An interview by
RONELO LADIAO
Earlier in April this
year, Los Angeles-based Ilonggo polymath Peter Solis Nery (he insists he’s a
Dumangasanon artist) came home to Iloilo to shoot his film, Gugma sa Panahon
sang Bakunawa, a classic love story in Hiligaynon that touches on contemporary
issues like literature and myth-making, economics and colorful local festivals,
love and its modern-day complications. On August 26, 4PM-8PM at CAP Auditorium
in Iloilo City, writer-producer-director Peter Solis Nery returns to premiere
his 2-hour obramaestra in Iloilo City, and tour it all over Western Visayas,
before finally showing it in Singapore on September 9. Meanwhile, here is a
short interview with the amazing Ilonggo director who made magic in six days:
Ronelo Ladiao [RL]:
You constantly amaze your critics and fans by endlessly reinventing yourself.
As a multi-awarded writer, did you enjoy the transition into film directing?
Peter Solis Nery
[PSN]: Just because most of my accolades come from writing, people tend to
forget my other showbiz talents, namely: acting, dancing, and directing. For
this movie, I wore more hats than just being its writer, producer, and
director. I was also the production designer, costume designer, casting
director, acting coach, location manager, finance officer, payroll master, and
hell, yeah, I also acted in this movie! So, this is more than just
transitioning from being a writer to being a film director for me, but I love
all the challenges involved in it, knowing that I still could control many
things, and turn an at-least-2.5-million-pesos-script into a high quality movie
with a budget of less than a million pesos. So, think of me when you talk of
art, high quality standards, and efficiency!
RL: What were the
risks that you took as an artist in making this movie?
PSN: The biggest risk
for me in making this Bakunawa movie was taking on collaborators. As a writer,
I basically work alone. I like total control over my materials. As a stage
director, I am also pretty authoritarian because, by experience, that’s how
I’ve always gotten the best results. But for this movie, because I am also the
director AND PRODUCER, in addition to being the writer, I had to trust my
cinematographer, and film editor, big time. I also had to compromise with some
of the acting, bearing in mind that most of my cast members are
non-professional actors. With a limited budget, scarce resources, and time
constraints (we worked with a deadline for the national film competition), I
could not be nitpicking. Otherwise, we could have been stuck with Scene One. As
a writer, I can afford to take my time to revise and repeatedly revise until I
produce perfection, but as a filmmaker, I have to respect other people’s time
(especially if my actors and crew have other projects to work on), and my
co-producer’s money.
RL: There is inherent
beauty in the exploration of literature, art, culture, myth-making, and
art-for-economics in your Bakunawa story. What inspired you to write it?
PSN: You’d be
surprised if I tell you that there is not so much inspiration in the WRITING of
the bakunawa story compared to the audacity of turning it into a movie. I think
the story of making it a movie was inspired lunacy, but I’m so glad I
ultimately did it. As for the writing, I’m always trying to write stories at
least for the yearly Palanca competitions, bakunawa is just one of them. If it
was not the bakunawa story for this movie, it could be any one of my other
stories: gay stories, magic realist stories, search for God stories. I mean,
right now as we speak, I have at least seven ready-to-shoot movie scripts in my
possession, and I have at least ten good stories that can be turned into movie
scripts, if there are interested producers out there.
RL: How did you
motivate and inspire your actors to portray their roles?
PSN: It was all in
the story. Since the roles where clearly written, the characters’ motivations
are smartly real, I thought it was fairly easy for actors to identify with the
characters. Jet Alcantara was pretty sure that my story was foul-proof so that
he decided on the butt exposure and scenes with nudity without qualms. He
played his part to the hilt as it was written, no questions asked, and
convincing him was not an easy feat for me considering that he only had minimal
screen exposure. Even when I had no idea who Eman Abatayo was while I was
writing the screenplay, he swears the story is almost a blow by blow retelling
of his own life story. As for Priscilla Fontana, I just reminded her that this
is her big break, that her future career in the film industry rests on her
performance in this particular, and mind you, her launching, movie. The other
actors in the movie, mostly my townmates from Dumangas, already knew my work
ethics and artistic integrity, so that they trust me so much that when I ask
them to bend over or jump off the cliff, they just willingly do so without any
question.
RL: Your movie is
almost perfectly cast. How did you go through with the casting of the movie
since you are actually based in L.A.?
PSN: By now, it is no
secret that the movie’s lead stars were cast online, specifically via Facebook.
I posted casting calls, asked friends for recommendations, and I started
chatting up complete strangers for the roles. I private messaged Eman Abatayo,
sent him the script, he sent me links to YouTube videos of his performances.
Jet Alcantara is another online blessing. It was just sheer luck on my part
that he agreed to do this movie with me. When you come to think of it, other
than me being a super nice person, why would Jet Alcantara even respond to my
Facebook friend request? I gave Priscilla Fontana an acting workshop in May
2010, so I knew her from way back, but I did online interviews with her, and
even had her audition key scenes from the movie via webcam. But believe it or
not, most of the other actors with speaking parts only had something like three
days to study their roles. I just grabbed most of them from the street. I think
great credit should go to my intuitive intelligence as casting director, and as
“crash course” acting coach. I certainly think I did very well choosing and
coaching the actors for my movie.
RL: Your movie has been
dubbed as the definitive Ilonggo film of the new millennium, if not in history.
What makes this movie significant for Ilonggo culture?
PSN: Gugma sa Panahon
sang Bakunawa is significant for no other reason but that it is a grand movie
production, done in the Hiligaynon language, shot in Iloilo and Guimaras, with
Ilonggo actors, made BY ME, the often discounted, but always unsinkable Ilonggo
artist extraordinare! Except for the particulars of the language and the
bakunawa character, which is distinctively part of Hiligaynon literature, I do
not think of this movie just in terms of Ilonggo culture. I think that it is
VERY FILIPINO. This is a smart, entertaining, and, say-formulaic-if-you-will,
but truly Filipino movie in the most glorious Hiligaynon language!
RL: What are your
expectations in making this movie a vehicle of introducing and endorsing
regional filmmaking?
PSN: Although the
movie was made primarily as part of the 1st Sineng Pambansa National Film
Competition of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in all honesty,
I wasn’t really thinking about advancing any regional filmmaking agenda. I was
just trying to make a damn good movie. Since I am a passionate consumer of world
cinema, or the so-called foreign language movies, or simply movies that are not
from Hollywood, I make no distinctions about regional or national
cinema/filmmaking. Because I live in the U.S. that has access to all kind of
movies, there is really no strict distinction between Hong Kong movies and
movies from mainland China or movies from Taiwan; or among Indian movies,
between Punjabi movies and Hindi movies or Tamil movies. Hell, there is not
even a distinction between Chinese movies and Indian movies; they are all ASIAN
movies! And if you push it, they are all foreign language movies!
RL: Much has been
said about the phenomenal speed of how you made the movie in six days. How did
you do it?
PSN: Phenomenal it
was, indeed! I don’t really know how we did it, but I know I could never again
make a movie of this magnitude in the same way of SIX CONSECUTIVE days. I
really thank God for how everything just fell into place. It was a miracle!
Just weeks before my week of shooting, it was raining like hell, and the hot
summer sun was most vital in the movie’s story. During our shoot, thank heaven,
there was only one day when it rained, and fortunately, it was a day for mostly
interior shots. As for the cast and crew, I know I pushed them so hard making
them work from 7 a.m. to maybe 1 a.m. of the next day, but they saw that I
never asked them for sacrifices that I was not willing to make myself. Everyone
on the set knew and saw that I was the first man up, and the last man down. I
woke up two hours before call time to prepare the scenes for the day, and I
stayed up at least an hour later than everyone to review the day’s proceedings,
and to make sure that adjustments were made in shooting schedules if we missed
anything at all. I really congratulate myself for the strategic planning of the
shooting schedule so that no actors or locations where lying around paid and
wasted. Our shooting schedule was grueling but, in fairness to me as schedule
manager, most of the actors were given enough time for catnaps during the day.
It was the technical crew and I that didn’t have the luxury of rest periods.
RL: Was shooting both
in Guimaras and your hometown of Dumangas really part of your plan?
PSN: Surely, Dumangas
was in the plan. Not only because it would be cheaper to do it there, but
especially because I wanted to honor my hometown with a historical undertaking
of making a movie there. I am not the first Dumangasanon filmmaker, I can name
at least three others right now, but it’s pretty clear that I am the most
“homegrown,” having lived in Dumangas for well over 35 years, or, at least, I
am the one name that puts Dumangas prominently on the filmmaking map. (Two
nationally recognized filmmakers are actually called “Ilonggo” filmmakers, not
Dumangasanon; and the other one is neither nationally recognized, nor truly
Dumangasanon as he only had claimed “roots” from Dumangas.) I have always
insisted to be identified as an author, filmmaker, and artist FROM DUMANGAS! To
be sure, I wanted to be the first homegrown filmmaker to make a movie of this
scale in my hometown. So yes, I am very grateful for the support of Mayor
Ronaldo Golez, the local government, and the good people of my hometown for
making my dream come true. As for Guimaras, it is a cheaper substitute for
Boracay, what can I say?
RL: How do you want
this film to be remembered by Ilonggos and movie enthusiasts?
PSN: I just want them
to remember that this is “a film by Peter Solis Nery,” that this is my first
full-length feature film. I think that should say a lot; say, for example, that
it is truly representative of my romantic and lyrical vision of the world, and
that I gave my all on this major opus because I wanted to make sure that I get
noticed as writer and director. I wanted this movie as an outstanding highlight
in my resume, as my reference material, my demo tape, my diploma film to get
future projects. I think, by now, Ilonggos should have learned that the name
Peter Solis Nery is synonymous to quality, artistic integrity, and, at least
smartness, if not down right intelligence.
RL: You have always
been a trailblazer as a personality and local celebrity, a genuine “living
Ilonggo icon,” and an unwitting inspiration for many Ilonggo young artists. How
can you inspire the young filmmakers specifically, and generally convince
Ilonggos to support regional films?
PSN: I can think of
no better way to inspire young filmmakers and to rally Ilonggos to support
regional films than by giving them an excellent example of what you insistently
call regional cinema. In all seriousness, my movie, Gugma sa Panahon sang
Bakunawa, is, I can’t say it with false modesty, an excellent movie to begin.
It has a simple, easy, formulaic even, but foul-proof story that greatly
entertains. Despite the limitations of Iloilo, which has no movie-making
industry (Where do you get an experienced grip, or sound recordist, or a boom
man? Where do you rent additional camera or lighting equipment? Is there even a
casting/talent agency in Iloilo?), it was produced with superior quality and
technical brilliance. Should my example not suffice, I pronounce there is no
hope for young filmmakers, nor for regional cinema!
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