A different side of Ian Veneracion
Ian Veneracion… let’s see.
Your mom likes him, your mom’s mom likes him. He paints, he plays the piano, he has a license to manuever an aircraft. He’s literally everybody’s crush given that he’s gorgeous, talented and brilliant. But there’s more to this heartthrob than meets the eye and it’s about time people get to appreciate his non-matinee idol side.
Tomorrow, Ian’s first independent film hits select SM theaters nationwide under Cine Lokal. In the psychological thriller “Puti” written and directed by Mike Alcarazen, you won’t find a coat swishing, cuff ruffling, dapper version of Ian. So if you’re hoping for a dose of kilig, might as well turn around.
“Anton Noble is not here [in the film],” Ian announces in an interview at BIG Hotel in reference to his teleserye character, the dashing Anton Noble in the current teleserye “A Love To Last” which airs over the Kapamilya network’s primetime block.
“Puti” stems from the director’s frustrations at filmmaking—how despite starting multiple (often botched) screenplays, and being successful in the commercial ad industry, was never able to find his big break and fulfillment as a legitimate filmmaker.
Debuting in the first ever Cinefilipino Film Festival in 2013, “Puti” circles in on successful counterfeit painter Amir Luna, portrayed by Ian. Amir makes a fortune in his forgeries and couldn’t care less about his moral fiber so long as he supports his son Jaime, and keeps his art dealer happy with plenty of forgeries. Things turn around for Amir after a vehicular accident. Surviving the crash, Amir finds himself with a head injury that renders him color blind while his son falls into a coma. As he recuperates, strange things happen to Amir—a blind lady recurs throughout the film, and a strange nurse reads to his unresponsive son without fail.
“What made me say yes was the script, the storyline. Ang daming layers ng storya, it all makes sense together and bihira lang na napagtahi yung ganon kadaming layers ng mahusay,” Ian says of the film, adding that he’s always been comfortable with canvasses and brushes having a penchant for painting himself. It also didn’t hurt that his
father, Roy Veneracion, is a respected visual artist.
At the time, the angst and frustration that Alcarazen was going through mirrored Ian's own career misgivings: playing the same macho, matinee idol roles where he falls in love with a woman and they ride off into the sunset. In the same way, Ian was also looking for as much truth as Amir Luna and his director were.
“Predictability is the enemy,” quips Ian, not wanting to succumb to that cycle. “I was making those kiss kiss bang bang films. Minsan, pareha yung storyline, it's the same concept over and over again.”
“I felt that I was doing forgeries.”
Ian muses that people shouldn't be painting or acting because they want to be rich and famous. Rather, people should be doing these things because they have to, because this is what they enjoy. And for Ian, acting itself is what makes his career – not the money and fame that come with it.
“I enjoy doing scenes and working with different actors, different directors, and writers. It gives me an insight about other people, therefore it gives me insight about myself. I love observing people, that's why I'm an actor. But the funny thing is, the more you do television or film, the less you get to observe and it reaches a point where ikaw na yung ino-observe ng tao,” Ian laments.
He says that showbiz folk come from all walks of life— varying in gender, social status and insecurities. These alone are a resource for an observant actor like himself.
That doesn't mean that Ian is sick of people. That's hardly the case. But somehow, he wishes there was more time to breathe.
“Minsan nakaka-overwhelm [yung attention]. Pero grabe ang kindness that I receive from people, the network, the viewers. I mean, that's my religion—the religion of kindness.”
“Especially the viewers, they can easily say that I'm too old for this, or that I'm too tisoy for this role but wala eh, they're being kind and I'm really happy and grateful.”
In “Puti,” Amir Luna is rugged, his eyes are bloodshot. He is surrounded by cans of paint and works in a dingy room. There are no beautiful wives fighting over him— only a desperate man in search of sanity and truth.
Alcarazen definitely wanted an actor that could paint, because faking it would be too obvious for a discerning moviegoer. When his brother suggested Ian, he was thankful to have the latter's interest and quickly found a collaborative actor and an undisputed artist.
“Ian would call me at midnight prior to a scene and say things like ‘Direk paano kung ganito…' or after filming we would talk about what we could do because sometimes the gravity and how personal the film was to me would hit,” Alcarazen says, commending Ian and the rest of his small cast for giving him the gusto to work harder as Ian also admitted having a bit of difficulty shaking off Amir from his system.
Alcarazen likewise finds Ian's talent as underappreciated, despite being popular for his debonair roles.
“I was really floored by how much talent we have here. Nanghihinayang ako na under-utilized si Ian. It must have been a challenge since it's 90 percent him who carries the film. It's also a very different side of him,” Alcarazen quips.
Initially, Alcarazen was a bit unhappy with the final version of “Puti” since they were all beating deadlines for the festival and had ran out of money. Luckily, Ian was also kind enough to come back and reshoot a crucial never-before-seen sequence for free which will be featured in this month's cut.
Ian and Alcarazen also agree that there might have been a bit of frustration when the film came out four years ago. At the time, it seemed that the audience and cinemas were not prepared to have independently-made films shown on the big screen, thus the quiet reception.
Despite having been screened in Brussels, winning the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Production Design, and nominated for Best Picture at the Cinefilipino Film Festival in 2013, as well as winning Alcarazen the Best First Feature award the following year at the Young Critics Circle—like so many other indie films, “Puti” wasn't able to see a commercial run in cinemas.
This time, with a director's cut and a promising cinematography that's geared to make each frame look like a painting, “Puti” hopes to lure viewers into digging deeper and go into a visual adventure brought by the film.
Although it's not for everyone, Ian and Alcarazen hope that with all the warmth that sleeper hits like “Kita Kita,” “Patay Na Si Hesus,” and “100 Tula Para Kay Stella,” alongside all the independently made films that the public has embraced over the past months—“Puti” might also add to the list.
Featuring the works of Geraldine Javier (celebrated Filipina contemporary visual artist and respected among Southeast Asia both in the academic world and in the art market), the handiwork of Boy Yniguez (cinematographer for “Kita Kita”), scenes shot through infrared signals, and talents like Jasmine Curtis Smith, Lauren Young and the real-life blind woman Maricel Baluan—both Alcarazen and Ian can't wait for everyone's insights, reactions, and questions after seeing the film.
“It's irreverent, it's original. Even the use of time and space is warped. If you're into performances, then I think everybody did a great job. When I read the script, I had to read it again. So maybe, they would want to watch it twice,” Ian says.
Alcarazen adds that he wants people to leave the theaters with questions – he intended the film to mirror artworks and painting, which like his film, are open to interpretation.
As for Ian, he can't wait to go on vacation mode. The actor hasn't plotted future projects just yet despite offers heaped on his table.
Working on “A Love To Last” – which had been taping for more than a year now and is nearing its finale– had been fun for Ian. But he's in no rush to grab the next lucrative role thrown his way. Not that he needs to keep up with a lifestyle or an image anyway.
“What's next for me? I don't even wanna think about it muna. I'm sure we'll miss each other since the ‘A Love To Last' family has become like a real family. We're all happy, we all love the work that we're doing but we're all tired. Happy but tired,” Ian says, his eyes glinting at the promise of time off the limelight.