Rocco Nacino back on the indie route

NORA Aunor encourages Rocco Nacino (left) to match her intensity in their scenes together.

Rocco Nacino was 10 years old when his family returned to Manila from Singapore, where his father had worked as an engineer at Texas Instruments.

The kid spoke only English and Mandarin and thus struggled with the Filipino language and the school subject Panitikan (Literature).

“I had a difficult time understanding ‘Ibong Adarna,’” Rocco, now a Nursing graduate, said of the 18th-century epic (said to have been authored by Jose de la Cruz aka Huseng Sisiw) “I would often cry, frustrated and frightened that I would flunk the subject.”

As luck would have it, a decade and a half later, the GMA 7 actor got the offer to play the lead role in the movie adaptation of “Ibong Adarna,” directed by Jun Urbano, best known as the satirist Mr. Shooli.

“I accepted the movie because it reminded me of my childhood,” he explained.

Rocco described his director as a live wire. “He is a senior citizen, but he’s energetic. For a scene at the Banaue Rice Terraces, he climbed 700 steps with us.”

He lauded his director’s collaborative work style, saying, “He is open to suggestions.” Rocco saw the film with the rest of the team in a sneak preview. “The CGI (computer-generated imagery) is first-rate. I’m sure kids will enjoy it.”

“Ibong Adarna” opens in theaters August 20. The director earlier told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the fantasy-adventure flick had been endorsed by the Department of Education.

Nora’s aura

In Rocco’s other coming movie, Joel Lamangan’s Cinemalaya entry “Hustisya,” he has a lot of screen time with Nora Aunor.

He was initially intimidated by the award-winning actress, he said. “She has such a powerful aura, that I had trouble in our scenes together. I play a high-powered lawyer, but I always felt small next to her. Direk Joel had to remind me repeatedly to exude more confidence.”

La Aunor gently encouraged her younger costar to give his best. “Her eyes speak volumes,” Rocco said. “She urged me to  match that intensity.”

To prepare for the part, the actor hung around a local court for three days, observing lawyers and judges.

“Fortunately, the first hearing I attended was of a human-trafficking case, the very subject of our movie,” Rocco related.  “That resulted in a long list of traits that, I decided, my character should possess.”

“Hustisya” is his second Cinemalaya movie. Keen observers of the annual independent film festival remember his breakthrough performance in “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa” in 2011.

In August, “Hustisya” opens the 10th edition of the fest.

Must be fate

Interestingly, Rocco was Lovi Poe’s escort at the Cinemalaya awards night in 2010, when she won Best Actress for “Mayohan.”

AFTER Europe, Rocco and Lovi Poe will explore Japan.

Even then they already made a handsome couple, but the budding romance got stalled.

“We got caught up in our respective careers,” he admitted. “But when we got the chance to work together (in the GMA 7 soap ‘Akin Pa Rin ang Bukas’ last year), our friendship bloomed.” They enjoyed a brief European holiday last Holy Week.

Rocco readily admits that Lovi is his inspiration, the reason he works hard but finds time to stop and smell the roses. “Next year, we will visit Japan,” he said. “Lovi wants to see cherry blossoms.”

Career-wise, everything’s coming up roses for Rocco as well. For his role as a crusading mayor in the GMA News TV series “Bayan Ko,” Rocco received the Hiblang Huwaran award from the Philippine Pediatric Society.

“I am happy with my pace,” Rocco declared.

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