Jaclyn Jose delights in first Bisaya-speaking role

CEBU, Philippines - With a name as big as hers, you’d think there was nothing left to challenge veteran actress Jaclyn Jose. Time and again, she’s cemented her place in the entertainment industry with her skills as an actress one iconic role after another.

Last year, from a household name, she transformed into a national treasure as she became the first ever Filipina to win Best Actress in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival – besting Hollywood big guns with her performance in Brillante Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa.”

But right after that monumental victory, Jaclyn – who could only go higher from there, who could have demanded a high profile project for her next job – decided to do something else.

Headlining the Cebuano film “Patay Na Si Hesus” as single mother Iyay, Jaclyn stars alongside Cebuano actors Melde Montañez as her bum son Jay, Vincent Viado who plays her eldest son Hubert with Down Syndrome, and Chai Fonacier who portrays the trans man Jude.

The family embarks on a trip after learning about the death of their estranged father Hesus who they haven’t seen in 13 years. Reluctantly, the kids join Iyay as they travel from Cebu to Dumaguete to pay their last respects while they survive unexpected passengers, detours, and revelations along the way.

Directed by Victor Villanueva, “Patay Na Si Hesus” is an homage to writer Fatrick Tabada’s own headstrong and thoughtful mother whom Jaclyn’s role was fashioned after.

Jaclyn, who was hand-picked by producers for the role, painted the picture of a single mom well.

“I have to know the people behind the project. When people like Moira [Lang] come to you, you don’t question anymore. That is what happened. Naniniwala ako sa tao, at alam kong hindi sila nag o-offer pag alam nilang hindi maganda,” Jaclyn began in an interview following an exclusive screening of the film Sunday at the Cinema 5 of Robinson’s Galleria Cebu.

The actress shared how she began learning Bisaya at home for a couple of sessions before flying to Cebu to shoot. She was too busy to formally learn the language. She did however, have firm dialect coaches who went through the lines with Jaclyn before each take, while her co-stars also helped her out every now and then.

“It was hard for me. I’m from Bulacan. To think I was memorizing the Cebuano lines and driving a manual multicab from Cebu to Dumaguete. It was exhausting but fun. Nakaraos naman,” Jaclyn admits, saying she had no problem with the rest of the cast and was anxious about the language in particular.

She did a fine job speaking in Bisaya despite admitting that she could have done a better job. She says that if only she had more time, she could have achieved her goal of speaking and sounding like a true Bisaya, and looks forward to the next time she gets to play a Bisaya role.

It was also understandable that Iyay’s character was a Manileña who now lived in Cebu, so Villanueva was quick to reassure Jaclyn about her performance, a sentiment echoed both by the cast and viewers. Jaclyn’s performance embodied the struggles of a woman trying to be both mother and father to her children, showing that there is no certain formula to parenting and that the gravity of her decisions can either make or break the rest of the family.

Despite the unorthodox imagery of a mother behind the wheel as curse words fly out of her mouth at the speed of light, Jaclyn’s portrayal of Iyay’s care and grit reminds audiences of their own mothers. Single moms from the audience commended the film, in what they describe as an inspiring and true portrayal.

During the Q&A with the main cast, the director, producer and even Sadie the Shih Tzu who played the family pet Hudas, Villanueva took the opportunity to thank everyone who has been part of the “Patay Na Si Hesus” journey, and called on viewers to support local and homegrown films.

“I have always believed that the more local, the more universal. I actually feel relieved and I’m very happy that it connected with people I wanted to show it to, and I hope you watch it again and tell your friends. I was downstairs when it started. When I came back, I heard laughter, so that’s a relief. That’s what I wanted to hear,” Villanueva says, noting that the film first debuted at the QCinema International Film Festival in Manila to critical acclaim.

It won the Audience Award and Gender Sensitivity Award at the said festival last year. It was also a crowd favorite at one of the biggest LGBTQ film fests in the world: the Frameline International Film Festival in San Francisco, California.

Produced by Moira Lang and Bianca Balbuena via T-Rex Productions, “Patay Na Si Hesus” shows a dysfunctional family as they precariously make it through problems in this modern age. Iyay has her own share of regrets and what ifs, while her children are facing their own battles. Their idiosyncrasies take a toll on their relationship as a family until they realize that they are all each other have. It also depicts that tradition is not what makes a family, and there is no one way of dealing with certain themes in life.

Lang, who has co-written classics like “Anak,” “Tanging Yaman,” “Kailangan Kita,” and “Milan,” describes the film as a very funny drama, and presses that the recent success of independently-produced films like Spring Films’ “Kita Kita” has boosted their confidence. If anything, they feel zero pressure to surpass the feat.

“We’re very excited for what happened with ‘Kita Kita’. It’s a cause of celebration for the filmmaking industry. It’s another proof that there is a thinking and feeling Filipino audience who respond intensely to a movie that speaks to them despite who stars in it and how it was made. As a filmmaker, it’s inspiring because it validates your drive to create things that are surprising,” Lang shares.

She reveals how differently “Patay Na Si Hesus” could have turned out: For one thing, it could have been made completely in Tagalog, and shot in Manila. But the producers were adamant.

“This needs to be a Bisaya film. We already have so many Tagalog films. Gusto naming gumawa ng pelikula na gusto namin. If it moves us, we believe that it would move others too. We believe in the Filipino audience and we hope na tangkilikin nila,” Lang concludes.

An award-winning comedy satire and Rated R-13 by MTRCB, “Patay Na Si Hesus” also stars Angelina Kanapi, Publio Briones, Mailes Kanapi, Olive Nieto, Precious Miel Espinosa, Sheenly Gener and Sadie Enriquez. It opens on August 16 nationwide at the first Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) as the only Cebuano film in exhibition. The festival will run until August 22.  (FREEMAN)