Ironically, the film debut of singer-turned-actor Lance Raymundo came via an independent production called “Fidel.” The movie finally opened yesterday, Jan. 20, at the Robinsons Galleria Cinema 7. Incidentally, other indie-movies where Lance was also part of were released before “Fidel,” but for the actor, it was still worth the wait!

“We want to educate people and make them aware of the harsh realities of working abroad. We heard of wives’ tales of their OFW husbands returning to them as different persons. Then they find out they were raped. Since men are seen in society as the backbone of the family, they bring these dark secrets to their graves,” explained Lance.

“Fidel,” a story written by Charlotte Diangco and directed by Mark Shandii Bacolod, tackles the controversial topic of “male rape” among OFWs in Dubai. In the film, Lance is Fidel who killed his Arabian employer because he raped him. “Fidel” also includes a sub-plot in Von Arroyo’s character who committed suicide because he was also a rape victim.

“‘Fidel’ became a personal journey for me because I heard first-hand information of an incident that happened in Dubai. The victim’s friend told me that his friend was gang-raped. When he came back they would discover that he would hurt himself every night until one day he burned himself to death in a bath tub. That’s how Von Arroyo’s role came to mind and it was connected to Fidel’s plight in the movie,” described the director Mark Shandii Bacolod.

Lance and his director have the same vision for “Fidel” shying away from being called a “gay film.” They both did not want “Fidel” to be labeled as such just because of the topic and that they would have to show a male rape scene.

“It’s a reality happening so it’s not a voyeuristic thing,” quipped Lance. “People might watch it for novelty because a man was raped and that’s the queer side of people. But the rape scene was the least of the priorities in the movie. It is not the highlight of the movie.” He added that “Fidel” would also be the first rape scene that people would see without actually seeing a person raped.

“It was a rape scene where only the face of the victim would be seen. Moviegoers will see the pain in the eyes of the victim… actually if I didn’t convince our director through my facial acting then we would have had a ‘rape scene’ and nudity. But I think I was able to convince him and the director trusted my acting in the rape scene without being graphic about it,” shared Lance.

For him, putting much importance in the plight of the rape victims makes “Fidel” more socially relevant. And that’s a good reason for people to watch it which is for the story and not for its voyeuristic appeal.

Shandii Bacolod agreed that “Fidel” wasn’t done to showcase a “male rape scene” for moviegoers.

“I had a hard time shooting the rape scene. That was the hardest in ‘Fidel.’ Because in 2008, gay movies boomed and I thought that people might think ‘Fidel’ was a gay movie because a man was raped and that the director is gay. So we shied away from focusing on the rape scene and nudity,” commented Shandii.

This is also the reason Shandii, after “Fidel’s” run in Robinsons Galleria would go on a Campus Tour. He feels that since the topic is quite new, he would like students to learn more of the OFW problem – male rape.

“I was shocked when I was asked how do you rape a man. And I had a hard time answering that question. The topic is something new and I feel that question would be answered through this film,” Shandii said.

So how did Lance Raymundo prepare for his role?

“I’ve always wanted to do ‘Fidel’ since it was offered to me because I felt it was my ticket to the movies. And it was very challenging because it was very far from my personality. And Fidel was raped by men and I don’t know how that feels… I was proud of ‘Fidel’ because I grew as an actor after doing it. I got deeper into the craft and I got more training. But I liked the rawness and honesty of my character. It was my performance wherein I had no training at all. So everything was really from the heart and nothing technical,” answered Lance.

At the moment, acting is Lance Raymundo’s new calling in life. He may have an arsenal of compositions hidden in his music-chest, but he is pursuing more his acting in the meantime.

“I want to excel in acting. After doing ‘Fidel’ and other indie-films, I feel that this is what I want to excel in. I want to be a versatile actor. The challenge for me in every project was to level with my co-actors who are more experienced than me. I’m happy because I worked with very professional and good actors. It was a good journey for me,” he related.

Lance always believes in the saying that destiny gives you what you deserve. And this is why he has been more open to doing a lot of acting workshops to hone his craft. His goal is also to know his acting job more in the coming future.