Janine Gutierrez shared how proud she felt as a Filipino when she attended the 81st Venice Film Festival for Lav Diaz's Out of Competition entry, “Phantosmia.”
The “Lavender Fields” actress, now back in the country, was still on a high during Thursday’s interview as she recounted her recent experience at the “world’s oldest festival.”
“Proud to be Filipina talaga yung pakiramdam ko dun,” Janine said. “At the red carpet, there was a flag for each nationality that was part of the Venice film festival this year. Nagpa-picture talaga ako kasi may flag tayo.”
“We were just a small delegation from the Philippines, but there, we were all treated as equals. During our presson, we were thinking, ‘Oh my god, the other day, Angelina Jolie held her presscon here.’ Nakakatuwa lang na everybody there loves films, they’re into films, they’re into actors and actresses. It was a happy environment.”
She also had her share of Hollywood star-gazing at the filmfest, which attracted such A-listers as the ex-couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
According to her, “Happy na talaga ako nakapunta ako sa Venice Festival. Every day, I would see on my Instagram who were arriving like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt (though I didn’t get to see them). But I saw Julianne Moore who was next to us on the red carpet.
“Actually, the one I really talked to was Taylor Russell. She’s an actress na ex ni Harry Styles. Both of them are my idols, and I bumped into her in the hotel lobby. I tried to ask for a picture but she said ‘no’ kasi pawis na pawis daw siya, sobrang init kasi, hahaha,” she said of the reported heat wave that coincided with the festival.
One of the highlights for Janine was riding a private water taxi on the way to the festival venue.
“I was so thrilled about the water taxi because I had only ever seen it in pictures, and I’ve never been to Venice before. I was with two other delegates from the film festival. One was a director from Ukraine, and the other was a VR (virtual reality) expert from France. It was nice because we were all around the same age. When we entered the canal, I was thinking, ‘This is what Disneyland was trying to imitate.’ That’s what I felt. I was smiling and laughing to myself, and my companions were laughing at me because Venice was just so magical.”
Janine said she could now check off an item from her dream list with the Venice filmfest experience.
“That has always been my dream. Actually, even now, I still get comments, and of course, it makes me happy when people ask, ‘Why didn’t you join a beauty pageant?’ Even now, I still get asked that. But this is really my dream — to attend a prestigious festival. It’s what I’ve always wanted,” she said.
“When I was there, I met a Filipino from Venice who had a picture with Mama Guy (maternal grandmother Nora Aunor) when she attended Venice a few years ago. I didn’t know Mama Guy had been to Venice. So it’s really my dream. It feels so good that audiences from other countries are watching our films and listening to the Filipino and Tagalog (dialogue).”
Through her experience, Janine also witnessed firsthand how celebrated Lav Diaz is in the international film community. To recall, the filmmaker’s “Ang Babaeng Humayo (The Woman Who Left)” won the Golden Lion, or the top prize, at the 73rd Venice filmfest in 2016.
She shared how thrilled she was upon hearing the standing ovation after the “Phantosmia” screening.
Janine said the story is inspired by Lav’s encounters with veterans suffering from PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the synopsis, the film tells the story about an elderly soldier (Ronnie Lazaro) who is suffering from a lingering case of phantosmia, or phantom smell, an olfactory problem suspected to be connected to a deep trauma. One proposed cure is that he must confront things from his past in the military service. While being reassigned to faraway Pulo Penal Colony, he encounters characters, including Janine’s.
“What a great thing to experience after the screening when everybody stands up and claps talaga. Nakakatawa nga si direk Lav because he’s the type of person na, ‘Okay na, halika na,’ you know, very humble,” she said.
“Pero ang sarap pala ng feeling. Nakakaiyak yung feeling, when they’re clapping and standing, and everyone’s looking at you. It’s super touching.”
She also shared that 30 minutes into the screening, an audience member placed a note in front of direk Lav.
“The note said, ‘This was an absolute masterpiece,’” added Janine.
“Even while we were walking, people would stop him for pictures. Fans come from Germany just to watch the screening, so it’s really impressive. His passion is really about our culture. He always describes his films as cultural contributions.”
It has always been Janine’s dream to work with direk Lav after seeing his movies, including those with runtimes of over five hours. “Phantosmia” is four hours long. “I really wanted to work with direk Lav because I watched his films. Of course, alam ko na talagang inaabangan siya internationally. His projects are very Filipino, yet they are (being looked forward to) by foreign audiences,” she said.
“Perhaps, his motivation really is to be true to Filipino stories. Sometimes, there’s pressure that things have to be K-drama-style or Hollywood-style. But with direk Lav, it’s so simple and stripped down, and there’s also beauty in that.”
On what it was like working with direk Lav on “Phantosmia,” she said it was the “most chill” set she’s ever been in her acting life.
“Sobrang chill, as in his crew was only 12 people. So, coming from a big teleserye set, it was so quiet and it also felt like a family. There were only two transport services, so you were always together. For lunch or dinner, you’d all go down and eat together. And there was only one camera, so the setup was very different. When I started (working) again on ‘Lavender Fields,’ it felt like a new experience. I realized that it’s really great to experience two different kinds of filming.”
She has finished another film with direk Lav but can’t mention the title yet.
When asked if participating in Venice opened up her mind to go for more international projects, she said, “I really prefer to do projects here, like ‘Phantosmia,’ ‘Lavender Fields,’ and hopefully, that’s what gets discovered internationally. I mean, not really for me to move somewhere else and start a career there. I think what I want more is if I do have a project outside, it’s because of something I did here.”