Mon finds a way
Mon Confiado dreams of things that aren’t there, and asks, “Why not?”
Tired of playing bad guy in every film he was doing in the ‘90s (he has been cast as a rapist oh so many times), Mon decided to shed the villain persona and make his move. The actor, Esquire Philippines described as one of “The 7 Baddest Villains in Local Cinema,” didn’t mind getting no pay at all in films that would later be called indies.
Mon was after the new challenge, not the pay. The pay, if any, is only icing on the cake.
So he made B-movies for free, one of them casting him as former sexy star Allona Amor’s leading man. “I learned,” Mon looks back. Two Eddie Romero projects (one of which, the film Faces of Love, won him a FAMAS Best Supporting Award), two Peque Gallaga films and a spate of indies after, Mon finally got what he wanted. He has broken away from the villain role mold that limited him.
One of the many proofs is his upcoming indie film, El Peste, one of the finalists at the Sinag Maynila Film Festival (until March 15) in select SM Cinemas (Megamall, North EDSA, Mall of Asia, Southmall, Manila, Sta. Mesa, Fairview and Bacoor).
Mon is lead character Abner, a pest control company employee who flirts with danger when he meets a client (played by young theater actress Jean Judith Javier).
Getting Javier’s consent to do the intimate (though tasteful, he insists) scenes as Viola would have been easy for other actors who didn’t have a religious person in the family.
It turned out that Javier was raised by an aunt who happens to be a pastor. This explains why Mon’s leading lady had misgivings in doing the erotic scenes at first.
Mon visited them at home twice or thrice to assure the aunt that the love scene will be tasteful, and that it’s a highlight of the story. Most importantly, Mon promised the aunt that her niece will be in safe hands.
“She (the aunt) saw the scene and was happy with direk Richard Somes’ work,” Mon reports.
Javier and the rest of the cast (director Tikoy Aguiluz and Alvin Anson, among others) knew that those behind Strawdogs Production, producer of the film, were working on a tight budget. So they waived their talent fees.
Somes himself didn’t ask for compensation. Instead, he promised his actors that all of them are considered producers. They will go abroad if El Peste is invited to filmfests elsewhere, the way Mon did when he went to Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival for Remton Zuasola’s Sinag Maynila entry Swap in 2015.
“I made this film not to make money,” says Somes. “I want this for exhibition — like a piece of art.”
Mon himself has reached a point where money takes the backseat to giving back to the industry which has given him so much joy for the past 25 years. He wants to push regional filmmaking, starting off with Cebu City, which he frequents for business.
Mon was shocked to find out that Cebu only has a handful of young indie filmmakers, even if it has produced fine actors like Gloria Sevilla.
“So I said, ‘Let’s make a passion film. Anyone with a good material can join,’” he reveals.
This way, budding filmmakers who would otherwise languish in obscurity, can shine, express themselves and enrich the industry.
It’s one advocacy Mon would do well to pursue.