(From left) Mylene Dizon and Ina Feleo in scenes from “The Hearing.” Images: Courtesy of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
While Mylene Dizon and Ina Feleo were among the actresses who took center stage for the Cinemalaya 2024 film “The Hearing,” they pointed out that they’re not after the awards but rather, to raise awareness on the deaf community and sexual abuse.
“The Hearing” tells the story of 12-year-old Lucas (Enzo Osorio), a deaf and mute boy who was sexually abused by the town’s respected priest Father Mejor (Rom Factolerin). As Lucas, his mother Madonna (Mylene Dizon), and father Dante (Nor Domingo) try to seek justice, they eventually cross paths with the sign language interpreter Maya (Ina Feleo).
But while Dizon’s acting prowess was commendable, the seasoned actress said her reasons for accepting her role was to put a spotlight on the deaf community and urge the government to pay attention to people with disabilities.
“This is really an objective of the film, ang makarating sa mas maraming tao,” she told INQUIRER.net on the sidelines of the premiere night. “Magkaroon ng awareness ang gobyerno na matulungan and [magkaroon] ng representation ang taong may kapansanan.”
(This is really the objective of the film, to reach more people. I hope the government would be more aware of this and push for the representation of people with disabilities.)
Mylene Dizon while filming a scene from “The Hearing.” Image: Courtesy of the Cultural Center
Dizon also admitted that working on “The Hearing” made her aware that sexual abuse also happens in the deaf community, saying it was an “eye-opening” experience for her.
“It feels great people are talking about it. And sana, hindi makalimutan mapag-usapan (I hope people wouldn’t forget to talk about it) because this is very, very important. I, myself, was only made aware of this problem when I heard about the film. I didn’t know the facts myself and it’s very eye-opening for me,” she said.
Reunion of sorts
The movie set also became a venue for a reunion of sorts between Dizon and her “Pamilya Sagrado” co-star, veteran actor Joel Torre. The veteran actor’s character in “The Hearing” is that of a lawyer.
Incidentally, their Cinemalaya production director, Lawrence Fajardo, is also a co-director of the political drama series led by Piolo Pascual.
“Para kaming nasa ‘Pamilya Sagrado’ set (It’s like we’re in the ‘Pamilya Sagrado’ set),” a chuckling Dizon said. “It’s because of Lawrence Fajardo’s relationship with the people he worked with [in the series].”
“He wanted these people to be able to contribute to this film as well. It just goes to show na mabuti siyang direktor (he’s a great director) and people are willing to work with him again,” she continued.
‘Crash course’ in sign language
Meanwhile, Feleo shared that learning sign language for the film felt like a “crash course” but she’s glad she could make it work.
“It was a crash course [learning sign language] but I didn’t know I had to do it until two or three days before the shoot. YouTube-YouTube lang ako, and on the set, there were coaches who taught me. We would practice the [sign language] per scene, so we [could make it work],” she said.
(It was a crash course learning sign language but I didn’t know I had to do it until two or three days before the shoot. I learned it through YouTube and on set, some coaches taught me. We would practice sign language per scene so we could make it work.)
Ina Feleo while filming a scene from “The Hearing.” Image: Courtesy of the Cultural Center
While calling for awareness of the deaf community and sexual abuse, Feleo said she realized how the film’s core topics are often ignored, especially when she invited the audience to see it through sign language.
“When I posted a video of myself inviting people to watch the film in sign language, I realized na grabe ang response. People were saying ‘I love you’ [to me]. I realized that these people lack the attention. We often ignore what it’s like to be on that side and then of course, sana ma-encourage ang mga tao to learn sign language or maybe become interpreters or SPED teachers. Of course, sexual assault as well,” she said.
The film also stars Ruby Ruiz, Angie Castrence, Marvin Yap, Rome Mallari, and Ruslan Jacob Asumbrado.