Fil-can filmmaker’s first feature-length film makes world premiere at 2021 WFF

Filipino-canadian filmmaker Serville Poblete dreamed of making a film one day together with his friend. They turned this into reality when they finished Altar Boy, Serville’s first feature-length film that recently had its world premiere at this year’s Whistler Film Festival (WFF).

The 21st edition of the WFF has a hybrid of online and in-theatre screenings; included in the lineup is Altar Boy, written by his friend Mark Bacolcol who also played the character of the main protagonist.

Serville and Mark have known each other since they were kids. Both of them were athletes; Serville played basketball in the Philippines while Mark played soccer in Sweden.

After living abroad, the two of them went back to Canada and eventually worked at a community center. It was during one of their shifts when Serville learned that Mark was getting into acting while he was venturing into filmmaking.

“Ever since that day at work, we just kind of bonded and we would talk about films and like dreaming about making a movie one day together. So I think that relationship at work kinda just developed and in 2019, I think we were 24 at that time, that’s when Mark wrote Altar Boy,” the 26-year-old filmmaker told Philippine Canadian Inquirer.

Serville and Mark have previously collaborated on a film for a school project in 2018, but working with his friend this time for his first-time feature is a “full circle moment” for the movie director.

“It feels good because Mark and I had dreams planned to play professionally in different countries and we didn’t grow up privileged, we didn’t grow up with a lot of money, we really grew up with dreams,” he said.

“Making Altar Boy with Mark was like a dream come true for me because I think I wouldn’t want to make it with someone else,” he added.

Getting into WFF’S film lineup this year was an unexpected moment for Serville, especially when they initially thought they would not be able to finish due to their small budget.

“A lot of the funds that we got came from family and friends and we saved a lot of our own money to make it,” he shared, continuing, “so getting into Whistler was a good feeling because all the hard work that the cast and crew and ourselves put into the film paid off.”

Based on the WFF’S website, Altar Boy follows Filipino-canadian teen Daniel Garcia who loves basketball “but has to deal with an overbearing, overprotective and deeply religious mother, even as he tries to navigate the treacherous shoals of high school.”

If there is anything about the film that resonates with him, it is the mother-and-son relationship of Daniel and Rose for Serville which he said is similar to his relationship with his mom. But not only did the movie resonate with him, it also struck a chord with Serville’s mother.

“Rose in the film is very strong, independent, very direct and my mom is like that and so, I think the script, the part of the story when Rose was fighting with Daniel, I remember my mom watching that scene and she was crying because it just, I don’t know, I guess it reminds her of our relationship a bit,” he said.

“It’s very heart-warming and family-oriented and, you know, relatable, and based from a Filipino experience,” he added.

Altar Boy was shown in theaters in Whistler, British Columbia last December 2 and December 3, while the online showing lasted until December 31. ■