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By Auraeus Solito, Special to The Times
I’m a proud member of Batch 86 of the Philippine Science High
School, PISAY for short. We were the first batch to graduate after
the People Power of EDSA which ousted the dictatorship. It was a
time full of hope and idealism. But my film is more about lost
dreams, a homecoming film of sorts. Let me share my thoughts on how
this film came about.
One of the main character inspirations was
a classmate of mine who just disappeared when we reached senior high
school. I’ ve always wondered what happened to her. Then after
many years, I got a surprise email from her, telling me that she was
planning to watch my film debut, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. She also shared the
reason why she had to be in the Netherlands — her family had to go
on exile for political reasons.
Mike Almazan, another batchmate, died
suddenly in 1986. He was a friend to everyone, and he had a
truly good heart. His story is the light upon which this movie
was able to be made. I dedicate this film to Mike.
I was inspired and reckoned that writing a story
inspired by the lives of my batchmates could be intersting. I
emailed many of them and a few wrote back and shared their stories.
The final draft was completed after 4 years of compiling all their
stories and anecdotes.
I also thought that it might be
interesting to incorporate high school life, a phase that is most
memorable for most students. I remember growing up with all
these local movies based on Hollywood and European high school
flicks. How can we forget the French movie Ready for Love starring
Sophie Marceau!.
As a director, my aim is to capture the
interest of my audience so I should show them something familiar.
I feel that bringing back the memories of high school life can be
interesting and the theme is universal, something everyone can
relate to. The next step is to weave all the stories and tell
these in a manner wherein the characters can look real, the plots
and subplots unpredictable and engaging.
I thought that I am able to move and affect
people, then I can be happy. I guess I am now.
PISAY just won the Grand Prix du Jury (Grand
Prize of the International Jury) at the 14th Vesoul International
Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France. It was also bestowed
the Prix du Public (Audience Prize). The jury members wrote,
and I quote, “PISAY is being honored for its very high
positive energy level, confirming the authenticity of Filipino
cinema style and for the remarkable performance of its young
actors.”
Emmanuel Burdeau, a member of the elite Cahiers
Du Cinema, a critics’ group based France, wrote in his review:
“Pisay is a beautiful film, simple and sophisticated, direct and
campy, one that gets better and better as it goes along. From the
evidence gathered, the praise is valid for Filipino cinema as a
whole, which is undergoing something of a renaissance.”
It has declared that Filipino cinema is on the
verge of a renaissance. But in order to reach this goal, Philippine
independent cinema needs an audience.
While the entire world is celebrating the best
of the American Academy Awards, there is a small Filipino film that
needs our support. PISAY is currently showing in selected
theaters in Metro Manila.
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