From "Manila" to Cannes

We’d like to share with the readers of The Freeman a personal report made by our good friend Senedy Que, an award-winning screenwriter, who was part of the Philippine delegation to this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Titled “From Manila to Cannes,” this is his personal report on the film “Manila”:

May 19 – Cannes, France. As the closing credits of “Manila” rolled during the film’s world premiere here at the Cannes International Film Festival, I saw my name being acknowledged. Film Development Council of the Philippines’ Digna Santiago and Manet Dayrit—who were seated next to me—asked what my involvement in the film was. I was not sure at first, but then I suddenly recalled how it all began…

Director Adolfo Alix, Jr. was my co-writer for several screenplays (“Small Voices,” “Homecoming,” and “Beautiful Life”) under the direction of Gil M. Portes. Sometime in 2007, he casually mentioned about wanting to meet with Piolo Pascual to propose a film project entitled “Manila.” It was a twin bill remake/homage to Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila By Night” and Lino Brocka’s “Jaguar” to be co-directed by Adolf with Raya Martin. 

Having worked with Piolo in several ABS-CBN television shows and being in the same Sunday fellowship group, I have known the actor for over a decade now. He has been a friend and a ‘savior’ in more ways than one.

In one of our earlier conversations, Piolo has mentioned about his desire to do more varied and challenging roles in movies. He further noted that his new contract with Star Magic allows him to do a project outside of his mother studios, ABS-CBN and Star Cinema. It was as if the stars suddenly aligned for both parties and I was the humble catalyst that would bring them together.

At that point, Direk Adolf has already made a few independent films, gradually gaining respectability in the industry. Piolo has heard of him, but unfortunately, he admits that he has not seen any of Adolf’s works. I assured Piolo that if he will do an indie project, Adolf is the right director to tap. He has shown a deft mastery of the craft in his first two films, “Donsol” (an Oscar entry of the Philippines) and “Kadin” (a Cinemalaya entry that year). Apparently, Piolo was convinced by my recommendation because barely a week later, he agreed to a Sunday night meeting at his condo unit.

Adolf, together with co-director Raya Martin and producer Arleen Cuevas arrived promptly. As they presented Piolo with the concept, storyline, and a screenplay draft of “Manila,” it was evident that the actor was excited about the possibilities. But alas, there was one major hindrance: his schedule. 

Piolo was about to begin taping his new teleserye with Angel Locsin (“Lobo”) which required a gruelling thrice-a-week schedule from him. Initial hopes were shattered, but Adolf, Raya, and Arleen did not give up. They tried to come up with a replacement for Piolo Pascual, but in the end, they decided that it was Piolo or nothing. They could not imagine anyone else portraying the roles originated by William Martinez and Phillip Salvador in “Manila by Night” and “Jaguar” respectively.

Months had passed when suddenly, during a group trip to Batanes in December of 2007, Piolo recalled the “Manila” project. He told me that he likes to pursue it if some revisions were made on the script. He wondered if Adolf and Raya had proceeded to make “Manila” without him.

I immediately found out that they have not. In fact, they were praying that Piolo would still agree to do it. I set up a second meeting among them and this time, more concrete plans were laid out. By early 2008, the script was polished and Piolo had agreed to co-produce the film with MJM Productions’ Edgar Mangahas. They shot the film whenever Piolo had a free time in between his teleserye tapings and concerts abroad. It was a painstaking and arduous shoot, but with a common passion and faith in the project, Piolo, his co-producers, and his directors persevered.

On April 23, 2009, Adolf and Raya received an email from the Cannes International Film Festival, informing them that “Manila” has been officially included in the line-up of films to be presented out-of-competition at this year’s festival. 

On May 19, 2009, Adolf, Raya, Arleen, and Piolo walked the red carpet with pride as they made their way to the world premiere of “Manila.” And as the closing credits rolled, I could not be more than happy to have a small role in the beginning and in the completion of what is to become an important Filipino film.

* * *

We had a chance to interview Sid Lucero before he left for Cannes last week. We visited the set of an indie film titled Sabong, wherein Sid is one of the lead actors. The son of Mark Gil is beaming with pride and is excited of his trip to Cannes where the Raya Martin film “Independencia” was set to be shown.

“There’s a heady feeling because not just one but five Filipino films had made it into Cannes. Whether it is exhibition or in competition, it’s there. The first thing that hit me, you know, we are from a Third World country but we can actually make a mark in the film industry. We are getting noticed and what makes me proud of all is that I am part of a project that is competition there and we are being invited. Ang pinaka-concern ko lang, I am Pinoy and I am going there. That’s the happiest feeling of all,” said the actor.

Sid added he never imagined that he’d be going to Cannes one day. “For me the happiest part of the job is the job itself. I never thought I’d go to another country because of film. I never thought be of this,” said Sid who had been to Greece for a film festival where he also won as best actor for “Selda.” He also went to Japan where “Donsol” was shown.

“Being in these film festivals make me feel good about our film industry is doing well. What I don’t understand is that why, up to now, hindi natin ma-get na mas substantial ang independent film. I guess that’s the standard of the world. I don’t believe we should make films for our standards.”

While in Cannes, Sid is looking forward to meeting the directors and actors. “I’m a big fan of Michel Gondry. He directed The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and a lot of music videos. I follow his work a lot,” he added. He also hopes to meet Quentin Tarantino while in Cannes.