Fatrick Tabada, Chai Fonacier among FAMAS 2018 nominees

CEBU, Philippines — Two talents from Cebu made it to the list of 2018 FAMAS nominees alongside the crème de la crème of the country’s film industry.

Actress Chai Fonacier and screenwriter Fatrick Tabada are no strangers to each other, having worked together in last year’s sleeper hit “Patay Na si Hesus,” a breakthrough Cebuano film directed by Victor Villanueva and written by Tabada.

For the 66th FAMAS awards however, Fonacier and Tabada are being recognized for their work on separate films.

Mass communication graduate and UP Cebu alumna Fonacier is a Best Supporting Actress nominee for her role as Betchai in the independent drama film “Respeto.” Directed by Alberto “Treb” Monteras II (FAMAS 2018 Best Director nominee) and co-written with Njel de Mesa, “Respeto,” as what the trailer might suggest, is so much more than hip-hop. Its themes circle around poverty-stricken Manila, and an imposing regime that our heroes seem to claw their way out of.

De Mesa drew inspiration from the works of veteran poets such as Vim Nadera and National Artists Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario. The film features a cameo by poet Vim Nadera. It stars rapper Abra, Dido de la Paz, Ybes Bagadiong, Brian Arda, Thea Yrastorza, Kate Alejandrino, and Loonie.

The award-winning film (best feature length film, Best Supporting Actor for Dido de la Paz, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound at the 2017 Cinemalaya Film Festival), was called by critic Philbert Dy as a “rather powerful examination of a generational relationship with government-backed violence.”

Thea Yrastorza, who played Connie in “Respeto,” is also nominated in the same category as Fonacier. The other Best Supporting Actress nominees are Odette Khan for “Barboys”; Adrienne Vegara for “Bliss”; Angeli Sanoy for “Bomba”; Yayo Aguila for “Kiko Boksingero”; Cristine Reyes for “Seven Sundays”; and Irma Adlawan for “What Home Feels Like.”

Fonacier was greeted by the pleasant surprise during the press conference of her new movie from Regal Films, “So Connected,” starring Janella Salvador and Jameson Blake.  “What? FAMAS? I was [nominated]? Hahaha! Thank you!” was Fonacier’s response as per a Pep.ph report.

“Respeto” dominates the 2018 FAMAS nominations, with the social realism drama nabbing 15 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It is followed by “Balangiga: Howling Wilderness” with 11 nominations and “Ang Larawan” with six nominations.

Fonacier – who plays the role of the nerdy, fashionable writer Heidi in “So Connected” – took to social media to express her surprise: “Luh na shookt ko, mehn. Nominated kuno ko’s Famas 2018 for Best Supporting Actress hihihi meow salamat.”

Meanwhile, Tabada’s visionary writing shines as his work in “Si Chedeng at si Apple” earned him a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The writer, director, and cinematographer is a mass communication alumnus from the University of San Jose Recoletos.

He is currently in Italy as “Si Chedeng at si Apple” joined Europe’s biggest largest film festival dedicated to Asian cinema. The black comedy stars veteran actresses Gloria Diaz and Elizabeth Oropesa and is vying for top honors at the 20th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.

Diaz’s performance in the film also warranted her a nomination for Best Actress in this year’s FAMAS.

The film follows the adventures of Chedeng (Diaz) and Apple (Oropesa) as they go to Cebu to chase after the former’s one true love. Much like “Patay Na Si Hesus,” “Si Chedeng at si Apple” has a dark humor and is a road trip movie.

Tabada wrote and co-directed the film with Rae Red.

“It’s more than the team could have ever hoped for,” Tabada told ABS-CBN News. “It’s a validation of sorts for fledgling filmmakers like me.”

Red shares the same sentiment saying, “It means a lot that the festival liked our film enough. We hope to be inspired and come home with more vigor to write and create more films,” she said.

Apart from Tabada, Khavan dela Cruz, Achinette Villamor, and Jerry Gracio are also nominated for their work on “Balangiga: Howling Wilderness”; Jason Paul Laxamana for “Instalado”; Antoinette Jadaone for “Love You To The Stars and Back”; Gian Carlo Abrahan for “Paki”; Treb Monteras II and Njel de Mesa for “Respeto”; and Adrian Legaspi and John Bedia for “The Chanters.”

Although currently both Manila-based, Fonacier and Tabada continue to represent Cebu in their respective fields and are vocal in their pride of heritage as evidenced in their work.

As the resurging Cebuano film industry continues its efforts, Fonacier and Tabada—among many other Cebuano visionaries who are playing the big game in the capital and making a name of their own—are living proof that Binisaya is nothing close to “baduy” and “bakya”

Recognizing Filipino cinematic talent and ingenuity since 1952, the FAMAS awards winners are selected by an independent jury composed of academicians, critics, and film practitioners led by award-winning screenwriter, novelist, and playwright Ricky Lee.

This year’s FAMAS awards night will be on June 10 at The Theatre in Solaire.