FEATURE:The truth and Sonny Calvento

The body is already in a state of decay, chopped up beyond recognition and left to rot. Cinemalaya 2017 entry Nabubulok begins with the crime already done. With Nabubulok, based  on a true story about a family of seven, an American husband and his Filipino wife in Antique, and Sonny Calvento’s entry into a genre locally synonymous with his father Tony — he of the ’90s crime and investigative show and now a newspaper column both called “Calvento Files” — the younger Calvento is intent on not simply retelling a whodunnit mystery.

Today, we find Calvento five years in as a writer, too, but for ABS-CBN. His most recent teleserye work being the family-focused primetime return of the Richard Gomez-Dawn Zulueta ship, You’re My Home with Arden Rod Condez. Nabubulok is him fully embracing what he grew up with.

“At age six, nakasagot na ako ng death threat,” he shares, which did not incite fear, let alone deter him from the suspense thriller and even horror genres as a child. His dad rented VHS tapes of the good stuff for him to watch and, when he was older, he was allowed to watch his TV show and, with permission, The Calvento Files movie starring Claudine Barretto and directed by Laurenti Dyogi and Ricky Lee, the latter now his mentor for film writing. “Nasanay ako. It’s become a part of me. Dahil mababaw ako as a kid na enjoy ko.”

It wasn’t until his teens that the danger entailed by his father’s work dawned upon him; he became all the more intrigued by these stories that are stranger than fiction, stories that must be told and understood. In a time of tokhang and everyday crime news being bait for Facebook shares, the stranger, real-life stories are sometimes closer to home.

SUPREME: Why did you choose to tell this story?

SONNY CALVENTO: My mentor, Armando “Bing” Lao, would always tell me that to know if your story is good enough to tell is if you feel something about it. Kung nagalit ka, naiyak ka. In an exercise from his “found story” workshop (where we get true stories and try to dramatize and narrate based on a fact sheet provided to us), I researched a lot of stories, I asked for articles from my dad; but I felt compelled by this story from my co-worker who told me about something that happened to his relative.

In the story is a seven-year-old — she’s a teenager now — tapos yung pinagdaanan niya because her parents are both flawed,  but she had to make a decision na mabuti para sa kanya, pero sa iba, baka masama. Life has many gray areas.

Why is it important to tell this story now?

It reflects what’s happening in society now. I’m challenging it. It is definitely not political. It isn’t taking sides. As a teleserye writer, I’m aware that mahirap siya i-market given na ang Filipino audience would rather forget than be reminded.

Teleseryes take up the bulk of your five-year, professional writing experience. For your Cinemalaya entry, why didn’t you take on a familiar genre?

Gusto ko talaga magsulat ng something very different sa ginagawa ko, not just the story but also the format. I wanted to do multi-POV, walang klaro na bida, shifting from one character to another. Sa kakasulat ko ng teleserye, from when I was invited to audition sa ABS-CBN after college, naisip ko, kailangan ko na ng other venues. 

Was directing something that crossed your mind before?

Being exposed to TV production, doon ako nagka interes mag direct one day, but it wasn’t my plan to direct this film. When I was shortlisted, during the interview, Direk Joey Reyes asked kung ilang taon na ako. I’m 28. He said, “That’s the perfect age to start directing.” Kinabahan ako. Cinemalaya siya eh. They require a reel kapag bagong director or to work with a co-director. I got lucky na pinagkatiwalaan ako. Na excite ako kasi yung film has its own design kaya baka mas mag work if bagong director ang gumawa.

How did you prepare for your directorial debut?

Nag focus talaga ako sa content. Most preparation nanggaling sa pagsusulat and revising the script through the help of my mentor. Sa independent film, you really feel alone in the process. Dahil yung budget mo is hindi ganon kataas, yung makukuha mo na mga tao, may iba silang ginagawa at available lang sila once nag shoot na kayo or pre-prod. Supposedly, November nag shoot na ako. Cinemalaya asked me to shoot early para makita na nila na gumagalaw na pero hindi ko rin na meet yun. Yung initial production crew na kinuha ko, hindi sila available and I had to replace them. In indie, you’re not given enough time to prepare for anything. Marami mangyayari na hindi ineexpect.

Tell us about, why you chose stars Gina Alajar and JC Santos and Hollywood actor Billy Ray Gallion to be part of your cast.

Lahat sila pinalit dahil sa conflict sa schedule. We had to cast an American actor na nakakatakot. We chose Billy because he appeared in Lost and Hawaii Five-O. I considered how to market the movie. Hindi na masyado sikat ang crime stories, siguro nung ‘90s, time nina Jessica Alfaro, kaya nag cast ako ng pang enganyo.

Gina Alajar is perfect for the material. Iba yung nabibigay niya. It’s more than what I expected. The character itself borders on ridiculous if hindi siya napunta sa tamang actress.

How has working in television prepared you for this?

Yung training ng pagsusulat ng pagsusulat talaga because writing has no formula. Naging grounded ako at familiar ako kung paano mag-isip yung core audience ng masa ng isang mainstream television network, ano pumapasok sa utak nila.

In teleserye writing, why not challenge the preference for love stories?

Love is a requirement because — according to them, anyway — yun ang universal emotion na nakaka relate ang lahat. Teleserye is an everyday experience for the lifestyle of the audience who turn the TV on as soon as they get home and watch teleseryes while cooking dinner and eating.

Did you ever get burned out?

When you invest emotions, andoon ang pagod. After every show, palagi ko iniisip na this is my last, pero pag nakapag pahinga na ako, gusto ko na magsulat ulit.

How did you approach retelling this crime story? Should we expect gore, shock?

Every day, normal na makabasa na may natukhang. Yun ang treatment ko, normalize the crime that happened — and that life goes on despite what happened.

As a writer, what lessons have you learned from your father?

He often quotes film producer Robert Evans: “There are three sides to every story. Your side, my side, the truth.” Memories shared serve us differently. This is also the thesis of my film. Based sa relationship nila sa namatay, I wanted to challenge ano ang totoo.