MANILA, Philippines — “Parang nabunutan ng tinik” was how Borracho Films producer lawyer Ferdie Topacio described what he felt when his movie about the deadly Mamasapano clash finally finished its principal photography, after three years in the making.
“Against all odds — two lockdowns, rigid protocols, substantial added costs due to delays, bubble accommodations, mass testing of hundreds of cast and crew, scheduling conflicts and the gun ban, we were able to complete the principal photography,” Topacio told The STAR.
Mamasapano is the big-screen retelling of what happened to the 44 Special Action Forces (SAF) troopers who were killed in the botched anti-terrorist operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.
In 2017, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte declared Jan. 25 of every year as a “National Day of Remembrance” for the fallen elite police commandos, whose deaths in the line of duty had caused public outrage.
Now in post-production, Topacio said the film is a promise to family members of SAF44. “It is a redemption of my promise to the kin of the SAF44, on those behalves I’ve been filing suit to hold liable those responsible for their deaths, to make a movie honoring the gallantry of those brave men even as their quest for justice is taking time in courts,” he said.
According to the lawyer and film buff, Mamasapano the movie will show scenes that the public has yet to read or watch in the news about the incident.
“A lot, actually. When I hired the award-winning writer Eric Ramos (2019 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Screenplay for Rainbow Sunset) to write the screenplay, I strictly instructed him to use only three sources: the Senate Committee on Public Order Report on the Massacre, the PNP Board of Inquiry Report on the same incident, and interviews with actual eyewitness. I told him, ayoko ng Maritess dito,” he said.
Mamasapano was supposed to be Borracho’s maiden offering, but due to production delays, its other film Deception — the reunion flick of Claudine Barretto and Mark Anthony Fernandez — premiered first via streaming platform Vivamax.
Meanwhile, the film stars, among others, Rez Cortez, Juan Rodrigo, Gerald Santos, Paolo Gumabao, Aljur Abrenica, Rey “PJ” Abellana, Ritz Azul, Myrtle Sarrosa, Claudine Barretto and Edu Manzano.
Edu plays now-Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the police general who led the Mamasapano probe. “Mayor Magalong has likewise been very supportive of the project since we informed him about it in 2019,” said Topacio. “In fact, he has attended two press conferences, and has met with Edu… to give inputs on how the role should be attacked. These were valuable in Edu’s realistic portrayal of Mayor Magalong, so much so that after a few minutes into the movie, you no longer see Edu.”
Magalong also visited their set in Montalban to teach actors and stuntmen about actual formations and tactical moves of the SAF. Topacio said, “While he told me that he was suitably very impressed with the scope of the film and the logistics that we mobilized for the shooting thereof — trucks, construction of bridges and actual villages, firearms and uniforms, equipment and explosives — he was even more impressed when he saw the official trailer of the movie.” Official trailer is now available on YouTube at https://bit.ly/3JaUSDs.
Here are some excerpts from the recent e-mail interview:
After various delays, how does it feel that Mamasapano the movie has finished filming?
“It was, to use a Filipino colloquialism, parang nabunutan ng tinik. Not that I did not enjoy doing the film — being my first film, it was both educational and satisfying as well — but I had wanted it done as expeditiously as possible so that I could fulfill my promise to the family of the SAF44 to honor their memory. Unfortunately, right after the formation of Borracho Films late in 2019 and the writing of the script, the pandemic intervened.”
How did you find your new director, Lester Dimaranan, and how was it working with him?
“Direk Lester was recommended to me by a mutual friend, right after Lester’s first feature film Nelia qualified for the 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival. We had a lengthy heart-to-heart talk where I bared all of my plans and vision for the film, plus my misgivings regarding another director finishing a film that another noted director had already started. Amazingly, most of our thoughts — not only about Mamasapano — but about filmmaking in general, neatly dovetailed. The man is a freaking genius!”
When is your target release date and what’s the distribution platform for the film?
“We are planning for a June playdate for the movie for two reasons: one, we are still testing the waters as far as theater attendance is concerned coming out of the extended restrictions brought by the pandemic; and two, the heroism of the SAF44 and their colleagues in the Special Action Force in general, deserves a significant release date which is June 12, Independence Day.
“We are looking, if at all possible, for exhibition in theaters nationwide. We feel that the immersive, larger-than-life experience of a movie house can give better justice to the movie, which is epic in scope and cast. Failing in that (we hope not), we can distribute it through any of the online streaming services on offer both here and abroad to reach as wide an audience as possible. The movie is, after all, about a story that is crying to the heavens to be told.”
After Mamasapano and Deception, what films are you eyeing to produce next?
“In our modest contribution, as a small outfit, to jump-start the movie industry from its present doldrums, we have two other movies lined up for the year. One is a sexy thriller called Pain, which is a cautionary tale about communist recruitment and brainwashing of our young men and women to turn them into anti-government combatants. We are now negotiating to have it topbilled by Gardo Versoza and Paolo Gumabao, and a female newcomer from the Viva Artist Agency, under a co-production with Viva.
“Another, which will be a purely Borracho-funded project, is the biopic of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the religious group Kingdom of Jesus Christ, to be entitled Thy Kingdom Come. We are tapping either John Lloyd Cruz, Gabby Concepcion, Jericho Rosales, Ian Veneracion or Arjo Atayde to play Pastor Quiboloy, as circumstances permit.”