Ben Madilynn
Sa unang pagkakataon ay ipapalabas na sa Pilipinas ang As The Moth Flies, ang short film na tumatalakay sa mental health issues.
Sa direksiyon ng lady filmmaker na si Gayle Oblea, naging bahagi ang pelikula ng mga prestihiyosong film festivals tulad ng Brussels Short Film Festival sa Belgium, ng Little Venice Film Festival sa Italy, ng Greenwich Film Festival sa London, at ng Urban Dreams Festival sa New York sa Amerika.
Sa Brussels Short Film Festival isa sa 169 Oscar-qualifying festivals sa buong mundo, ang As The Moth Flies lamang ang nag-iisang representative mula sa Asia Pacific.
At sa gaganaping Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2024 sa September 4-8 ay kasali ito sa short film category.
GAYLE SHARES FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCES IN EUROPE
Nagbahagi si Gayle ng karanasan niya sa mga film festival sa Europa.
Photo/s: Rommel Gonzales
“Sobrang kakaiba,” bulalas ni Gayle.
“Very surreal yung feeling because iba pala yung way ng appreciation ng art doon.
“Like, people would line up. Hindi siya katulad dito sa Pilipinas na people don’t go to the cinemas anymore right after the pandemic.
“But doon, grabe yung appreciation nila. Even kids would line up, with their parents… sobrang surreal nung experience because yung appreciation talaga nila doon. They talk about the film right after… and they really invest money on their filmmakers in Europe.”
“I guess one of major key moments during the time when I was there, during our screening time, it was such a heartwarming experience because people of different races like Europeans, Americans, Filipinos, and all, right after the film, they went to me, and they said, ‘Thank you for making this film.’
“And they were crying! Like, I was caught off-guard that may mga umiiyak, lumalapit. And people cried when they were watching that.”
Photo/s: Rommel Gonzales
GAYLE SHARES HOW THE MOVIE CAME TO BE
Paano nabuo ang pelikula?
Lahad ni Gayle, “This started way back during the height of the pandemic. My sister and I, we are also dealing with our own demons and we were suffering some questions in mind like how long is this [the COVID-19 pandemic] going to be, etc.
“And we diverted our attention into something else which was to write this film. When we originally did this, we wrote an eight-episode script because this was really done for a limited series.
“That was our intention, to do a limited series because I’m currently working on a full length film called Pag-amin, and we all know naman medyo mahirap talaga kumuha ng funding for it, hindi siya biro and ang ROI [Return of Investment] hindi din joke, medyo longer than the usual.
“So sabi namin, gawa muna tayo ng script para sa isang limited series because we tried pitching the full-length but yung full-length na yun, they want to turn it into a series, ako naman I didn’t want to make it into a series.
“So sabi ko I figured, why don’t we write a limited series, like a different story?
“So, we wrote As The Moth Flies. Originally, dapat Paru-Paro ang name niya, pero nung time na yun, sumikat yung “Paro Paro G.”
Sumikat noong kasagsagan ng pandemya ang novelty/dance song na “Paro Paro G” ni DJ Sandy.
“So pinalitan namin baka ma-associate doon,” ang natatawang sinabi pa ni Gayle.
Naging therapeutic ba para kay Gayle ang paggawa ng As The Moth Flies?
“Both therapeutic and toxic at the same time,” at mulit itong natawa.
“It was therapeutic because it humbles you, it reminds you of what the goal is of this film, and that is to spread awareness and to really end the stigma particularly in our country.
“But it’s also stressful because you deal with different personalities, and at the end of the day, you cannot make use of your mental illness as an excuse.
“I’m not a fan of that. So, I feel like it was a challenge all in all that really brought us to the success of this film and its continued success in the future,” pagbabahagi pa ni Gayle na nakausap ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) noong August 26 sa Flavours Indian and Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant sa Juno St. sa Makati City.
GAYLE EXPRESSES ADMIRATION FOR EPY QUIZON
May magandang kuwento naman si Gayle tungkol sa isa sa mga artista niya sa pelikula, ang aktor na si Epy Quizon na gumanap sa pelikula bilang psychiatrist na si Dr. Oliver Sanchez.
“He is such a cool, cool Tito. Don’t quote me on the Tito,” at tumawa si Gayle.
“He’s such a cool person talaga to act with and to work with. I feel like ang advantage kasi doon because he’s also a filmmaker, an award-winning filmmaker, and he’s also an amazing, amazing actor.
“He knows both sides. Kasi paminsan kasi pag walang background sa production yung actor or actress, doon medyo tough katrabaho yung actor. Hindi ko naman nilalahat.
“Pero si Tito Epy, sobrang cool niya lang, chill. Paminsan ako na yung mainit ang ulo, pero siya yung chill lang siya.
“Sabi niya huwag masyadong alalahanin yun. At the same time, very careful din siya sa mga terminologies na ginagamit.
“And what I love about him is that he does not stop himself from really telling you or guiding me here, kasi di hamak na mas matagal na siya sa industriya.
“And he guided me on a lot of things, both in production and making sure of how I handle or talk to actors and actresses.”
At ayon pa kay Gayle, hindi tumanggap ng bayad o talent fee si Epy sa partisipasyon nito sa kanyang pelikula.
“Siyempre po, sobrang thankful ako. Kasi noong nalaman niya na biglang nag-disappearing act po yung original actress na kinuha namin tapos nakapag-shoot na kami at malaki na ang ginastos namin, sabi niya, ‘Saka mo na isipin iyan [talent fee].’
“Siya mismo nagkusa.
“Kami parang, ‘Grabe naman si Tito Epy!’ And I found out na he does that din pala talaga even with other actors. Basta gusto niyo yung script.”
Napag-alaman pa ni Gayle mula sa isa ring filmmaker na ganoon talaga si Epy.
“Sabi niya, ‘Grabe, tinulungan niya din ako.’”
Ayon pa rin kay Gayle, may pagkakataong nagtatrabaho si Epy kahit walang kapalit para tulungan ang industriya.
Kahit sa reshoot nila ng As The Moth Flies ay hindi rin tumanggap ng bayad si Epy.
“Hindi po talaga.”
Kahit raw pilit niyang binibigyan kahit honorarium si Epy ay tumanggi ito.
Epy Quizon at Cassy Lavarias, pinupuri ang acting sa Pulang Araw
GAYLE ADMITS MOVIE HAD TO BE RESHOT BECAUSE OF ORIGINAL ACTRESS’S ‘DISAPPEARANCE’
Ibinahagi ni Gayle ang dahilan ng kanilang reshoot.
“Originally when we wrote this, it was meant for a different actress, but the actress disappeared.
“Kumbaga, it was the last day of the shoot. I remember crying to Kuya Epy and kay Tito Alvin Anson [one of the producers of the film] about it.
“And the worst part is that she was paid, so when she bailed out, it was quite the huge problem to the point that it triggered an episode where I couldn’t get up off my bed.”
Kahit anong pilit ay hindi sinabi ni Gayle kung sino ang naturang aktres.
Bakit raw biglang “nawala” ang aktres?
Lahad ni Gayle, “Mahaba yung reason niya, pero in a nutshell, she got scared because there are scenes in the film na R-18 talaga.
“But what’s funny is that they read the script prior and they agreed. So, I think there was a change of heart on her part talaga kasi I think the manager also discouraged her to push through with it, noting she might not get to do commercial activities after.
Sa kabila nito ay hindi nawalan ng pag-asa si Gayle; at nakahanap siya ng kapalit sa katauhan ng indie actress na si Mina Cruz upang gumanap bilang si Tonette.
Kuwento niya, “I saw Mina Cruz, through one of the entries in the Silent Film Festival, and I said to myself, ‘Mina looks exactly like the character for my film’.
“I think it was a blessing in disguise because we were able to improve on the scenes we shot. We made it better.
“At the same time, I think the universe really want it to happen.”
Photo/s: Rommel Gonzales
Mula sa Creative Kartel, Desi Matters, at kina Happy Manila at Rav Singh, ang 15-minute short film na As The Moth Flies ay nagtatampok rin kay Boo Gabunada bilang Jett at Pam Arambulo.
