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Zig Dulay (leftmost) with “Firefly” stars Alessandra De Rossi, Euwenn Mikaell, Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega during the MMFF 2023 Parade of Stars. Images: Instagram/@zigcarlo
For “Firefly” director Zig Dulay, creating a connection between the audience and movie is more important to him than receiving a lot of awards.
At the press conference of the MMFF film, Dulay admitted that his “mantra” as a filmmaker is to create movies that ignite word of mouth and connection with the audience.
“Hindi naman ako gumagawa ng pelikula para manalo ng award. Binibigay ko ang lahat ng makakaya ko para maibigay kung ano ang hinihingi ng material (I don’t create films to win awards. I do everything I can to give the material justice.).”
“‘Yung mga nababasa sa socmed, or ‘yung mga text ng mga taong nakapanood, walang halong echos, pero mas better pa ‘yun kaysa sa award,” he continued. “‘Yun ang mantra ko bilang isang filmmaker. Ang pinakaimportante ay makapagcreate ka ng connection sa audience kasi without that connection, walang silbi ang pelikula mo.”
(The reviews on social media or messages from those who watched the film, not beating around the bush, is better than getting an award. That is my mantra as a filmmaker. What’s important is to create a connection with the audience because without that connection, your film has no meaning.)
Low turnout?
As of Dec. 26, “Firefly” is currently being shown in 46 cinemas. Dulay admitted during the mediacon that he’s sad about the low turnout of theaters, but he nonetheless remained hopeful that it would reach many audiences.
“Personally, palaisipan sa’kin ang bilang ng cinemas kasi hindi ko rin talaga alam ang sistema paano siya nangyari. Pero totoo din naman na kabilang kami sa mga pelikula na kokonti ang mga sinehan,” he said. “Sa amin, sure kami na ginawa namin lahat ng makakaya namin para mapaganda ang pelikula.”
(Personally, I wonder how the number of theaters per entry is decided because I don’t know the system behind it. But it’s true that we’re one of the films that have a low number of cinemas. For us, we’re sure that we did everything we could to make the film good.)
In a way, Dulay also noted the low turnout of theaters seemingly “defeats the purpose” of creating movies, which is supposed to send a message to audiences. “Ginawa namin siya para sa mga tao kaya nakakalungkot na konti ang manonood. Parang nade-defeat ang purpose na gagawa ka ng pelikula (We made the film for the people so it makes me sad that only a few watch it. It sort of defeats the purpose of creating films).”
“Gusto mong mapanood dahil meron kang nais iparating, tapos hindi makakarating. Kapag nagustuhan ng mga manonood, sana ipakalat nila kasi ‘yun ang inaasahan namin, mapadami ang mga sinehan,” he continued. (You want people to watch the film because you want to send a message, then not many would receive it. If people watch the film, I hope they spread the word because that’s what we’re after. Increase the cinemas.)
“Firefly,” which is set in Bicol, revolves around an adult Tonton (Dingdong Dantes) who goes back to his 10-year-old self (Euwenn Mikaell) to search for a mysterious “Island of Fireflies.” The mythical island was shared to him by his mother Elay (Alessandra De Rossi) whenever she tells him stories before bedtime.
The film also stars Max Collins, Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Yayo Aguila, and Cherry Pie Picache.