy Camarillo knows how to put things together. Her first one was good, this one is better. Although on a different spectrum, this just makes all the #BarDa wishes come true. Think of what you want the #BarDa to become, and it's probably in this movie. The experience watching it on the silver screen is lovely, I guess the darkness makes you enjoy it more because nobody could see if you are smiling on your own... or crying, so nobody would judge you. That's the perk you get watching it in a cinema. 

THAT KIND OF LOVE will show on theaters this coming July 10th. Barbie and David would love for you to see what they've been working on. It's a really good #BarDa project, go watch it without a care in the world. Feel that same "KILIG" Direk CC wants you to feel, it's meant to be like that.

This film is produced by Pocket Media Productions Inc., Pocket Media Films and Happy Infinite Productions Inc. It will also be released by Regal Entertainment nationwide. Thank you to Digital Out of Home Inc. for being part of this too, who made it possible for us to cover the event! Muchas gracias!

It Deserves to Be Seen: PIETA with NORA AUNOR and ALFRED VARGAS

 

I distinctly remember watching re-runs of Pieta on television back in the day. It was made by Carlo J. Caparas, and stars Ace Vergel†, Charito Solis† and so many others. The other was for TV with Ryan Agoncillo and the iconic Ms. Cherie Gil†. I was looking forward to see this version of "PIETA" made by director Adolfo Alix Jr. which stars National Artist and Superstar Ms. Nora Aunor and former Congressman and now Councilor Alfred Vargas from Quezon City. During MMFF 2023, they didn't include this film in the lineup. It would have made history to see the legendary actresses battle it out in cinemas, but I guess fate had other plans.

Good news for those who wait as this film produced by Alternative Vision Cinema Inc. and Noble Wolf Films will be shown in January in cinemas nationwide. But before that happens, we got first dibs during the advanced screening last week at Sine Pop in Cubao, Quezon City.

First of all, the cast is a lethal combination. If you could measure acting prowess with a device, it would break if you put them together in one room. With the likes of Gina Alajar, Jaclyn Jose, Angeli Bayani, Bembol Roco, it would be a bit impossible not to see how rich their bench is. Also in the cast is Ina Raymundo, Allan Paule, Dan Alvaro, Elora Espano, and Tommy Alejandrino, who will all get themselves involved in the lives of Rebecca and Isaac (played by Nora and Alfred). 

This piece is totally different from the Caparas film, and is not in any way related to it. PIETA is written by heavily awarded Jerry Gracio known for his work in several movies, MMK on TV, screenplays and great literary work in Filipino. He's also a Palanca awardee, so you could sense there's great expectations in actually having this written for the silver screen.

 Here's some scenes before the advanced screening:

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Alfred Vargas' character Isaac lives in troubled times. Having spent years in incarceration, he was given a second chance to live a good life. He was in for murder, but remained oblivious about what happened. When he arrived home, his Mom had supposed Alzheimer's disease or some form of dementia. Nora's character Rebecca used to religiously visit him in jail but suddenly stopped, and they attributed it to the condition which he found out after arriving at the ancestral home/farm. He found her there almost completely blind, unaware of who he is, with Beth (played by Gina Alajar) providing care for her.

He was set on now dividing his time in finding out the truth, and see ways on how he could at least get to be recognized by his own Mom. He also knew how his own brother stood witness against him, but he couldn't figure out why. This and all the other complications in his new life happens, right when he thought he was doing good.    

The film discusses a lot of social issues, but its main essence lies on the relationship of the Mother and Son. This is their journey to discovering how even if the mind won't recognize who he is, her heart would eventually know. Their attempts to reconnect treads cute to dark poetry, dance and even folk songs. Her singing? Can't tell if she did (as it might spoil things), but it'll fit right with Rebecca's silent moments which you'll find essential. Director Adolf Alix Jr. knows how to set up things on the plot, a lot of which you'll find flipped and reversed.     

 

Putting Ms. Nora Aunor in a film is like an automatic masterclass of sorts. It felt like a treat to see her in PIETA. There's a Filipino term "mata-mata acting" which connotes acting with just the eyes... and how powerful she could encompass emotions with it (let alone do it while blind). She's literally known for that in the industry; and how even without words, she could do it with ease. That's one of the reasons she's adored, and highly regarded by peers. Direk Adolf also emphasized how Ms. Nora doesn't fear CHANGE, they've absolutely done remarkable work and let the eyes talk lengthily in this film. They did the same for Alfred Vargas' scenes and close up shots. Make sure you watch it in cinemas because it'll feel a lot different. They're planning to release this also in streaming platforms so it could get to Noranians around the world. 

 

Here's Director Adolfo Alix Jr. talking about his experience with the cast:

PIETA will be released during the 1st Quarter of 2024. I like what I saw. This acting piece didn't go to the wrong people. It's rare to see an ensemble cast of this caliber to happen in a film. 

It needs to be seen.

Saving Dying Dialects: Lessons from HULAGWAY

I took the lovely trip to Cinema 76 at Anonas in Quezon City to see Director Alvin Yapan's latest work called HULAGWAY: Dokyumentaryo ng mga Wika at Kulturang Filipino (A documentary of Filipino Language and Culture) a few days ago. Dr. Yapan was tapped by the National Commitee on Language amd Translation under the offices of NCCA (The National Comission for the Culture and the Arts) to direct this film. 

Hulagway means "a portrait" and this film lengthily has taken a look at the person, how one lives, how they communicate with their peers or the community. There are also a lot of metaphorical representation of their struggles, even if they're literally not working with a script, the conversations was molded off how language was used as a tool to enrich lives with stories, songs and poems deeply rooted in culture. 

 

Needless to say, he's a genius when it comes to really complex artsy topics like these and interpreting it for cinema must have been a tall task. His treatment in telling this one is like a documentary. He anchors it with two characters Consuelo (played by Sue Prado) and Robert (which is played by Kalil Almonte). They took the long hard trek to far flung communities in the eastern side of Isabela (up north) and islands off Palawan. 

Imagine, they started this in 2018 and had to work together with only 15 other crew carrying with them loads of equipment to capture unadulterated views, communities and the few men and women who still have a grasp of the dying languages Dupaninan Agta and Tandulanen Tagbanua. This is officially the most difficult film Alvin Yapan has ever made, he made mention of this during the talk we had after the screening. Initially, they had planned to include 6/7 of them (dialects/languages) but the material was too precious to cut off the block. It was also a little too tedious as it involved time consuming research, with little information from various universities (mostly from outside the country) who have conducted studies about them in previous years, they roughed the process of filming and took on talking to the few descendants left who still have a grasp of the language. My favorite scene was the boat traversing a line of mangroves in Palawan, they talked about that on the video.

 

Here's the press conference in two parts where they explained the film and the cause of saving the dialects from these two regions.

During the latter part of the press conference I asked about what concrete plans they have about saving the dying dialect, and they replied that this is just the first step, to become aware, educated, and acknowledge that there is something precious to save. 

The plan is to also have this film be viewed by educational institutions to not just prove its existence, but to formulate a way to find ways to have people teach these dialects and pass on to the next generation. To not lose their identity as IP, and celebrate their uniqueness, their differences, which makes them cool. If this sparks efforts to do so not just from the government, but the citizens of this country, then this film made its mark. Make sure to coordinate with NCCA if you want your school to be part of the film's tour in the coming months. There's more languages/dialects to save in the country, and telling their story is essential.

Make sure to watch it. It'll be life changing!