Telling the truth about Marawi siege
The stars are all accounted for during the story conference for the advocacy film Children of The Lake which tells the truth about the Marawi siege, including director Sheron Dayoc (back row, second from left), Angeli Bayani, Sid Lucero (star), Robin Padi
Lahat sila mamamatay.
Spoken tongue-in-cheek by Bb. Joyce Bernal of Spring Films, the creative producer of Children of the
Lake, during the recent story conference for the advocacy movie which aims to tell the whole truth (and nothing but).
It wasn’t revealed what roles would be played by the dozen or so actors, a mix of established stars (Spring co-producer Piolo Pascual, Robin Padilla, Ronnie Quizon, Mylene Dizon, Sid Lucero, Angeli Bayani and Jasmine Curtis Smith among them) and newcomers, occupying the presidential table in front of the media guys, including Mark Anthony Celebrado, (a non-actor child from Davao), Marc Felix, Jessi Mendoza and Miriam Zimadar.
Joyce was partly joking, of course, but then the sad and painful reality is that more than 1,000 reportedly died during the Marawi siege and with the tragedy now being relived bigger-than-life on screen, the audience would expect to see deaths and destruction of biblical proportions calculated to shock and awe. “Maybe two will survive,” added Joyce, “pero marami ang mamamatay.” Asked what role she was playing, Mylene said, “Mamamatay,” adding that when she was offered the project, she accepted without any second thought. “I’m leaving away from the city, planting litsugas,” recalled Mylene, “and then they told me to be in Manila in three hours. Even if it was a Friday, usually
ma-trafik, I made it on time.” “Mylene will play a hostage,” clarified Joyce, adding with a laugh, “Jasmine will play a hostage, too, pero depende na ‘yan
kung gusto siyang patayin ng mga netizens.” Seriously now, putting together a film of such magnitude is no joke. It’s the brainchild of Joyce, Piolo and Robin who have dreamed together after personally visiting Marawi (all of them contributed money for the rehabilitation of the city).
“I am medyo emotional about this project because of the sense of humanity that it has generated,” confessed Piolo. “We are doing this not for ourselves but for every Filipino. It is a reminder of what happened in Marawi at sana hindi na
muli mangyari pa. We are touched by and grateful for the support we are getting from various organizations.”
According to Joyce, they will get help from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the form of equipment, tanks, ammunition, etc. Sheron Dayoc, a recruit from art house, is at the helm. “The film is a combination of Saving Private Ryan and There Will
Be Blood,” he explained. “It will be told from a historical perspective. We did a thorough research. We also interviewed as many people as we could, including the military, the residents and even the ISIS.
“Everybody has a different opinion. The film is not about who or what is right and who or what is wrong; it’s about the truth. As story-tellers, our job is to tell the real story, to tell the truth, so that people will have a better understanding of what happened in Marawi,” adding, “it’s a challenge to direct established actors, new actors and non-actors.”
Said Robin, “Bakit nagkaroon ng Marawi? There are so many speculations and the film will clear all of them. Ang script namin
ay dumaan sa maraming mata, talagang pinag-aralan. Years from now, the youth of today may be asking, ‘Ano ba talaga ang nangyari sa Marawi?’ Once they see the movie, in one hour and 45 minutes their question will be answered. What could be a more effective educational (tool) than a film?”
Targeted for a May 2019 (or coinciding with next year’s Independence Day celebration or the second anniversary of the Marawi siege), the film will be shot entirely in Marawi City and other parts of Mindanao (Lanao del Sur, etc.). It will also feature the people of Marawi who are still living in the city, real soldiers and other personalities.
“The film is made up of three acts,” said Joyce. “The first will cover Day 46 of the siege, the second Day 78 and the third Day 100.”
Daniel Padilla was initially reported to be in the cast but, according to Joyce, “he’s so busy with other projects that if we wait for his availability, baka flattened na ang Ground Zero.”
Shrugging any attempt at branding the film as government propaganda, Robin true to form as a Rebolusyonaryo commented (verbatim strong Tagalog), “Ang katotohanan ay napasok na tayo ng
dayuhan, napasok na tayo ng ISIS, nangyari ito hindi sa bundok kundi sa isang city. Kapag naulit pa ito, makakabangon pa kaya tayong Filipino? Buhayin natin ang pagmamahal sa bayan. Nagtulungan tayo para sa kapayapaan.” Incidentally, all proceeds from the film will go to the rehabilitation of Marawi City.
Boy Abunda conducts talk workshop
Do you want to know if you have what it takes to be a good talk show host or an interviewer? How do you handle Q&A in a job interview or in a contest? How confident are you before a public?
Enhance your communication skills through the Boy Abunda Talk Workshop on Aug. 3, 4 and 5 at the Mezzanine Multifunction Hall, 106 BluPoint Building, Kamuning Road, Quezon City (2 to 8 p.m.).
Dr. Boy Abunda (photo), the Philippines’ King of Talk, will conduct the exciting talk workshop that will be a combination of theory and practice.
Participants will be exposed to the fundamentals of public speaking, hosting and conducting interviews as well as how to attack the Q&A.
Boy says, “I always believe in the adage that practice makes perfect. A good presentation doesn’t happen overnight. It takes preparation, practice and patience. How do you ward off awkwardness and jitters while standing on stage and presenting to the crowd that your idea is the best in the world? How do you conduct a one-on-one discussion with your boss? How do you deliver spiels or craft questions? All these and more will be explored at the talk workshop.”
Boy adds that each one of us has the ability to talk and recounts the story about a Maasai boy he had read in the book titled TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson.
Explains Boy, “A Maasai boy named Richard Turere invented the so-called ‘lion lights,’ a fence made from scraps that lighten up to scare off lions from attacking their family’s cattle. As a result, their properties were protected and lion activists were satisfied because no lions were killed. Who would have thought that Richard can speak for TED Talks? But people behind the conference believed he could share something new to the audience.
“With his invention, Richard obtained a scholarship from one of the best schools in Kenya where he practiced his TED speech numerous times in front of an audience. This gave him confidence. He later flew to California and delivered a speech in front of a thousand people. Why am I saying this? It’s because I want to emphasize that each of us has the ability to talk. It is how we develop our talent in public speaking and how we utilize it that make the big difference. “Even the late Princess Diana who was awkwardly shy was loved by the public because she spoke from the heart. She was not the traditional eloquent orator. You could be the next Oprah Winfrey or Matt Lauer but you can create your own style and become the best version of yourself as a public speaker or host.
“In the workshop, we will not teach you how to be a great public speaker but we can guide, advise and mentor you to creating your style using your core, your story and your truth!”
Limited seats are available for the talk workshop.
For inquiries, call Asian Artists Agency, Inc. (AAAI) office at 4054423 and 855-4765 or Avel Juan at 0977-254-8424. You can also email info@asianartistsagency.com
(E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)