US-based Filipino director wins coveted prize for film about taxicabs in Manila

It has been a heady ride so far, much like commuting in a taxicab on the chaotic streets of Manila.

Still, winning the Netpac [Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema] prize for his film “Boundary” at this year’s Cinemalaya was “heartwarming and momentarily surreal,” says Benito Bautista.

Cinching the prize was the farthest thing from his mind when he started the “physically draining” adventure that was “Boundary,” he tells Inquirer Entertainment via e-mail.

“Boundary” is about a nervous cabbie, an enigmatic passenger and a brazen thief whose paths cross one hectic night during the holidays.

Hurdles

Bautista, based in California, takes cabs to get around in Manila (he’s working on his next project here). “After my first few rides, I was drawn to the drivers’ stories. Before I knew it, I was researching [about] their world.”

Biggest hurdle was gathering the cast—composed of indie faves Ronnie Lazaro, Edwin Nombre and Raymond Bagatsing—for the shoot, which predominantly took place in a cramped and gaily decorated taxicab. “We had to work out the cast and crew’s schedules for the Christmas holidays,” Bautista recounts.

But the four-day shoot went smoothly. “Working with Ronnie, Raymond and Edwin, I saw the film clearly even before the cameras started grinding,” the director relates.

Bautista’s own journey as filmmaker began as a 9-year-old kid in Balubad, Bulacan. He recalls, “My parents used to leave me with my grandparents, which I resented because I wanted to play with my cousins.”

His lolo (grandfather), Domiciano Salvador, kept him occupied with stories of war, politics, friendships and fistfights; his lola, Belen Cruz-Salvador, fed him adobo and sinigang na baboy. “Those memories left a lasting impression on me,” Bautista says.

He dedicated his Netpac award to his lolo to whom he traces his love for storytelling.

“Boundary” will be shown Tuesday 7 p.m., at the Cine Adarna of the UP Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City.