Firefly tells a familiar, fantastic narrative for all to enjoy

MANILA, Philippines — The protagonist is a 10-year-old child in search of an island inhabited by fireflies. This emanates from his mother’s engaging and rich accounts that have captured and enriched the young boy’s imagination.

He bravely sets out on a road trip and meets adults as allies to find out the truth behind such a fantastic and marvelous phenomenon and place. The journey will be filled with pitfalls and detours.

Possibly, at the end, the seemingly children’s tale offers an adult realization that will shape the child’s future and sense of what is real from the reel, and vice versa.

Recollecting and reflecting on past memories come into play.

This is what one could gather and piece together from the trailer of Firefly, a GMA Pictures and GMA Public Affairs entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which stars Euwenn Mikaell and Alessandra de Rossi as son Tonton and mother Elay in the film, directed by Zig Dulay.

“For me, it’s the entirety,” said direk Zig when asked about the aspects of Firefly he is proud of in a recent press conference.

He added that he takes pride in taking on a film, which he deemed challenging because “bago sa akin yung genre, bago sa akin yung porma, bago sa akin yung kwento (the genre, the form, and the story were all new to me).”

Firefly, which employs magic realism to tell the film narrative and immerse audiences in it, is a stark contrast from his previous works, if one may take a look back, as he suggested.

“Hinamon ko ang (aking) sarili (kung) kakayanin ko ba ito (I did challenge myself if I could do this),” added he, whose popular works are the films Paglipay and Black Rainbow, and the TV series Maria Clara at Ibarra, according to his team.

Aside from that personal feat as a filmmaker, Zig treats cinephiles and moviegoers to this kind of cinematic experience.

“Tignan nila, panoorin nila kung paano napalaki yung buong pelikula, kung paano tayo nagpasyal sa iba’t-ibang lugar, kung paano naiparamdam dun sa mga tao yung journey na pinagdaanan mismo ni Tonton bilang bida (You know for them to see and watch how the film is told and develops, and how they travel visually to different places, and how the audiences feel about the journey Tonton has taken),” said Zig, who takes delight in the idea of sharing this piece about the familiar bond between mother and son, and the picturesque landscape of the Bicol region, which is the playground for Tonton.

For Alessandra, the actress said she is proud to have done another beautiful story that “will leave a lot of marks and questions (for the audiences after watching it).”

“Ang description ko nga kanina (my description of the film) is the greatest love of all, ang pagmamahal ng isang ina at ang pagmamahal ng isang anak sa kanyang ina (which refers to the love between mother and child),” added she.

“Script pa lang, maganda na siya, sa totoo lang. Tapos nung na-shoot, ganun pa rin, ‘tas nung napanood ko, maganda pa rin,” said Alessandra, who can attest to how impressive Firefly is, from reading the script and filming its scenes to showing it on a big screen via an advance screening.

“We really planned to enter this year because this is the comeback year for GMA Pictures,” said Nessa Valdellon, SVP for GMA Pictures. “It’s been years since we started to produce, and we really wanted to make a statement. We’re coming out with a worthwhile, thought-provoking, and inspiring movie. We gave our best, and it’s made with so much love.”

Now that we are in the new normal, the public is encouraged and expected to watch Filipino movies inside the cinema. Firefly is GMA’s contribution to that collective and concerted efforts of other entries.

“I think a lot of us miss the experience of watching movies together in a dark cinema with a big screen in front,” said Angeli Atienza, GMA Public Affairs senior AVP and Firefly screenwriter. “That’s what we were thinking when we were shooting Firefly. It has to be worthy of that experience.”

She added that it was also the goal of director Zig, cinematographer Neil Daza, the actors and fellow creatives for doing the film.

“It has to be a film for the big screen, makikita ninyo na pinalaki po talaga itong pelikula to provide that experience na gusto nating balikan sa cinema (it was made that way to provide that experience we all want to go back to in the cinema). It’s important that we support each other in the industry and also support the resurgence of movie going,” shared she. “There are so many stories that need to be told and so many ideas out there that need to be translated on the big screen.

She furthered that Firefly was “designed, shot, and produced” for audiences to experience inside the cinema, where they become part of the narrative events and incidents that unfold, from first frame to last frame, on the screen and right before their very eyes.

“We hope somehow to contribute to that excitement of going back to the movies, and we are very happy to do our part,” she concluded.

(Watch Firefly and all other Metro Manila Film Festival entries like GomBurZa, Mallari and Penduko starting tomorrow, Dec. 25 in cinemas nationwide.)