Ronnie’s many ‘firsts’

MANILA, Philippines - Ronnie Lazaro let out a hearty laugh when asked about his lengthy and torrid kissing scene with Kiko Matos in the indie movie Edna which Ronnie himself directed.

Ronnie’s character, who is married to an OFW, is gay and having a secret dalliance with his godson played by Kiko.

“It’s my first screen kiss, and my first gay movie,” Ronnie said with a laugh. “I remember when I was doing the kiss scene with Kiko and I noticed na parang mahaba na yung scene at walang sumisigaw ng cut. When I pulled away from Kiko, I told the crew, ‘Bakit hindi kayo sumisigaw ng cut?’ Ang sabi nila sa akin, ‘Hindi ba ikaw ang director? Eh ‘di dapat ikaw ang sumigaw ng cut?’ And I realized oo nga no, I was laughing and laughing,” Ronnie told The STAR during the world premiere of Edna held at the CCP recently.

“That scene took some takes, I remember Kiko and I just washed our mouth after kissing. But seriously, that scene was not done for shock value, the scene was necessary in the movie,” Ronnie reiterated.

He also pointed out that Edna is far from being a gay movie — it is a jarring take on the travails of an OFW the moment she comes home and a harsh reality sets in.

Edna, a caregiver, returns home after working in Canada for 10 years and finds out that the son she sent to med school did not become a doctor but instead a basketball coach instead at the hospital. Her daughter, on the other hand, whom she thought was studying to become a lawyer, is a mistress who supports her boyfriend and his two children. Meanwhile, her beloved youngest son is maltreated by her sister-in-law, and not cared for as her relatives made her believe. Compounding her misery is the discovery that her husband is gay and spent all her hard-earned money on his lover.

When Edna confronted her husband about all these, all he could muster was “Eh, kasi ang layo mo, ayaw ka namin mag-alala.”

Ronnie said Edna, evaluated and graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board, presents an OFW story in an honest and brutal depiction.

“One of the members from the CEB said ang tapang ng movie n’yo. But you see these things do happen in real life. Edna has a message and I hope it hits its mark,” Ronnie said.

Shot in Tagaytay for seven days, the movie has no commercial run yet, but Ronnie is hopeful that it could be included in December’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

“I want people in the provinces to see my movie. I wish Edna could have its run in Cebu, Davao, Bicol, etc. Edna is not just an art film; it presents what is happening in real life, it has emotions. I know that it can affect people and inspire,” he said.

The 57-year-old thespian said that being a filmmaker is not something that he planned. He also didn’t think that it was a natural path to take, given that he’s been an actor for four decades already.

“Everything just happened. I never wanted to be a director, it just happened, it’s destiny, I was an accounting major in La Salle and who knew I’d be in theater and films? I also didn’t plan to marry a foreigner but my wife is a Spanish woman. I think it’s written already. Destiny has brought me here,” Ronnie enthused.

Ronnie has charted a career spanning five decades, starting in 1977 with his first movie Captive Virgins. He has done over 50 movies and won two Gawad Urian awards for Best Actor (Affliction) and Best Supporting Actor (Bagong Buwan).

One of the finest character actors in the country, Ronnie has received accolades abroad for his thespic talents. The short film Anino, where he played the lead, received the Palme d’ Or in Cannes Film Festival in 2000.

Ronnie added that he enjoyed doing Edna and for his next film, he hopes to do another psychological thriller.

As a first-time director, Ronnie shared that the most important thing he learned is to always be prepared. “As a director, you get drained and it’s very important that before you go to the shoot, you’ve already done your homework,” he said.

Playing the lead role in the movie is Irma Adlawan, who earned kudos for her brilliant portrayal as the tormented OFW Edna. The movie also stars Nicco Manalo, Sue Prado, Mara Marasigan, Micko Laurente and Frances Pakil. It is produced by Tony Gedang, whose earlier film Ataul for Rent, starring Joel Torre, Jaclyn Jose and Ronnie, has screened and competed in nine international film festivals such as the Montreal World, Udine Far East, Puchon, Chennai, Kolkata, Festroia, Pune, Kerala and Cairo.

Ronnie is currently working on a saga titled Heremias, with Filipino director Lav Diaz (who recently won the Golden Leopard for Best Film for Mula Sa Kung Ano Ang Noon at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland), the first part of which has been shown for exhibition at the 23rd Turin Film Festival.