BRET Jackson (left) and Pokwang
“Yes, I harassed him, slightly,” comedienne Pokwang confessed, although quickly adding that this happened only on the set of their film, “Mercury is Mine”—an official entry in the 2016 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
She said Bret responded to her sexual gestures by attempting to grab her breasts. “In real life, he touched nothing but pads,” recalled Pokwang, 45, adding that the “sensitive scenes” between her and the 25-year-old actor were “tastefully done.”
“Everything was implied,” Pokwang pointed out. “You should watch out for it. I promise that it won’t make you say, ‘Eew!’ Our director took care of us well.”
Pokwang’s boyfriend, American actor Lee O’Brien, plays Bret’s father in the film. “It was a good thing that he wasn’t around when Bret and I shot those scenes,” she added.
In this film by Jason Paul Laxamana, Pokwang plays Carmen, a cook who is about to close down her eatery when a young white American teenager named Mercury (Bret) approaches her and begs to work for her in exchange for shelter. She is convinced that Mercury is her lucky charm and decides to keep him for herself.
Asked how it was like to work with Bret, Pokwang said: “He’s very hardworking. He hardly had any sleep while we were filming, but he still did his best. He had a hard time putting on contact lenses. His eyes are supposed to be blue.”
Pokwang added that collaborating with Jason Paul was “a breath of fresh air. He’s young and has the most interesting ideas. At the same time, he is deep and meticulous.”
For the film, which was shot mostly in Arayat and Angeles in Pampanga, Pokwang had to learn how to cook Kapampangan dishes. “I also cooked adobong palaka (frog), which really tastes like
chicken,” she added.
“Mercury Is Mine” is Pokwang’s first independently produced film. She said she enjoyed it so much that she hoped to do another one next year. “Yes, it was tough. We worked in the middle of rice fields under the intense heat of the sun. We’re lucky to have very gracious producers. We were well-fed and were even served ice cream,” she shared with the Inquirer.
“It has always been my dream to do a Cinemalaya film. I agreed to do this without any second thoughts. I didn’t care about how much the talent fee was,” she said. “Actors should work on improving their craft, and what better way to do it than acting in an indie movie.”
Pokwang said she was able to freely express herself as an actor in this project. “I got to do here what I normally couldn’t do in any of the Star Cinema films I’ve made—[that is,] to think, and perform, out of the box. I now know why the festival is a combination of cine and malaya. We are given freedom to create worthwhile films,” she explained.
The 12th Cinemalaya runs until Aug. 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City and in select theaters in Makati, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, as well as in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Cebu.
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph