Hari ng Tondo: One Tough Family Affair on and off screen

8:47 PM


The Cinemalaya fever is on!
But I am not blaming it for the week-long illness that me and my daughter that kept us on bed rest mode. It’s definitely the weather.
And in spite of the heavy rains that might have caused traffic jams and street accidents in the metropolis, the film festival billed as Cinemalaya X this year is one of the hottest topics in town especially to movie buffs like me.

Now on its tenth year, Cinemalaya promises to be one of biggest, if not the biggest in years.
Currently, there are more than fifty films showing at the Cinemalaya Film Festival but the festival’s highlight is the fifteen films in competition.
The films in competition are divided into two categories: the Director’s Showcase with 5 entries and the New Breed category with 10 entries.

Among the entries, I am very excited to see “Hari ng Tondo," the comeback movie of award-winning director Carlos Siguion-Reyna who after a 14-year hiatus from film making teamed-up with his wife Bibeth Orteza who did the screenplay.
To make it a family affair, the couple tapped their son Rafa Siguion Reyna and niece Cris Villonco to be part of the cast composed of notable and remarkable actors from TV, movie and theatre.
One challenge to Director Carlos, who was actually born in Tondo, is how to make credible acting from actors who never had an experience in the place prior to the filming.
I was lucky to be one of the bloggers to be invited in the Siguon-Reyna residence in Forbes Park in Makati City recently. It is definitely far from the visuals of the Tondo compound where the film was shot as seen on the trailers and sneak preview of the 91-minute feature.

We had a great conversation over dinner with the lead stars of the film who joined Direk Carlos and his wife and son. Present were veteran actors Robert Arevalo and Rez Cortez; singer actors Gian Magdangal and Ciara Sotto; and theatre great talents Audie Gemora and Lorenz Martinez.

The film is about a grandfather on the brink of bankruptcy and brings his grandchildren back to the community that made and shaped him, only to find out the place is no longer the same.
Ricardo Villena (Arevalo) finds out he has lost his fortune, on the same day he is told his granddaughter Anna’s (Cris Villonco) wedding is not pushing through and his grandson and namesake Ricky (Rafa Siguion-Reyna) is not graduating from college—again.  Anna has caught her fiancé with another woman while Ricky just wants to sing and compose songs. Ricardo believes his grandchildren’s weaknesses to battle life’s trials is caused by their sheltered lifestyle. To remedy this, the patriarch brings them to his birthplace, Tondo, where he owns a decrepit tenement housing called “Alapaap.” Away from their Forbes Park milieu, the grandchildren meet various people who will help mold their future.

Also included in the talent-laden cast are Liza Lorena, Aiza Seguerra, Lui Manansala, Gian Magdangal, Menggie Cobarrubias, and Mark Tayag.

As soon as I get well, I will definitely going to the Cinemalaya film festival 2014 that will run until August 10 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma and Alabang Town Center.


No comments:

God Bless & Stay Safe!

Stuckwith3. Powered by Blogger.