Real-life couple Jane Oineza (left) and RK Bagatsing —JANE OINEZA/ INSTAGRAM
For real-life couple Jane Oineza and RK Bagatsing, the best part about working on a movie together is the idea that, if ever they commit mistakes on set, they both got each other’s backs.
“We get to be honest with each other. It’s normal that if you’re with someone else, you feel embarrassed if you make mistakes during takes, but it’s okay if it’s just Jane and me. I know she will catch me, or if she needs to see a specific emotion from me, she can just ask,” said RK in a Zoom interview with Inquirer Entertainment to promote their latest project, Jonathan Jurilla’s “Love Child.”
The film is about a young couple (Jane as Ayla and RK as Paolo) as they navigate the challenges of raising their 4-year-old autistic son (John Tyrron Ramos as Kali) in an increasingly unforgiving world, testing their love and resilience. It is an entry to the ongoing 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
“We made sure that the project doesn’t come out like an episode of ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ (MMK). After all, this is Cinemalaya,” said Jonathan, who was in his home in Silay City, Negros Occidental, at the time of the interview. The writer-director also has an autistic son, who is now 16.
“The directive that we received while doing this project was ‘less drama.’ The story is already filled with heartwarming and gut-wrenching scenes, so we no longer had to act like we do for heavy drama projects. I guess that’s what’s painful—it’s a real human story. The experiences are real, and so are the struggles. Reading the script already made me cry, nonstop,” explained Jane.
Meanwhile, RK pointed out the big difference between television and film, in terms of telling a story. “On the set, we had a collective decision that we would just stay at this level, that we would only deliver our lines this way. We were conscious not to ‘act out’ like the way actors do on TV. We just let the words come out and allow ourselves to feel them. We made sure to appear like two normal people talking, a couple going through something,” he said.
Awareness
Jonathan pointed out that “Love Child” is a story of a lot of families dealing with autism. “You will witness experiences similar to how we raised our child when he was only 4, and also realize that this is a story of a lot of families. When I finally decided to write this story, I had a hard time figuring out how to end it. I decided to simply showcase one chapter of a long and still-unfolding story,” he pointed out.
A complementary 15-minute documentary, titled “My Boy Superman,” will be screened at the Gawad Alternatibo Para sa Pelikula at Video, which runs parallel to Cinemalaya. This is actually all about Jonathan’s teenage son, his family, and how they normally deal with his condition, he added.
Jonathan then discussed the importance of spreading awareness on autism in the country. “We have very limited materials on autism in the media. There are also a lot of misconceptions about autism. Mainstream media often tells success stories of kids with autism but have special talents and access to training. This is compared to our experience with our son, who was nonverbal and had very limited access to services that he needed. There is misinterpretation. We want to share a different experience,” the director said.
Jane Oineza and RK Bagatsing in a scene from “Love Child” —SOUTHERN LANTERN STUDIOS
Jonathan then pointed out the connection between awareness and acceptance in relation to autism in the local setting. “We’ve already been receiving a lot of feedback while promoting the film. Sadly, in the Philippines, we’re still fighting for ‘awareness’ that autism is not an illness that can be cured by taking medicine, that it is a condition. In other ‘more aware’ countries, they’re fighting for ‘acceptance’ for people who have it. They understand that tolerance, patience and lots of love are needed, and not medicine. We also need to understand how they see the world, that they’re also human beings and are also part of society.”
Interpretation
Meanwhile, Jane and RK tried to recall their experience working with Tyrron, whom they said impressed them with his ability to follow the director’s instructions and at the same time leave his own mark on the character.
“There were times when he would add something to what was in the script, and this would greatly improve his character. In one scene, he was supposed to run somewhere, but he also wanted to hide in a box. Our directors decided to include his improv to the scene and, in the end, it added more layer to the scene,” said Jane.
“There were scenes when he was supposed to just sit down, but when I turned to look, he was already gone and I ended up running after him,” RK added. “That’s exactly how Ayla and Pao should be like—they’re always on edge when Kali is around.”
Tyrron has his own interpretation of his character, Jonathan observed. “At a young age, he knows how to observe. He said he ‘modeled’ his character from his own classmate. We were very impressed, and we’re happy that we got him as part of the cast.” INQ