Baptism of fire.

That, in a nutshell, is how debuting filmmaker Mark Shandii Bacolod described the making of his movie “Fidel,” which opens at IndieSine Robinsons Galleria today.

More accurately, he likened it to “opening Pandora’s box.”

For starters, the film’s story involves male rape, considered taboo especially in the Philippines where machismo still reigns.

He explained that the film is based on the true-life stories of overseas Filipino workers, all men who were raped abroad.

It’s a composite narrative, he said, but one particular story stood out and pushed him to make the film. “While doing research and interviews, I met someone whose best friend was raped in Dubai.”

The trauma changed the man, he learned. “He came home tormented. He wasn’t the same person anymore. He lost all joy and hope in life. Until one day, he was found in the bathroom. He burned himself to death.”

By the end of the interview, Bacolod was in tears.

The story affected him deeply. “I couldn’t eat and sleep,” he recounted. “When I relayed the story to my writer, Charlotte Dianco, she was stunned speechless.”

That conversation jump-started a “personal journey” for Bacolod and his team.

The shoot itself, he said, was difficult and “really emotional.” From day one, the material daunted him. “It’s a sensitive and controversial story.”

Moreover, it’s an issue that’s seldom tackled in the media—apart from leering and lecherous references in prison movies and tabloids.

He wanted to depart from all that. “I wanted to explore this topic with pure sensitivity and conviction,” he said. “No pretensions. That was the biggest challenge for me.”

Making matters more complicated was that he was not the first choice to direct the film. “I was nervous. It felt like a death threat,” he said.

With a Sony FX1 High-Definition camera, he kept shooting from Metro Manila to Batangas. “Since our budget didn’t allow us to go abroad, we just faked the Dubai scenes,” he explained.

In a modest way, he said that “It also felt like a mission for us.”

He said he found committed partners in the cast, led by Lance Raymundo, Snooky Serna, Maria Isabel Lopez, Fonz Deza, Andrea del Rosario, Von Arroyo, along with his theater friends Bong Cabrera, Chrome Cosio and Ana Abad Santos, among others.

Bacolod pointed out that Lance, who plays Fidel, is “hardworking and determined. He trusted me 200 percent.”

Shooting the rape scene wasn’t easy, Bacolod recalled. “I wanted to show something new. The rape wasn’t sexual, but emotional. It was scary, but we believed it’s a story that needs to be told,” he noted.