Indie actress’ toughest role is wearing producer’s hat
MARIFE Necesito in “Misis ni Meyor”
It’s her toughest role so far and indie actress Marife Necesito isn’t just referring to her onscreen job.
She serves as producer, as if playing the titular character in Archie del Mundo’s “Misis ni Meyor (international title: The Corruption of Melba)” wasn’t challenging enough.
Necesito, who shared the screen with Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal in “Mammoth,” admitted that she went into film production so that she’d get to portray the roles that have eluded her thus far in the local scene.
Del Mundo explained: “In spite of her body of work, she still doesn’t win the roles that she deserves.”
Hard-hitting drama
In “Misis,” she finally gets to inhabit the life of a complex woman: A former activist who marries a small-town politician to avenge the death of her farmer-husband.
The film is a hard-hitting drama on crooked political dynasties, she explained.
Still, the main challenge for her is juggling her onscreen and off-screen roles. “In the film, my character undergoes a transformation. She started poor, but suddenly becomes rich,” she said.
She wants to focus on her character, but she also has to tackle the big and small problems of a neophyte producer. “Especially since we have huge scenes in the movie like political rallies and lavish parties,” she related. “The film entails a lot of planning … and sometimes unexpected additional costs. You can get distracted by production details.”
Del Mundo recalled that he had made a deal with his actor-producer before shooting started: “I told her that if we have to argue, we should discuss things professionally. We listen to each other’s ideas.”
Has her baptism of fire in “Misis” made her more sympathetic to other producers?
Not really. “Instead I’ve become more sensitive to the plight of the small workers in the industry,” she confessed. “I feel guilty that we have to work long hours, but that’s one of the realities of making an indie film.”
Help from friends
She conceded that she couldn’t have survived the shoot without the support of her friends from the theater world—from mentors Angie Ferro, Joe Gruta, Dante Balois and Siegfried Sepulveda to peers Marco Morales, Roeder Camañag, Andre Tiangco and Angelina Kanapi—who gladly joined the cast of “Misis.”
“I first noticed Marife when she was in high school … when she attended one of my acting workshops,” said veteran actress Ferro. “As early as then I already felt that she was a serious artist who was really interested in the craft. She’s an intelligent actor.”
Sepulveda recalled that Necesito once worked as stage manager in a play he directed. “One of the teen stars from ‘That’s Entertainment’ didn’t show up. So Marife was forced to play a man.”
He described the young Necesito as student: “She wasn’t stubborn. She was hardworking and willing to learn and.”
Acting in this indie film is “a labor of love” for them, said Ferro and Sepulveda.
Camañag recounted how Necesito broke down in tears before doing a daring love scene in “Carnival,” a Singaporean film they did a few years ago.
He understood her frustration and related with her struggles.
“We’re doing ‘Misis’ for friendship’s sake,” said Camañag.
Tiangco pointed out: “In theater, we don’t believe in publicizing our achievements. But Marife deserves to be noticed by a bigger audience. She’s a good actress. It’s about time for her to bag a meaty role like this.”
Already in the works are two other indie films that she would love to produce: “Betchay” and “Veronica Salve.”
“I plan to save up first for my next projects. I don’t want to scrimp in making these dream movies,” she said.
