Ato Bautista thrills his way to TV

Young, talented director Ato Bautista first made waves in the local film industry via his maiden project Sa Aking Pagkagising Mula sa Kamulatan in 2005. This strong debut was followed by yet another impressive sophomore outing, Blackout, which starred Robin Padilla, but it is through his latest film Carnivore that his talent has been recognized by film aficionados making him win the Best Director award from the 2008 Cinemanila Film Festival.

The 28-year-old director is now all set to exhibit his talent to a wider market via his groundbreaking work on Thrillecine, ABS-CBN’s groundbreaking foray into the world of terror. It airs tomorrow, Nov. 2 on Sunday’s Best. It features two thriller movies he made for TV — Ang Sikreto ni Secret Admirer (Roxanne Guinoo and Zanjoe Marudo) and Karera sa Promosyon (Gerald Anderson, Maui Taylor and Bembol Roco). 

Ang Sikreto ni Secret Admirer tells the story of Tikboy (Zanjoe), an ugly, shy, but kind mailman, who is in love with Helen (Roxanne), who is nursing a broken heart. Tikboy, because of his appearance, chose to stalk his lady love until he found Helen falling in love with a secret admirer. He then decided to assume the persona of the admirer. Karera sa Promosyon, meanwhile, follows the journey of honest cop Perez (Gerald), who believes that getting a promotion will help him influence fellow cops lead moral lives.

“The material of Thrillecine is strong. It is not as strong as the movies that I do, because it is for TV, but it has a very strong message,” says the director. “I do projects that discuss personal and communal corruption and darkness. I do films with unpopular themes — those that will blow the minds and hearts of the viewers, sometimes even making them feel depressed.”   

As a director, Ato wants to offer the viewers with TV projects that are at par with world standards.

“I never stop updating myself,” he adds. “I study other countries’ culture and filmmaking. I make sure that I innovate and challenge myself to always do something better.”

The young director’s commitment to his craft is very apparent in his three movies, which have reaped awards not only for himself, but also for his stars. Carlo Aquino won Best Actor awards in the Third Golden Screen Awards for Sa Aking Pagkagising sa Kamulatan and the 2008 Cinemanila Film Festival for Carnivore.

Thrillecine, written by Shugo Praico, also serves as an avenue for stars, Roxanne, Zanjoe, Nina Jose and Maui, to explore unconventional roles that would exhibit their depth as actors.

“This is ABS-CBN’s first foray into the suspense-thriller genre,” says Business Unit head Enrico Santos. “It is the network’s way of offering something new to its kapamilya here and abroad.”