Breaking the seal of confession—A filmmaker’s dilemma
From left: Writer-director Iar Arondaing, producer Ferdinand Lapuz, Ronwaldo Martin, Sue Prado, Karl Medina, line producer Martin Mayuga and Ruby Moreno (seated).
A young altar boy inadvertently hears the confession of a woman, who admitted that she killed someone. Can the altar boy or the priest report the crime to the police without breaking the so-called Seal of Confession, which prohibits the disclosure of a person’s confession? This, in essence, is what Iar Lionel Arondaing’s debut movie, “Sa Gabing Nanahimik ang mga Kuliglig,” is all about.
Based on a true story, Arondaing’s film is one of 10 entries chosen for the 2017 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in August. Each of these participating movies will be given a grant of P750,000.
Arondaing revealed that he was the young altar boy who accidentally heard the confession of a woman (named Magda played by Ruby Romero).
“The priest (Father Romi played by Karl Medina) forbade me to speak about the crime. He said the Church can excommunicate anyone who will violate the Seal of Confession,” he pointed out. “I’m still deliberating over it, but I’m thinking that this could be my chance to reveal what I know about what really happened in the past.”
The director disclosed: “The priest, who cannot reveal the crime, is in a dilemma as to how to bring the killer to justice without breaking what is called the Seal of Confession.” Alex Medina, Karl’s younger brother, plays a police officer, while John Servilla, the altar boy. It also features Ronwaldo Martin and Sue Prado.
“I wrote the script with Alex already in mind. We first worked together in a still-unfinished short film a few years back. I was the cinematographer. Since the cop and priest are brothers in the story, I’ve decided to cast real-life brothers as well,” he explained.
Arondaing’s “Sa Gabing Nanahimik ang mga Kuliglig” replaced “Lola Igna” by Eduardo Roy Jr., who backed out of the competition for “health reasons,” according to festival monitoring committee head Mel Chionglo.
“I’m not so much into winning awards. What I want is to be able to show how well I can translate what I wrote into film. I hope to be given the freedom to express myself through this project. After all, this is a personal experience,” the 27-year-old director pointed out.
“I got word of my inclusion in the festival only during the first week of December,” said Arondaing, who is taking up multimedia arts at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila.
“The school term has just ended then so I was able to provide and submit the required paperwork,” he related.
The director hopes to begin filming next month.
