A festival for actors, too

The five feature films in the Sinag Maynila fest presented all sorts of dilemmas for the proponents—especially for some of the actors.

“Challenging,” Martin Escudero describes his role as Kaye, a transgender, in Jason Orfalas’ “Ladyfish,” but quickly adds that it had nothing to do with the high heels, shoulder-length wig and body-hugging dresses.

Martin Escudero in “Ladyfish”

“It’s because my character is based on a real person,” he explains. “I couldn’t just invent things. I wanted my portrayal to be as honest as possible.”

Escudero plays a former call-center agent who encounters discrimination—in both the professional and personal spheres.

Brenda Mage, “Ladyfish’ costar, quips, in jest: “It’s my first time to land a meaty role. I usually play gay characters who get beaten up or killed in horror movies.”

RS Francisco likewise gets to tackle his biggest role onscreen as the titular con artist in Joel Lamangan’s “Bhoy Intsik.”

For the shoot, Lamangan took his cast and crew to a cemetery in Cavite. It was an immersive experience, in more ways than one.

Francisco was “shocked to see that there was an entire community of people sleeping … and living among the dead in the cemetery.” He admits that he was a tad nervous at first. “When Direk Joel offered the part to me, I had to ask: ‘Do I look like a swindler?’”

Lamangan asserts he has complete trust in his actors. “I saw RS in the play, ‘M Butterfly,’ ages ago, while I watched Ronwaldo Martin in the Cinemalaya film, ‘Pamilya Ordinaryo,’ last year.”

Angela Cortez did double duty in the fest—as an actress in HF Yambao’s “Kristo” and as producer in “Ladyfish.”

Kristofer King and Angela Cortez in “Kristo”

Cortez discloses that she has stumbled on one vital realization from the dual role. “I learned that I’d rather act than produce.” She owns up that a producer had to solve numerous “headache-inducing problems” on the set.

Francisco also wore two hats as producer and actor in “Bhoy Intsik.” “As producer, I have many responsibilities. But the moment I step on the set, I become an actor … not a producer.”

Yambao recalls that they often had to shoot, guerrilla-style. “We had no permit, but we were able to film in Balintawak. We also had to be finished by 4 p.m. in the cockpit, because the cockfight would begin by then.”

The fourth entry, Arnel Barbarona’s “Tu Pug Imatuy (The Right to Kill),” mainly features nonprofessional actors from indigenous communities, festival director Brillante Ma Mendoza points out.

Scene from “Tu Pug Imatuy (The Right to Kill)”

“I had a difficult time completing the cast,” Barbarona recounts. “Especially, the lead actress (Malona Sulatan).”

Luckily, she was a standout, he notes. The other actors also did well, particularly the lumad kids. “The Ilyan girl (Jillian Khayle Barbarona) is my daughter and has been acting since 2012.”

Lastly, Ricardo Carranza’s documentary, “Beyond the Block,” chronicles the growth of street dancing in the Philippines, featuring stars Ray-An Fuentes and Gary Valenciano.

Hector Gatdula, one of the interviewees in the docu, explains: “Dance comes from the heart. I started hip-hop in the country … it later evolved into funk, robot.”

The Sinag Maynila fest will run from March 9 to 14 at Gateway, Glorietta, SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall.