Jericho Rosales auctions ‘sentimental’ items to benefit displaced film workers
MANILA, Philippines — TV host Drew Arellano raised P73, 800 after auctioning off fellow actor Jericho Rosales’ “sentimental motorcycle gear and other cool stuff” in an online bidding for the benefit of Lockdown Cinema Club, which supports 1,500 film workers displaced by the ongoing Luzon lockdown due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In his Instagram post, Drew said the winning bidders get a proof of donation from the recipients themselves.
Lockdown Cinema Club is a coalition of independent Filipino filmmakers who wish to reach and help their colleagues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The club aims to raise funds for daily wage film industry workers in the country.
Workers affected by the crisis include crew members, electricians, caretakers, camera men, artists, post-production assistants and everyone who is vital in creating a film. Majority of them are freelancers and are compensated on a per project basis.
To raise funds, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, production designers, production managers, film editors and film students will showcase their best works online and for free via https://giff.ph/watch/.
Film enthusiasts and audiences from all walks of life can visit the page to stream, enjoy their favorite films and take part in raising funds through donations via GCash.
As of April 7, the initiative has extended aid to over 1,000 film workers, according to Globe, which supports the cause. The goal is to raise P3 million in the succeeding weeks of the extended ECQ.
Jericho on finding the right balance
Since winning the title “Mr. Pogi” in 1996, Jericho has grown before the eyes of millions of Filipinos. Today, apart from being a full-fledged actor, Echo is also a noted singer, established businessman and a loving husband, among other real life roles he plays.
Along with being committed to his craft and personal life, the first Great Taste Brown Barako coffee endorser makes it a point to live a meaningful, well-balanced life. His lengthy showbiz stint has taught him the value of pursuing his career along with other endeavors to keep his passions aflame.
As a multitalented artist who spent most of his young adult years in the limelight, Echo has explored different directions before he met himself holistically. Sharing how he remains creative and true to who he is, Echo replied, “When you’re true to yourself, it’s not really a problem to be creative. Things just naturally come in, and you’ll be surprised to have a lot of options. That’s how it has been it for the last two decades.”
Jericho has played many film and TV roles, but if he were to choose one that he would always go back to as it left such a huge impact on him, Echo said that it would probably be the role of Lieutenant Ricarte in Marilou Díaz-Abaya’s “Bagong Buwan.”
“One scene that has always stuck with me was when he was shouting, ‘Ceasefire! Ceasefire!’ To me it was his call for peace. It had so much to say about our society and the world that we’re living in.”
Recently, Echo’s latest film, “Basurero,” made its world premiere in competition in October 2019 at the 24th annual Busan International Film Festival in South Korea where Asian Film Festivals named it one of “10 short films you cannot miss.”
The film continued its critically-acclaimed festival run in competition at the 50th annual Tampere Film Festival last March 4 to 8 in Tampere, Finland. Tempere is among the most important short film fests in Europe, attracting more than 30,000 attendees.
“Basurero” marks the directorial debut of Filipina-American filmmaker Eileen Cabiling, who also penned the original short screenplay. The film also includes Jae-Hyuk Lee as director of photography. Lee was the lighting director for the Korean unit of “Okja” and “Black Panther.”
A poetic, neo-realist, short film, “Basurero” tells the story of an urban Manila fisherman, Bong (Rosales), who, with few fish left in the sea, struggles to survive. Desperate for cash, he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous undertaking, caught in the net of the country’s unrestrained and violent war on drugs.
With nowhere to turn, he becomes a “basurero” (garbage man), working in the anonymity of night to dump the bodies of drug dealers and users killed by authorities, that they call “trash.” Wracked with guilt and fear, Bong feverishly seeks a way out.
“Basurero,’ said Cabiling, is a fictional expose inspired by actual events — with human rights groups putting the death toll as high as 27,000 since 2016 — and a story anonymously related to Al Jazeera by Filipino fishermen, who told of widespread human rights abuses among the nation’s most vulnerable in an unprecedented and unchecked crackdown, with officials “playing both sides of the drugs war.”
His role in “Basurero,” said Echo, is not far from who he is in real life.
As one who loves the beach and surfing, Jericho has done several coastal cleanups in various areas nationwide together with partner organizations.
When asked if he has any advocacies he feels strongly about, Echo proudly shared, “It’s a lot of things, and one concern is the environment.”
Although for him, one should first be a person who cares, before becoming an advocate.
“I guess, the greatest advocacy that I have is just care. We can do so many things, but it’s all deeply-rooted in caring and loving,” Echo said.
“It may not look like it’s a lot, but being mindful and learning how to coexist encompasses everything, and that alone makes a great difference.”
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