The flag ceremony scene in “John Denver Trending.” A winning film from Pandan, Antique.
Pandan, Antique –
Awe and shock and exhilaration from over one thousand students in
this fourth class municipality greeted the first morning screening of
Arden Rod Condez’s “John Denver Trending” at the Liberman
Sports Complex near the town plaza.
A full audience in the morning screening of “John Denver Trending”
in Pandan, Antique. Photo by Chris Millado.
The film’s
ending is not the kind that will elicit applause but once they have
recovered from the unexpected ending, the predominantly young
audiences erupted into deafening applause and cheers mainly for the
brilliant lead star, Jansen Magpusao, the director (Condez) and an
equally remarkable supporting cast.
Jansen Magpusao as the harassed John Denver. An amazing actor without the benefit of acting lessons.
The film’s
ending was reminiscent of the poignant finale of Lino Brocka’s
“Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang” which points to a collective guilt
of an insensitive society for the death of the town’s madwoman.
An open forum
after the screening hosted by Pandan’s district supervisor Generosa
Condez revealed highly emotional responses from the students and an
overwhelming sympathy for the lead character of John Denver portrayed
with stunning sensitivity by the 15-year old Magpusao.
“We like the
film for the precious lesson it teaches us,” said one student. “But
most of all, it is about time we pay attention to rampant bullying in
schools and especially in social media. The ending is sad indeed but
the plight of this student demands attention from all sectors of
society. It also teaches us not to be judgmental about everyone.”
Charem Emen from
the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO)
said she liked the film but felt the story should have revealed who
stole the gadget which caused all the problems for John Denver. “A
bit bitin but the lesson it imparts is no doubt a lasting one.”
Equally admired
was the heart-felt performance of the mother played with such
devastating helplessness by Meryll Soriano.
The film also
revealed an equally sensitive director in Condez who was able to
portray an idyllic town still holding on to the traditions of the
past like the angelus at six in the evening where people drop what
they are doing to make the sign of the cross and say a short prayer.
Director Arden Rod Condez and actor Jansen Magpusao with the Cinemalaya team from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. A record-breaking four screenings in one day.
“In a way the
film is my little tribute to my hometown and that’s the reason the
film was shot entirely in Pandan town,” said director Condez. “As
usual, we made the most out of the modest Cinemalaya grant and tried
to get much needed services by exchange deal. For the same reason,
almost everyone in the town got involved in the project. I wrote
script for over two weeks during the Christmas holidays, did the
pre-prod for six months and then shot it for ten days. And then
another six months for post-production. It wasn’t an easy project
to wrap up. But we got the best help from everyone from the acting
coach and the ensemble most of whom offered services for free.”
With the surprise
response from film critics and audiences in Manila and the
provinces, the director and lead actor got heroes’ welcome in
Pandan town after the conclusion of the Cinemalaya festival at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines last August 14.
The director said
he didn’t expect that warm welcome for his debut film. “But after
the first screening, I started to realize we have a winner with all
the positive buzz on the film. Even Jansen (Magpusao) didn’t know
what to make of it. He was so quiet during the first presscon and
when the compliments started coming, he remained oblivious of the
signs of overwhelming acceptance. After several days in Manila, he
missed the peace and quiet of his hometown and didn’t quite know
what the adulation was all about. He remained grounded even as his
fans increase with every screening.”
But the reaction
of Pandananons was pure pride for the new cultural heroes of the
province.
“You can’t
help it that we take pride in this film,” said Vice-Mayor Raymund
Nonato Gumboc. The director (Condez) is from our town so was the lead
actor (Magpusao) who won the best actor trophy without the benefit of
professional acting lessons. And the rest of the characters in the
film were our friends and relatives and neighbors. Nothing like this
film was given wide patronage by Pandananons.”
CCP artistic director Chris Millado (center) with Pandan Mayor Plaridel Sanchez VI and Vice Mayor Raymund Nonato Gumboc.
CCP artistic
director Chris Millado said during the opening remarks that the film
was CCP’s gift to the people of Pandan on the occasion of its 50th
anniversary and as its way of observing the 100th year of Philippine
cinema.
With
cinematography by Rommel Sales and production design by Harley
Alcasid, “John Denver Trending” is headed for the Busan Film
Festival in South Korea where it is the country’s entry in
competition in the feature film category.
The original
“John Denver” script won second place at the Screenplay Category
of the 68th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and
selected for the 2018 Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market
in Singapore.
