XIAN LIM GETS EMOTIONAL OVER COMMENTS ON HIS DIRECTING STYLE
WORKING BEHIND THE CAMERA is something Xian Lim has always wanted to do even from the start of his acting career.
He debuted as a director via the 2019 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival entry Tabon. It was also Cinemalaya that piqued his interest in filmmaking when he starred in the late director Gil Portes’ Two Funerals in 2010.
“I remember asking him so many questions — that was my first film — to the point na parang na-ano na nga siya na, ‘Bakit ka ba tanong ng tanong, hijo?’” he recalled during the virtual media conference of his latest directorial project Hello, Universe. “But he was really attending to all my questions. ‘Ganito kasi yan, ganito, ganyan.’ That was the time na nasabi ko na, ‘Grabe, I have high respect for the people behind the camera with so much work that comes to the magic of filmmaking.’”
“I’ve always wanted to be behind the camera and it’s something that excites me,” the actor-turned-director further stated.
With second chances as a theme, the fantasy-comedydrama Hello, Universe is penned and directed by Xian. It will soon be streamed on Vivamax. The lead stars include veteran comedians Janno Gibbs, Anjo Yllana and Benjie Paras. They are joined by Sunshine Guimary, Madeline Red, Joe Vargas, MJ Cayabyab, Gene Padilla and Majo Lingat.
Although they haven’t started filming as of presstime, Xian and the cast members are excited and looking forward to collaborating with each other. They had their initial meetings and Xian’s impression of the newcomers was, “You can really see the passion and the enthusiasm sa mga mata nila.”
As for the senior actors, he felt honored to be working with them. “Kasi sila yung natural na bata pa lang ako ini-idolo ko na ang mga ‘to. It’s such an honor to be graced by their presence, for them to bring years of experience in the industry into the materials that we have,” he explained.
“So nakakatuwa lang. After reading the material, parang it had a new life. I am inspired to be around these people.”
This is the first time that Anjo will have Xian as a director and he “felt very comfortable” right away the moment he met him. “Hands-on siya, I think… I think he is a very talented director and at the same time, a writer. So I’m looking forward lang, very excited. He is very supportive. So maybe, you’ll hear more from me pagtapos na yung (movie).”
Janno said yes to the project because of Xian. “I consider him a good friend,” he said. “I believe in his talent. He is a very talented person. Very artistic, nag-di-direct, nag-a-artista, nag-pa-piano and painting. So I think we are in good hands and we are really excited kung ano ang ipapakita ni Xian.”
During the script reading, Gene recalled, “He told me na we are open na maglagay ng input, (or) mag-a-adlib. From that, I said, ‘Ah, magaan
katrabaho.’ He would also ask help from us, Benjie, Anjo, Janno. Because he knows na kami na yung ‘lumang tao raw sa industriya’ (laughs).”
“First of all, our director is very handsome and napaka-bagets,” joked Sunshine. “Sa script (reading) pa lang, na-enjoy ko na… He is not strict sa mga scripts, sa mga lines, parang enjoy lang. We’re so lucky that we have that type of director.”
MJ has worked with Xian thrice and described him as a “very handson” director.
“He makes sure that everyone is comfortable,” he said. “He makes sure that everyone’s looking good, (their) characters. Dun pa lang, nafeel ko talaga yung importance and his dedication to his work. I am super proud of direk Xian. Actually, naninibago pa rin ako kasi I used to call him kuya or ya. Medyo sini-sink in ko na po talaga na ito na, director na po siya talaga.”
As newbies, Madeline and Majo are excited to be collaborating with