Actors shine in Sinag Maynila

ALESSANDRA de Rossi says she was glad her role in “Bambanti” didn’t require makeup—or brushing her hair for days.

For some of the actors in the five competing films at the ongoing Sinag Maynila independent film festival, mastering unfamiliar tongues was the main hurdle.

Alessandra de Rossi, who plays a beleaguered young mother in Zig Dulay’s “Bambanti,” took a crash course in Ilocano. “It sounded like a foreign language to me at first.”

The film’s serene setting more than compensated for the role’s grueling demands, though. “Isabela is beautiful,” she said. “That made me forget all my problems. The shoot was a breeze, too.”

De Rossi admitted that getting dolled up is the most tedious part of her life as an actress. “But in this movie, I didn’t have to put on makeup. I didn’t brush my hair for a week, either. That made me happy!”

Kapampangan

Ronnie Quizon, who portrays a duck farmer in Paul Sta. Ana’s “Balut Country,” had to sound convincing as a Kapampangan.

MATT Daclan met the person whose life inspired the story of “Swap.”

“It was daunting enough to talk in Kapampangan which I, as a Manila boy, cannot understand or speak to this day. Still, I had to internalize all these intense emotions…”

Quizon explained that his character Dado, as envisioned by his director, is a lot like the ducks that he breeds.

“A duck looks calm as it floats on the water. But beneath the surface, its feet are paddling wildly in panic,” he pointed out. “We don’t see the fear, the restlessness, the helplessness. My task was to convey all these feelings without ‘acting.’ That was both challenging and fun.”

Nihongo

Ces Quesada, who is in the cast of Lawrence Fajardo’s “Imbisibol,” had a tongue-twisting time learning Nihongo, since she plays a Filipino who lives in Japan.

She cracked, “The Japanese lines I had to memorize were scarier than the weather!”

It was no winter wonderland, for sure. “We went to Japan with our will and wits intact, unmindful of the extreme freezing conditions, the lowest of which was -13 degrees Celsius,” she related.

Bernardo Bernardo, Quesada’s costar, recounted: “We filmed for three weeks nonstop in snow-laden Asahikawa and then in beautiful spring climate in Fukuoka. What a trip! We subsisted on rushed meals: delicious bento boxes and ramen on the run.”

“We couldn’t have done it without the help of Japanese friends and sponsors,” Quesada volunteered.

CES QUESADA recalls being daunted by the freezing weather as much as by the Japanese lines in the script of “Imbisibol.”

“We were a very lean team,” Bernardo added. “Everyone was multitasking. Our Japanese colleagues were slightly awed and amused by the inventiveness, dedication and perseverance of the Pinoys.”

Scorching

If cold weather dogged the “Imbisibol” team, the “Balut Country” cast had to bear with scorching temperatures in Candaba, Pampanga.

Lead actor Rocco Nacino recalled: “The heat was crazy! Most of the time, our scenes were set in rice fields and the swamp. But apart from the weather, everything else was wonderful.”

Nacino sought his director’s help frequently. “I had just finished a teleserye, so I kept asking Direk Paul to guide me … to tell me if I was ‘acting’ too much.”

Kidnap story

Matt Daclan, lead actor in Remton Siega Zuasola’s “Swap,” did a lot of research.

“Our film is based on a true-life kidnapping,” Daclan related. “I read old newspaper articles about the incident. We went to the the original location (Cebu) … to feel the energy of the place.”

RONNIE Quizon (right) learned Kapampangan for “Balut Country.”

Daclan went a step further, meeting with the person that inspired his character. “I was lucky to get first-hand information from him. I studied his personality, down to his mannerisms. It was a rewarding experience.”

Imperative

If you ask Annicka Dolonius, lead actress in Jim Libiran’s “Ninja Party,” the trickiest part was baring both body and soul onscreen. “The biggest task was letting go of my inhibitions.” Which was imperative because one crucial scene involved an orgy.

“Shooting that was surreal,” she confessed. “But everyone was professional and covered up where they needed to be. I was lucky to work with a good actor (Jiggy Guballa). It took us one or two takes—really fast.”

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