IN TRUE indie spirit, these filmmakers reach out to their audience beyond the confines of the mall circuit.

Once a month, Inquirer employees are treated to screenings of independent films handpicked by the Entertainment staff, including a dialogue with the directors and actors. In turn, the indie artists are treated with the same attention and care usually lavished on their mainstream peers.

Past choices have included Brillante Mendoza’s “Kinatay” and Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s “Boses” and, more recently, these two gems: Soxie Topacio’s “Ded na si Lolo” and Erik Matti’s “The Arrival.”

Arrivals, departures

ERIK Matti and Dwight Gaston, both Ilonggos, were friends long before they worked together. RODEL ROTONI

For both director and actor, the movie marks an end and a beginning

FILMMAKER Erik Matti is known either for fantasy or sexy flicks. Actor Dwight Gaston is usually cast in a comedy role.

For both of them, “The Arrival” is quite a departure. They bravely stepped out of their comfort zones with this quiet, sensitive drama on one man’s leap of faith.

Luckily, the duo’s gambit paid off—exactly the way it turned out for the film’s doggedly optimistic hero.

“The Arrival” was nominated for eight Urian awards and won a Best Music trophy for Francis de Veyra.

Gaston, who’s also a writer, costume designer and one-time drummer for The Jerks, couldn’t believe he was nominated for Best Actor in the Urian, the awards handed out by local critics.

The accolades are still pouring in. It was described by international film festival programmer Roger Garcia as a “wistful, daydream of a movie.”

It was presented at this year’s Cinemalaya as part of the section on the year’s best indie films. It was also screened in Hong Kong, Udine and, most recently (July 22), at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York.

Why did you choose an English title?
Erik Matti: It would sound too mushy in Tagalog … “Ang Pagdating.” Too serious. Heavy.
Dwight Gaston: We also thought of “Simula sa Gitna.” Parang baduy (It didn’t sound cool).

Did you relate with your character Leo the lonely bookkeeper?
DG: Yah. I’m also getting older. (Laughs.)

Have you ever thought of leaving everything behind?
DG: It’s not just about a career change. I am sure all of us, at one point or another, felt the same way. It isn’t as if Leo is leaving everything behind forever. It’s just a sabbatical; he wants to see where it would lead. All of us can relate to that.

What led you to this film?
EM: It started long ago as a one-line concept. We developed it through improvisations. With improv, the characters come alive. These actors can go on for hours.

Are Dwight and his two co-stars in the movie, Dennis Ascalon and Milton Dionzon, friends in real life?
EM: Yah. Total opposites. They were not part of the original cast. We were supposed to set it in Batangas, with Tagalog actors. I moved it to Murcia, with Ilonggo actors. From the start, I wanted Dwight.

You’ve all known each other for a long time now?
EM: Yah. Dwight and I worked in Peque Gallaga films.
DG: We were friends before we were coworkers. Mga Ilonggo kami.
EM: He was a designer when we met.
DG: I would create the designs and let the production designer execute them. The problem is, the money’s in production design. (Laughs.)

What’s it like to be a leading man now?
DG: I seldom get to be the lead, and it has to be in a movie that will never get shown commercially.
EM: I really wish he’d won the Urian.
DG: But I’m happy because the guy who won (Lou Veloso, for “Colorum”) was really good.

How do you feel about veteran comedians like you and Lou being given meaty roles in indie movies?
DG: It’s all because of digital films. The technology gave filmmakers freedom to experiment and improve their craft. But in the mainstream, the situation is still the same for small actors.

“The Arrival” was shown at the Udine Film Fest in Italy?
EM: Suki na ako do’n (I’m a regular there). But “The Arrival” was different from my other Udine films like “Gagamboy” and “Exodus.” The critics asked me: “What happened to you?” I told them I didn’t want to make the same kind of films over and over again.

“The Arrival” was quite a departure for the two of you?
EM: A foreign critic told me that he cried watching it. But he said the film is too intimate for the festival circuit.
DG: I’ve never been called a serious actor. I’ve always been known as a comedian … as [a local] Mr. Bean.

Do you have plans of releasing it commercially?
EM: None. A mall offered to screen it for two weeks. I asked if they had a marketing plan. They didn’t. If you can’t market it well, why release it at all?

Will you release it on TV then?
EM: I got a letter from a network which offered to air it on its international channel, twice with a rerun the next day. They offered only P50,000. (Laughs.)

How much did the movie cost?
EM: About P2.4 million. But I got some things for free—like my service.

How many days did you shoot?
EM: Ten days.
DG: Five days straight in Murcia during Holy Week.
EM: The first two scenes were shot a year apart. Dwight started asking when he could have a haircut.

Dwight, what keeps you busy now?
DG: I’m head writer for the TV5 show “Inday Wanda.”

You also worked as costume designer, right?
DG: For the movies, “Batang X” and “Pedro Penduko.” On TV, “Mulawin” and “Majika.”
EM: He also plays music.
DG: I played the drums for The Jerks for a while.

How did you come up with the music for the movie?
EM: My peg was Bob Dylan. After the shoot, I scouted for music people. I asked the help of Quark Henares and Erwin Romulo. Quark and Erwin led me to Vim Nadera and Ricky Torre. Then I invited Lourd de Veyra and his brother Francis.

Which artists recorded songs for the soundtrack?
EM: Noel Cabangon, Jaime Fabregas, Cookie Chua, Karl Roy, Joey Ayala, Chikoy Pura, Rico J. Puno. People are asking me to release the soundtrack.

How did you get Rico J?
EM: I called up his manager Norma Japitana. She said we could meet at one of Rico J’s concerts. My mom is a big fan of Rico J’s, so we watched the show. He recorded the song for free, but tickets to his show are pretty expensive! (Laughs.)

Lessons from ‘Lolo’

AS A child star, Roderick says, he waded through a real garbage dump, and got thrown into a real sewer. Most young actors today have it much easier, he notes. ARNOLD ALMACEN

Roderick Paulate shares experiences and insights on the journey of the Philippine entry to the 2010 Oscars

TRUE to the film’s manic-depressive tone, the hall shook with laughter, while “Ded na si Lolo” coaxed tears from the viewers at the same time.

It was a packed house when Soxie Topacio’s movie, the Philippine entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category in the last Oscars, was screened at the Inquirer office. (“Lolo” didn’t make it to the final five slots; Argentina’s “The Secret in Their Eyes” won.)

The film’s scene-stealing star, Roderick Paulate, who won Best Supporting Actor in the Pasado and Gawad Tanglaw and Best Actor in the Golden Screen awards, attended the Inquirer viewing, then answered questions from the staff.

What was the Oscar journey like for you?

An eye-opener. We went up against veterans in the Oscar race. We were newcomers compared to them.

Lessons from that experience?

Direk Soxie, the actors and (producer) APT Entertainment did our best. But we really need to lobby for our entry and that requires a lot of money. The other countries seriously campaigned.

What was the Palm Springs festival like?
Palms Springs was a lot like the Manila International Film Festival in 1982. After “Lolo” was shown, we had a cocktail party attended mostly by foreigners. As Soxie said, we were given “thunderous applause” after the screening. Not only the Filipinos were clapping; the Americans, too.

Did you meet the philanthropist behind the Palms Springs fest, Jackie Lee Houston?
Dante Nico Garcia (who directed the country’s Oscar entry last year, “Ploning”) introduced us to Ms Houston and the other guests.

She told me, “You’re fantastic!” She kept laughing while watching the film. She asked if we really observed those superstitious rituals during wakes and funerals.
Personally, there were some superstitions mentioned in the film that I didn’t know about. I guess, because those were from other parts of the country, not from Bicol where my mom was from. That’s why a lot of Filipinos can relate to the film … we put in beliefs from the different regions.

What else did Ms Houston say?
She said I looked familiar. I think she saw one of the American movies I did as a child. I made a lot of international movies earlier—1975’s “Supercock” with Nancy Kwan, 1973’s “A Taste of Hell” with William Smith and John Garwood, among others.

She said Filipino films had a way of touching her.

What other questions did foreigners frequently ask?
One that kept cropping up was, why did mainstream stars accept this film? Come to think of it, I was paid only $100! No, $60! (Laughs.) And we brought our own food to the set, pot-luck style.

What was the reaction when they heard about your talent fee?
Another round of thunderous applause.

Did they know that you were a box-office star in the 1980s?
I think Soxie mentioned that I was one of the highest-paid stars at the time.

But proceeds from “Lolo” will go to movie workers. When Soxie asked about my fee, I said, “Kahit wala, I’ll be fine.”

Your promo for “Lolo” was mainly on Facebook. You also have lots of old photos as a child star on your Facebook page.
Friends requested that I post more old photos. There’s one of me with Vi (Vilma Santos). That was the first time I beat her as Best Child Performer (for “Kasalanan Kaya?” in the 1968 Manila Film Festival). Vi played my sister in that movie.

Whenever Vi and I talk about that, we get a good laugh. I make it a private joke when we fight “Basta, I beat you when I was 6 and you were almost 15!”

She’d claim I was the judges’ favorite. I’d counter, “I did a death scene at age 6!”

Yes, how did you do that?
I had Lolita Rodriguez, who played my mom, as my teacher.

Of course, as a child, I had no concept of death. She pressed her hand to my chest and asked, “How do you feel?” I said I couldn’t breathe. She told me to deliver my lines as if I was gasping for air.

That movie also starred Eddie Rodriguez and Marlene Dauden. I had the best mentors.

How would you compare child stars then and now?
I can’t differentiate kids then and now. Nights ago, I had an interesting talk with (“Lolo” costar and former child star) Gina Alajar. We compared then and now, asking, “Mas malalim ba tayo noon (Did we have deeper understanding)?”

Kids today are more distracted—computer games, Internet …

Notice that kids just throw their lines … patapon lang.

I appreciate my 1960s training. The acting of Lolita Rodriguez was pure … walang halong technology. Kids today get all the support they need in terms of lighting, camera angles … The mood is set up for them—that really helps an actor get into character. During our time, we were left to our own devices.

I was once asked to weep in a carnival. How could I, while riding a chubibo, which was supposed to be fun? But against my will, I did.

Now, a garbage dump is production-designed. In the past, I had to wade through a real garbage dump.

Now, they can make mud out of oatmeal. In the 1980s, I was pushed into a real imburnal (sewer). Ayun, I was hospitalized after.

For a scene in “Kumander Gringa” (1987), I was forced to hold a snake. I am scared of reptiles. Mother Lily (Monteverde, the producer) insisted. It was lucky to have snakes in movies raw.

I heard having weddings and funerals in a movie was also considered lucky. Mga kabaong! All my movies that have a coffin, including “Ded na si Lolo,” were box-office hits.

Back to the snake … I took tranquilizers to do that scene. It wasn’t just a snake; it was a python!

First take, we used a fake snake. For the second, we had to shoot the real one. While they were giving me the tranquilizer, I suggested: Maybe you should also drug the snake?