Laurice Guillen embarks on her first indie movie

Laurice Guillen shoots at home, where she keeps late husband Johnny Delgado’s paintings.

As a birthday gift to herself, filmmaker-actress Laurice Guillen enrolled in a script-writing workshop under Armando “Bing” Lao last February.

“I love learning new things and I’ve been wanting to direct an indie film for the longest time,” said Guillen.

She was supposed to shoot her first indie film three years ago, in fact, but was sidelined by work as competition director for Cinemalaya, the illness and eventual passing of husband Johnny Delgado, and two Star Cinema movies.

This year, Guillen finally made time for her pet project, “Maskara,” a tribute to Johnny.

“It’s not exactly autobiographical, but Johnny is our peg. It’s about the life and work of an artist. An actor has no other reference but his life, his memories.”

Needless to say, the film, which top-bills Tirso Cruz III and Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, is particularly close to Guillen’s heart. It marks a return to her roots—she comes full circle 30 years after her directorial debut, “Kasal.”

“I’m coming from the mainstream; the studios have their own way of working,” she explained. “I wanted to go back to the days of ‘Kasal’ and revisit the purity [of] filmmaking with total creative freedom, without compromises.”

Studying with Lao, Guillen’s aim was to learn “the ground rules, the grammar and the language of indie filmmaking.” Daughter Ina Feleo enrolled in the workshop, too. Actually, mother and daughter were cooking up a script together, which eventually became “Maskara.” Ina is acting in the movie as well, and it’s the first time that Guillen is directing her.

The filmmaker said they enjoyed the whole process, from the workshop to the shoot. “We have our moods,” Guillen said, “but after expressing our angst, Ina and I meet our deadlines.”

Her eldest daughter, lyric soprano Ana Feleo, is helping out with the music and other tasks. “We are all involved, since it’s produced by our company Pixel Grain,” said Guillen, who recently wrapped up principal photography. “Maskara” is currently in postproduction.

The last shooting day involved 30 cast members, mainly friends and family.

Guillen said she encouraged her actors—Ricky Davao, Liza Lorena, Mark Gil, Angelica Panganiban, Ali Sotto, Isabel Rivas, Fanny Serrano, Maritess Gutierrez, Rez Cortez, Rap and Renz Fernandez, Madeleine Nicolas, Telly and Arnel Acuba, among others—to “improvise” on their lines of dialogue. She explained: “They had a basic guide, but the scene wasn’t scripted because I wanted it to come out real. I was surprised by some of the anecdotes they came up with.” With this, her first indie, Guillen now knows what Cinemalaya filmmakers go through. “It’s like joining the ‘Amazing Race,’” she said.

“Maskara” is the opening film in this year’s Cinemalaya.