Poetry propels ‘Ang Sayaw…’ to triumph

Indie director Alvin Yapan said he made his film, “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa,” to make poetry more accessible to—and enjoyable for—ordinary people.

“I’m a professor of Philippine literature. The usual comment I hear about poetry is that it’s inaccessible and difficult to understand,” said Yapan, who is also an award-winning fictionist. “[But with this movie], after every screening I’ve attended, may mga nagtatanong where they can buy the book that contains the featured poems. Sadly, there’s not one book that has all of those.”

The film features dance interpretations of the works of feminists/poets Rebecca Añonuevo, Benilda Santos, Merlinda Bobis, Joi Barrios, Ruth Elynia Mabanglo and the late Ophelia Dimalanta. “The fact that viewers ask about the pieces is already an achievement for me,” the director pointed out.

“Sayaw” tells the story of Marlon (played by Paulo Avelino), who is secretly in love with his teacher Karen (Jean Garcia). When Marlon learns that Karen is also a choreographer, he asks the help of his classmate Dennis (Rocco Nacino) to teach him the basics of dancing.

The three lead actors trained under renowned choreographer Eli Jacinto.

Yapan first teamed up with producer Alemberg Ang in the 2009 Cinemalaya entry “Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe.” In 2010, they released “Gayuma.”

“Sayaw” won best cinematography and best original music in the 2011 Cinemalaya. It represented the country in the 31st Hawaii International Film Festival.

Yapan and Ang recently brought “Sayaw” to the Inquirer offices in Makati City for a special screening. The movie opens in cinemas nationwide on October 26.

The two sat down for a chat with members of the Inquirer Film Club, along with associate producer Gaye Ace Domingo, production manager Tonee Acejo and dancer/choreographer Jacqui Jacinto. Here are excerpts:

Tell us about the poems.

Alvin: Anim na tula, isa lang ang English, written by Ophelia Dimalanta. The subtitles are official translations of Rebecca Añonuevo’s poems in Filipino.

How did you choose the poems?

Alvin: I really like these top feminist poets. I picked from their collections of love poems. Meron naman silang mga tula na magaganda talaga at puwedeng basahin ng mga ordinaryong tao, kahit hindi students of literature.

Some of the poems sound like they were written by men.

Alvin: It’s the first time that anyone noticed that. That’s another reason I made this film, [to showcase] feminist poems that can also be interpreted through a male perspective.

Alem: Actually, it’s LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgenders) and homosexual issues seen through the lens of feminist poetry.

What about the singers?

Alem: They’re Alvin’s students, Victor Robinson III and Nicole Judalena.

The last song was hypnotic.

Alvin: That was a Humadapnon epic chanter from Iloilo. The composer, Christine Juico, studied Panay epics.

Alem: It’s a poem by Añonuevo, chanted in the Humadapnon style.

Alvin: But it’s based on a real epic.

What was it like working with Jean?

Alvin: She’s one of the nicest people [I’ve met]. She sought us out after Manny Valera (her manager) made her read the script. When she met with us, she said she’d do anything to get the role.

Well, she has a dancer’s body.

Alem: She said she took ballet for a year when she was young, and that she was recalling the stance [when we were filming].

Alvin: Rocco didn’t need much work, either; he’s really a dancer. I really picked him to play Dennis.

Alem: I chose Paulo to play Marlon. They read for us during the audition.

You did not even look at them dance?

Alvin: There should be magic when reading poetry. Kapag walang intellect, makikita sa mata; ’pag walang brilliance, ’di lalabas sa screen. There are parts in the movie na puro tula. ’Yung binasa ni Paulo, “Kontra Punto” by Ophelia Dimalanta, ang pinabasa namin sa kanila for the audition. We used it in the scene where they dance the tango.

Was it difficult to edit the film?

Alvin: It took us 24 hours, initially, to edit that three-minute dance.

Alem: Then we edited two or three more times. ’Yong litanya ni Jean-Paulo, Paulo-Jacqui, that was edited so many times also.

There’s a scene where the MRT train whizzes by.

Alvin: That was one of the most difficult to shoot.

Alem: We really waited for the train. Tonee was on one side of the building; I was on the other. Sisigaw kami, “May tren na, action!”

Why did you want the train?

Alvin: For character.

You mentioned that you screened in Miriam College and the viewers were screaming in parts?

Alem: It was the first time we screened it in an all-girls school. Grabe sila! Pati tula tinitilian nila. Nakikinig talaga sila. One of the poets, Rebecca, was the one who arranged that for us.

What’s your target market ba?

Alem: It’s an LGBT film, so our primary target is the LGBT crowd. But since we don’t show nudity and it’s not ostracizing—’di siya dalawang lalaking maghahalikan—nag-spill over na rin sa audience that now finds it acceptable that such a relationship exists.

How much time did the actors have to learn to dance?

Jacqui: I was very surprised with Paulo. We didn’t expect much from him. As it turned out, it was so easy to make him move. Rocco already knew about technique.

Alem: Paulo said he wouldn’t make another dance film after this. But even Rocco didn’t find it easy. Each dance took 16 takes. And they had just a few months to prepare.

Alvin: Sir Eli adjusted the choreography according to the actors’ skills. I also told him beforehand that I didn’t want acrobatics.

Is he happy about the results?

Jacqui: My dad is semi-retired. But he was so interested in the film, he went out of his way. He rarely goes out anymore but he would go to FEU (Far Eastern University, where much of the movie was shot) and stay the whole day. His usual bedtime is 8 p.m., but while filming he’d be up with the production crew until 4 a.m.

In terms of casting, this film seems sort of between mainstream and indie.

Alem: That’s what we intended—kahit nahirapan kaming ayusin ang schedules.

Alvin: Gusto nga namin ni Alem, next time isa lang mainstream actor, tapos papalibutan namin ng indie actors and we’ll see how he survives. Magandang formula din ’yon.

Don’t you have a project for Regal Films?

Alem: Mother Lily (Monteverde, Regal matriarch) has asked us to pitch a story. I also gave Roselle (Monteverde’s daughter) a screener for this one and she liked it.

At the Cinemalaya fest (in July), Mother Lily watched “Sayaw,” fell in love with it, and gave you P100,000.

Alvin: Sabi niya, ito raw ’yong best picture bet niya. Baka natuwa siya, kasi nung nanood siya, nagtitilian ang audience.

What did you do with the P100,000?

Alem: Pinambayad ng utang. ’Di pa nga bayad lahat. Sabi ni Mother, nakaka-relate siya, kasi noong nag-uumpisa siya, she was also borrowing money from friends.

How much did “Sayaw” cost?

Alem: P3 million—because the Cinemalaya contract pegs the ceiling at P3 million—in cash. We are thankful for resources we got in kind. FEU was free. Some of the equipment, we used for free. Post-production by Optima was free. Sina Tonee, Alvin, Gay, ’di rin binayaran. I don’t know kung binayaran siya ng tatay niya. (Laughs.)

The MTRCB permit alone cost P10,000. If you want it screened by the CEB, that’s another P40,000. If you have to rent a projector, that’s P20,000 a day. Add to that the costs for posters and advertising.

Alvin: Ang tanong ko nga nga kay Alem, is it worth all the trouble?

Alem: Okey lang na winaldas ko ang pera ko diyan, but I still want to have full control of the film. When we started this, we did not expect to earn back what we spent. In fact, I kept saying that even my retirement funds, andiyan na, kaya kailangan ko na ulit magtrabaho. I had to close a lot of my bank accounts for this.

Didn’t you know that you might recoup your investment once you hit the foreign festivals circuit?

Alem: Actually, it was disheartening because what we were told was that this isn’t a typical festival film.

Alvin: We didn’t know how to position ourselves, knowing this isn’t typical mainstream, either.

Alem: So we were surprised that we were even invited to Hawaii, although people told us this would do well there because of the culture. Someone also talked with us, someone connected to a European festival, and said that between this and “Gayuma,” mas nagustuhan nila ’yon. What we didn’t expect this film to do was open doors for us in the mainstream world. ’Di naman talaga namin bread and butter ang gumawa ng pelikula.