A full-length psychological thriller, done in the mold of the late Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and starring by an all-Filipino cast, has met a resounding success here, raising possibilities of a re-run at the theaters with plans for entry into international film festivals.
Lamentasyon (Filipino vernacular for lamentation), focuses on and raises awareness about mental health concerns among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who work thousands of miles away from their comfort zones and have to deal with the challenges it presents on a daily basis.
Issues that OFWs could relate to watching the movie include the notion among relatives back home that those working abroad are living the life; as well as that of incessant requests for money from loved ones in the Philippines who are quick to disown once turned down. Both could have its bearing on an OFW’s state of mind, especially when faced with problems of his own, experts say.
‘Phenomenal’
According to Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, ABS-CBN’s KTX extended its streaming run of the movie – from April 9 to 11; to April 15 to 19, 2021 – owing to its “phenomenal performance in the streaming service.”
“In my discussions with KTX, they said the performance of the film in the streaming service was phenomenal especially for an independent non-mainstream project,” said Cortes.
“This proves, he added, “that the artistic elements provided by Overseas Filipinos are indeed worthy of note and definitely mai-pagmamalaki sa mundo,” he added.
The movie was helmed by Director Chino Pereira, a former OFW-turned-fulltime-film-maker, who has directed short films for the biennial Dubai Film Festival (DFF) and the Emirates Short Film Festival (ESFF), the latter of which he had won Best Director award for his entry, Kaarawan (Birthday) which was named Best Film.
Kaarawan, was also finalist in the Los Angeles Cinefest and IndieWise in Miami, Florida. It was also selected as finalist at the 2017 Am Egypt Film Festival.
Full length category
Pereira said there were talks to have Lamentasyon submitted as entry to international film festivals under the feature length category. He said there is also a possibility for a re-run at Reel Cinema Al Ghurair Mall in Deira, Dubai where it was shown on April 8 and 9.
“Plan po namin (to submit as entry) pero pag-uusapan pa kung saang film fest (We are planning, but are still deciding on which film fest),” said Pereira, who started out as sales assistant at Dubai Duty Free (DDF) in 2008, where his talent was noticed, resulting to his promotion as creative specialist.
“Confident enough naman po na at least ma-nominate. Sobrang confident po ko na yung naging performance ng mga lead actors ay talagang may mararating. (I am confident enough that the film will at least be nominated. I have full confidence on the performance of the film’s lead actors),” Pereira said of the Lamentasyon’s chances at the festivals.
He said that judging from what he saw during the showing, “sobrang nagandahan sila.” (The audience liked it so much.)
“I think if there will be a word-of-mouth from the community, posible po na may rerun. (It’s possible to have a re-run),” he added.
Peirera’s passion for film-making has its roots in college where he took up Mass Communication at Adamson University in Manila. “I was one of the theater directors during my teatro days at the university. ‘Dun ko natutunan ang directing and acting. (That’s where I learned directing and acting.),” he said.
Cast
Lamentasyon’s cast are all OFWs, except for Dr. Dr. Yasmin Balajadia-Cortes, the consul general’s spouse.
The cast’s current day jobs range from being accountants to waiters and bartenders, office secretary, professional dancer, singer, and comedians.
Half the actors were jobless when shooting started some 10 months ago, according to Pereira, who co-wrote the script with Engelbert Chua, also a fixture in the community’s creatives scene.
Main cast includes Jiro Tejero, Arnold Briones, Vhie Laurilla, Mariah Jewel, Virgo Cueto, Rachelle Melchor, Engelbert Chua, Dr. Yasmin Balajadia-Cortes, Kevin Ocampo and Mark Diokno. – Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.