‘Trap’: A typhoon of
Mendoza’s new film centres around survivors of typhoon Haiyan
Award-winning Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza is back in Dubai with a new indie film based on one of the most tragic episodes in recent memory. Trap (Taklub), which screened at the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff), tells the story of the survivors of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which devastated the central Philippines in 2013. The movie is led by award-winning actress Nora Aunor, and stars veteran actors Julio Diaz and Lou Veloso.
After Haiyan struck the Philippines, Mendoza was asked by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to create a documentary about climate change. Mendoza suggested it be a narrative film instead. Mendoza says that although it is a governmentfunded project, he wasn’t going to compromise on his vision for the film.
“I think it’s also about my reputation and about my films that I’m making,” Mendoza tells tabloid!. “They also know my filmography, and I think it’s clear with everyone that even if I’m going to make a film about a governmentfunded
Brillante Mendoza. project, it will still be about the truth. It will be still be really about what people are really experiencing.
‘TRUTH, ALWAYS’
“I’ve had that reputation with my films. There were films of mine that were not shown commercially because they received an X-rating from the censors. I didn’t mind that because I’d rather have my film shown in a very limited screening or in a special screening rather than having it cut. ... I think we were quite clear on that.”
In doing his films, Mendoza compares himself to a journalist. “As a filmmaker, I’d like to be like a journalist, where you balance everything. You don’t preach, you don’t take sides. You let the people decide. At the end of the day, when they watch your film they will see that you are not telling them what to do.”
Although he had access to government funding, Trap had to struggle with budget problems just as most independent films do. “Of course, to be realistic about it, as an independent filmmaker the fund and the budget is always a big challenge,” he says. “So how you put all your resources together to come up with the film and finish the film is really a big challenge. I’m used to it. I’ve done 12 films with very limited funds and I was able to put everything together. That’s the realistic and practical side.”
Filming in Tacloban, where people continue to endure the wrath of typhoons year after year, also has challenges. “The other challenge is dealing with this story. Dealing with the real people from Tacloban. It’s quite sensitive in a way because they are real victims and survivors of this disaster,” he says.
VISION OF THERAPY
“You know these people have gone through so much loss and pain, so it’s not easy dealing with them. But at the same time I’d like to think of it as a therapy in a way because it could help them somehow move on with their lives.”
“There were times that it was quite emotional because they played [the role of victims] themselves. It’s not easy also for us, but one thing that is very clear with everyone, with all the