Sur-reel

by Anna Patricia G. Valerio

TWO SEEMS to be a lucky number for Huling Pasada, one of the finalists in this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. Touching on the parallels between two completely different realms—the sphere of the writer and that of her characters—the film is a collaborative effort of two Ateneans, Paul Sta. Ana (AB Philo ’99), a former lecturer at the Filipino Department, and Alvin “Vim” Yapan (BS LM ’97), an associate professor at the Filipino Department.

From real to reel
Paul is no stranger to the idea of the interplay between two realms. Inspired by films that make use of this concept, he wrote a screenplay about how Ruby (Agot Isidro, Lobo), in the process of writing a story about taxi driver Mario (Neil Ryan Sese, Kubrador), gets tangled in the plot that she herself has created.

Paul’s efforts in writing a screenplay paid off when he found out that the film had entered the competition. “It was the moment I’ve been waiting for,” he says.

Although Vim’s Rolyo already won Best Short Film in the Cinemalaya last year, he says that this was his first time to direct a feature-length film.

“Paul just invited me [to help him direct the film] when they were already doing production. [The film is] really not my proposal,” says Vim. “But of course, since he’s my friend, I’m always very glad to help,” he adds in a mix of English and Filipino.

Upon hearing this, Paul immediately turns to Vim and asks, “[But] what [did] you think of the material?”

Vim replies, “Maganda naman (The material was good).” He goes on to add, “Even if he is [my] friend I wouldn’t just accept the directorship if I didn’t find any substance or merit to the screenplay.”

Reality bites
Although such candor is refreshing to hear, these directors admit that things didn’t always go smoothly for them during the production process.

Paul, whose mother passed away while he was writing the screenplay, recalls how he was submitting the script to Cinemalaya during his mother’s burial rites. “[That was how] badly I wanted to be part of this festival,” he says.

The first shooting day even had problems for the two directors. “It’s actually just a misunderstanding. Since we’re both directing the same film, we divided the sequences [and assigned these to each other beforehand],” says Vim. On the day of the shoot itself, however, they were surprised to find each other directing the other person’s set of sequences. It turns out that their assignments got mixed up.

Still, they were levelheaded enough to not blow the whole thing out of proportion. Looking back on that experience now, the two directors can’t help but laugh and joke about the whole thing. “It’s inevitable,” says Paul. “Pero magkaibigan pa rin kami ngayon (But we’re still friends now),” he says with a laugh.

The power of two
Vim was also quick to point out that creative differences had never been a problem for them. Having worked together as Heights members back in college, he says that they both valued each other’s input and easily resolved whatever differences that arose between them.

“Bilib na kami sa isa’t isa noon pa man (We already believed in each other’s abilities since then),” says Paul.

One of the concerns that they had while directing the screenplay, Vim recalls, was whether the sequences would make it apparent that two directors actually worked on the film. Looking at the finished product, the directors are both convinced that they have nothing to be worried about.

“[Working with each other has] made us realize that our [filmmaking] styles were different,” Paul says in a mix of English and Filipino. “Pero nagtugma naman (But they still complemented each other),” he adds.