‘Julie’ enters a man’s world
With past Cebuano movies
having been recognized and
awarded in national and international film
festivals, more local filmmakers are honing their craft and hoping
to get as lucky.
Upcoming indie short film, “Julie” – the story of a gay man trying to find work to support his family and ends up as a construction worker – is anticipating just that.
Clanch Dayve Belleza, who wrote and directed the short film, was inspired by the idea of a gay man working in a macho world. It was a collaborative idea with Albert Chan Paran during a reunion back in December.
“The story is about a covert gay construction worker. It tackles family, personal struggle, and the impact of his being a gay construction worker in society. He lives with a quirky family that he has to support. He is sort of the father figure,” Belleza explained.
Paran, who plays his second title role, was very much challenged with this movie. He portrays the protagonist, Julian Capoy a.k.a “Julie.” The actor cut his hair short to truly give justice to his role as a construction laborer.
Admittedly, they are a struggling production team. But that didn’t stop directorwriter Belleza to finish the film, saying “nothing should be an excuse if you have the passion for the craft.”
The production team had to hunt for film locations for the house, office, and the construction site. With indie films, you have to make do with what you have.
“Production-wise, it’s a struggle. In general, indies have a really low budget. Good thing we have friends of friends who allow us to shoot at their place,” Belleza added.
Paran shared their experience of having to shoot at a friend’s office on a Sunday just to complete a required scene. “We had to re-arrange the set-up many times so that it won’t
be obvious that we were using just one office. It’s very challenging.”
Paran, who starred in Chloe Veloso’s comedy film
“Ina-tay” which was a nominee for Best Short Film at last year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, had to delve in another genre with “Julie.”
“Julie is a dramedy. The preparation was difficult. I have to cry in three different scenes. There was one scene that we shot until 12 midnight. I felt possessed,” he related.
Paran also had to perform the back-breaking work of a construction worker. “Mag
pas-an pa jud og hollow
block, magbawg-bawg og kabilya, maglatay-latay sa
kahoy ug sa kabilya,” Paran shared. “Very different sa
akong world.” “Julie” is Belleza’s second movie following his 2013 Sinulog film entry, “Samuel the Silence Wonderer.” Writing the script for “Julie” was an easy feat for Belleza since he started with this kind of genre.
“The first story I worked on was similar to this, a dramedy. I just had to refresh my memory on how to attack it. I don’t want it to come off slapstick. It’s more of witty comedy,” the young director disclosed.
Although Paran plays another gay role in this short film, it wouldn’t really be a gay film per se, just a gay character. “This is not [really] a gay story. It could happen to anyone,” Belleza further explained. The twist of being a gay construction worker makes it more interesting to the whole plot.
“Julie” is set to compete in national and international film festivals. It will also be uploaded in viddsee.com, a Singaporean based online site for Asian short films.