QCINEMA 2015: IISA

IISA

From www.interaksyon.com

Award-winning film editor Chuck Gutierrez admits that after he graduated from film school in 2004, he felt that he was not yet ready to be a filmmaker right away.

“So I worked as a film editor and produced films to further hone my craft. I believe being a director is earned,” Gutierrez told InterAksyon shortly after the gala premiere of his filmmaking debut “Iisa,” an entry in the Circle Competition section of the QCinema International Film Festival.

Inspired by true events in the aftermath of killer typhoons Pablo in 2012 and Yolanda in 2013, the film follows a group of rebels tasked to rebuild the destroyed homes destroyed by a destructive typhoon in a lumad (tribal) community in Mindanao.

“The lumad community is far from reach of any government service but has long been penetrated by corporate mining projects that have severely denuded their mountains. ‘Iisa’ is the journey of individuals working together to pick up their lives amid enormous challenges. They discover that in times of disasters and wars, the only ones they can rely on are not the government, not charitable agencies, not the military, but themselves,” Direk Chuck said.

In deciding on “Iisa” as his feature film debut, he really wanted to go out of his comfort zone and work with the best team. He found exactly that when his good friend and frequent collaborator, award-winning filmmaker Arnel Mardoquio (“Riddles of my Homecoming,” “Alienasyon”), gave him the screenplay for “Iisa” two years ago as a birthday present.

“He is from the town where Pablo occurred. My wife, Baby Ruth Villarama, at that time was covering typhoon Yolanda for international news wires. The stories we gathered showed that the worst of nature can bring out the best in humanity. This is what inspired me to finally develop the script further and turn it into this film,” Gutierrez recalled.

As he envisioned the film to rely heavily on visuals and not on dialogues, the director went with sincere actors who, he said, were as passionate as he was in making films. These included Angeli Bayani as a volunteer teacher, Rio Locsin as a missionary nun, Mon Confiado and Jess Mendoza as rebel soldiers, Rocky Salumbides as a military soldier and—in one of her rare movie appearances—Mitch Valdes as an affluent mother.

Also portraying special roles are Perry Dizon and other actors from Mindanao.
Gutierrez is all praises for his actors as he noticed during the post-production stage that “everyone stands out” and “there are no supporting roles in the film.” He is very complimentary in particular to Angeli Bayani and Rio Locsin.

“It’s funny how people compare Angeli Bayani to Nora Aunor. Nora and Angeli can convey a thousand words just by looking through their eyes,” he quipped.

“Rio Locsin epitomizes the professional Filipina actress. She studies her role and she becomes her character when the camera starts rolling. Her role in ‘Iisa’ is extremely difficult both mentally and physically but she played it perfectly with no qualms and hesitation. I hope to see her in major roles in the near future.”
In one of the film’s highlights, Angeli’s character finds out that the town governor is hoarding the relief goods from the United Nations. As she goes down from the hidden mountain, she would be exposed to the eyes of her enemy, the Philippine military.

“I believe the abuses of bad politics continue to plague our country. Filipinos still rely on politicians to save us from poverty. It’s my aspiration in ‘Iisa’ that the audience wouldl learn that if common Filipinos just act as one, we could move forward as a nation without relying solely on politicians, celebrities and even religious institutions,” Direk Chuck pointed out.

“Tragedies bring out the worst but also the best in us. Sometimes nature forces us to set aside our differences for us to survive tragedies as one.”

Catch the remaining screenings of “Iisa” at the QCinema International Film Festival on October 29 (Thursday) at 5:20 pm in Trinoma and October 31 (Saturday) at 3:30 pm in Gateway.