FEATURE: Enchong Dee, Jameson Blake star in Kip Oebanda's NAY

Director Kip Oebanda with stars Enchong Dee & Jameson Blake
Source: @KipOebanda

"After Bar Boys, what are you going to do next?" Director Kip Oebanda asks himself in one of his social media posts.

After his critically acclaimed youth-oriented comedy drama Bar Boys (2017) which was part of the very first Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino and starred Carlo Aquino, Enzo Pineda, Rocco Nacino and Kean Cipriano, what's really next for Director Kip Oebanda? The answer to that question is Nay. An official entry to the 2017 Cinema One Originals, Nay features some of the country's well known actors led by Enchong Dee, Sylvia Sanchez and Jameson Blake. In Nay, Director Kip goes for the supernatural as he makes a film about a rich, sheltered youth who gets to be transformed into an aswang by his yaya, Nay Luisa.

Director Kip Oebanda with star Sylvia Sanchez. Source: @KipOebanda

The project was described by actor Jameson Blake as a gore film, a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. This subgenre, though not really popular here in the country, is a staple in American and Japanese cinema as evident in films like George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Eli Roth's Hostel and James Wan's Saw franchise.

This would be the second time that Enchong Dee and Jameson Blake joined the said film festival. Enchong played the lead role in Paano Ko Sasabihin, an official entry to the 2009 Cinema One Originals. Jameson, on the other hand was part of 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten from last year's festival. This is also not the first time that Kip Oebanda became part of the festival. He has previously worked on the call-center romance film Shift by Siege Ledesma in 2013 where he was nominated for Best Editing (Cinema One Currents). Here in Nay, director/ writer Kip Oebanda take on the classic aswang mythology and gives it a fresh, modern look.

Jameson Blake prepares as his head gets casted for the film's FX prosthesis.
Source: @KipOebanda

I was able to visit one of the locations (a bar in Tomas Morato) where they were shooting some scenes for the movie. Based on my observations, Director Kip has a keen eye for detail as he instructs his two lead actors in polishing a bar scene. Both Enchong and Jameson are on their A game despite the tiring shoot. Jameson is focused on perfecting his acting while Enchong looks like he's just having fun playing an aswang. This is not the first time that Enchong starred in a genre flick as he previously played an aswang hunter in the 2012 horror pic The Strangers and as a possessive and murderous zombie lover in the 2016 horror-comedy I Love You To Death. Jameson, on the other hand is currently shooting another horror film entitled Haunted Forest under Regal Films.

Enchong Dee prepares for a scene.

Nay, according to Cinema One, is one of the seven films which were able to "deliver fresh stories with poignant, hilarious and extraordinary accounts that will touch the lives of more diverse audiences." The finalists were picked by the selection committee led by Ronald Arguelles (festival director), Philbert Dy, Rico Gonzales, Oggs Cruz, Jinky Laurel, Kathleen Pador, Richard Bolisay, Sherad Anthony Sanchez, and Jade Castro. All seven finalists received a grant of P3 million to produce their movie and compete in the festival to be held this November 2017, making it the biggest edition of the festival to date. It is no doubt that Nay is one of the most anticipated entries of the festival this year.

The film's official teaser poster.

With "Bar Boys" and "Nay" director Kip Oebanda

With "Nay" star Jameson Blake

With "Nay" star Enchong Dee

4 Days (2017) movie review

La douleur exquise : the exquisite pain of wanting someone that you know you can never have, and knowing that you will still try to be with them. This, according to the main character, is not equivalent to unrequited love. Unrequited love is a state of relationship, the other is a state of mind, says the main character. This is what the story of Adolfo Alix Jr.'s 4 Days is all about. Directed by Adolf Alix Jr., it stars Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro in the lead roles. It was part of the “Indie Nation” section of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2016. Now, after almost a year of it's debut at Cinemalaya, the film finally gets a premiere screening at the UP Cine Adarna last August 24, 2017. The screening was graced by the film's lead actors Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro, together with the film's director, Adolf Alix Jr. I've been looking forward to seeing this film since last year but I wasn't able to catch it's screening. So when I learned about the film's premiere at UP CineAdarna, I was so excited about it.

Screenshots from the trailer

The film tells the story of two college friends, Mark (Mikoy Morales) and Derek (Sebastian Castro) who slowly realize they mean more to each other than either had initially realized. 4 Days joins Derek and Mark in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day over the course of a few years- charting the blossoming of a friendship in to something much more enduring as time goes on – and challenging both to question who they thought they were and who they truly want to me. Painting a moving picture of how an abiding friendship can sometimes lead to love – and how we sometimes have to wrestle with our own demons to find their true self, 4 Days is achingly romantic and delicate.

The story, which spans over a course of four years, focuses on the events in the two characters' lives every Valentines Day. It begins on a Valentines Day, as Mark arrives at the campus and joins Derek as his roommate in their college dormitory. Then, the story skips to the following year's Valentines Day after the two have become the best of friends, with Derek having a new girlfriend and Mark starting to realize his true feelings for his friend. The progress jumps a year after another which may seem like big leaps. But the pacing of the movie is actually slow. The story takes it time in building up the relationship between the two main characters. Unlike the usual stories we see onscreen where we follow a continuous flow of events, 4 Days instead gives us a peek into these character's lives for just a single day for every year. Yet this is more than enough to show how both characters have grown and the changes that they've had for the missing days of the rest of the year which we do not get to see. Most of the film's story happens within the confines of Mark and Derek's small room. From their first meeting to their first heartbreaks, they experience all of it within their small space. This makes the story feel more personal, because we get to enter their small, little world where they can be real to each other.

Source: TLA Releasing

The film's story focuses on the idea of waiting. With Mark waiting for the right time, the right moment, to let Derek know about his true feelings for him. Waiting for him to realize that all this time, he was just there, waiting for him. Waiting for Derek to love him back. The story is told mostly from Mark's point of view, as he narrates through voice overs what he have in mind about loving someone and how it feels when it is not returned back. His statements about unrequited love, about patiently waiting for a person to love you back or how sometimes one get's tired of waiting for love to be returned are smoothly layered over drone shots of the campus (UP Diliman) which serves as bookmarks to every chapter (or year) that ends or begins. These bookmarks make the transition from one Valentines Day to another seamless and keeps the pacing of the story consistent. I noticed that the film is not like the usual LGBT-oriented romantic drama films that most of us has seen in the past because director Adolf Alix decided not to follow most of the genre's norm. Unlike other LGBT-oriented romance drama, the film strays away from the more erotic aspects of the genre. It doesn't involved any sensual scenes (my favorite film, the gay coming-of-age 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten is no exemption because it had a masturbation scene) between the main characters. Instead, it focuses on it's characters' emotions and the time it takes for them to realize their true feelings for one another. Another thing that I noticed and liked about the film is the way it deviates from how usual LGBT-themed films ends in a sad or sometimes tragic manner. But I won't get into that too much to avoid spoiling it.

Though the film was shot in a rush (director Adolf Alix revealed that they shot the whole film within a span of just 2 days due to the very small budget), the film actually looks good. From the drone shots accompanied by Mark's voice-overs to the those long, continuous shots (which they call babad shots because of the long takes), every frame looks good. There is a consistent sepia tone all throughout the film, giving an old-fashioned look, as if every chapter (or year) is like a memory of yesterday that has passed by and long gone. It evokes nostalgia, especially the campus setting which reminds one of his/her college days. The film's soundtrack was also beautiful and perfectly fits the whole story. The song, entitled "Pusong Hindi Makatulog" was an original song by lead actor Mikoy Morales (the song's music video was even directed by Adolf Alix).

I think director Adolf Alix found the best actors to play the characters of the movie with Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro. Mikoy Morales has this innocent looking face which perfectly matched his character Mark who is about to fall in love for the first time to someone of his same sex and has no idea how to deal with it. He did a pretty good job in carrying those intense emotional scenes with his co-actor, especially during their heated argument in the final act of the film. Sebastian Castro was perfectly cast as Derek. His character, a guy who has been in relationships with women for most of his life and just realized that he actually harbors some feelings for another man, is more reserved and prefers to keep his true self hidden from most of the world. Sebastian's portrayal of the role was restrained, but felt so real. During the film's Q&A session, director Adolf Alix revealed that the film didn't have an actual script when they shot it. He only gave the actors an outline of what's supposed to happen and the two are left to come up with their own character's dialogues. This gave the film a much more raw appeal because the character's reactions are organic. These two actors also shares some really nice chemistry, as seen with their smooth yet believable impromptu conversations. We were so engrossed with the story and the two characters that we felt like we've been with them and known them for a lifetime. The film felt like a coming-of-age of the two characters as they both come to terms of their true feelings for one another.

Featuring stellar performances from it's two leads, and great direction from Adolf Alix, 4 Days is a touching and memorable film that is grounded on reality, and will leave a lasting impact on it's viewers with it's raw and realistic take on love.



Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ of 5
4 Days (2016, Original Release)
Directed by Adolf Alix Jr.
Starring Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro

Adolf Alix Jr.'s 4 Days premieres at UP Diliman, gets Worldwide Distribution

LGBT-themed romantic drama 4 Days premiered last August 24, 2017 at UP Cine Adarna. Directed by Adolf Alix Jr., 4 Days stars Sebastian Castro as Derek and Mikoy Morales as Mark, and tells the story of two college friends who slowly realize they mean more to each other than either had initially realized. 4 Days joins Derek and Mark in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day over the course of a few years- charting the blossoming of a friendship in to something much more enduring as time goes on – and challenging both to question who they thought they were and who they truly want to me. Painting a moving picture of how an abiding friendship can sometimes lead to love – and how we sometimes have to wrestle with our own demons to find their true self, 4 Days is achingly romantic and delicate.

Mikoy Morales as Mark

Sebastian Castro as Derek

It was part of the “Indie Nation” section of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2016. Now, after almost a year of it's debut at Cinemalaya, the film finally gets a premiere screening at the Cine Adarna, UP Diliman. The screening was graced by the film's lead actors Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro, together with the film's director, Adolf Alix Jr. In the said event, director Alix also screened the trailer of his latest film, Madilim ang Gabi (Dark is the Night) starring Gina Alajar, Philip Salvador, and Angel Aquino, which is set to have its world premiere at the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival, and the Nora Aunor-starrer Role Play. The screening was attended by Morales' fellow teen actors Thea Tolentino, Jake Vargas, Joyce Ching, Kristoffer Martin and Martin Del Rosario to name a few.

Lead actors Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro said that they did not expected the screening to be a success, after the Cine Adarna theater was packed by audiences that night. Later after the screening, the director and the cast had a Q&A Session about the film, where Adolf Alix Jr. announced that the film will be distributed worldwide by TLA Releasing on September 11, 2017. He also announced that a theatrical release here in the Philippines is being planned this year.

Audiences lining up outside CineAdarna while waiting for the premiere.

Director Adolf Alix Jr. with Mikoy Morales and Sebastian Castro.

With Sebastian Castro

With Mikoy Morales

With the film's two leads

Limited Edition "Lisyun Qng Geografia" DVD Now Available!

After the successful theatrical release of his first full length feature, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten (Winner, 2016 Cinema One Originals Best Film), director Petersen Vargas revisits his first "baby" that catapulted his name and has earned him multiple honors here and abroad. Last week, his award-winning short film Lisyun Qng Geografia (Geography Lessons) was shown back to back with 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten during the latter's encore screenings at UP Film Theater, UP Diliman. Here, director Petersen Vargas has announced that he has teamed up with Vincent Aseo for the Limited Edition DVD of his short film, Lisyun Qng Geografia. The special and final DVD release of the short film includes 4 post cards specially designed by Vincent Aseo, a 30-page zine containing Tin and Tric's diary and a DVD containing the Lisyun Qng Geografia and other short films by Petersen Vargas.

They're now taking online orders for the LIMITED EDITION DVD package of Lisyun Qng Geografia. There are ONLY 50 COPIES for this last batch of releases so make sure to get yours while they last. You can order your copy here.

The complete of the LIMITED EDITION DVD of Lisyun Qng Geografia

The beautiful postcards designed by illustrator Vincent Aseo

Director Petersen Vargas and illustrator Vincent Aseo selling copies of the DVD and postcard
 at the encore screening of Lisyun Qng Geografia back to back with 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten
in UP Cine Adarna, UP Diliman last April 29, 2017

Director Petersen Vargas enthusiastically discussing the film
with some audiences after the screening

Me with director Petersen Vargas!

Director Petersen Vargas gave me a poster of Lisyun Qng Geografia as a gift!
Thank you so much, direk!

I'm Drunk I Love You review

It is very rare for movies to tackle romance in a gritty, real way. Most of the times, romantic films focus on how good it is to feel in love. Most films we see today uses romance as an escape to reality. But then, there are those films who would rather hit us with the painful truth about love than portray it as a colorful adventure. And I have never seen a movie to ever do that as hard as JP Habac's I'm Drunk I Love You.

Maja Salavador and Paulo Avelino plays Caridad Sonia “Carson” Herrera and Dionysus “Dio” Brillo respectively. They're best friends who are finally about to graduate from college after their long overdue stay in UP for three years. They've know each other for seven years, and they've gone through a lot of stuff already that they're practically closer than BFFs. Days before their graduation, Dio invites Carson to go on one last road trip to La Union for a music festival. Carson agrees, and she is joined by her ever supportive gay bestfriend Jason Ty (played by indie favorite Dominic Roco). Little did Dio know is that Carson has been harboring feelings for him for the past seven years. Problem arises when Dio's ex-grilfriend Pathy (Jasmin Curtis Smith) shows up in the picture to reconnect with him. Will Carson finally get the courage (with the help of a bottle of beer) to tell Dio her true feelings for her before it's too late?

Maja Salvador plays her character Carson with so much commitment that she actually feels like the real thing. She doesn't look like she's just playing a role. It's as if she itself was Carson plucked out of the real world. Her funny quips and natural acting brings her character to life. She doesn't feel nor look like a caricature of past female romcom leads we have seen before. It was actually weird because it feels like I'm just watching a friend of mine, someone that I know, in the big screen. Paulo Avelino's Dio, who mostly glides through the emo/ mysterious type of guy, actually feels more authentic than most male characters we see on romcoms these days. Remember Enrique Gil's character Gio in the first few minutes of the other recently released My Ex And Whys? Though both Dio and Gio shares that moody and mystic attitude of their character, Paulo Avelino's Dio stands out between the two because his portrayal of the role is more raw and natural. Gio is on the verge of becoming this pop fiction character while Dio is bordered in reality. I don't wanna compare the two but it's just the truth. Dominic Roco and Jasmin Curtis Smith deserve some praise for their portrayal of the classic gay best friend and the ex-girlfriend, respectively. Dominic Roco plays his character, Jason Ty, with gusto, though seeing him do those girly moves with his body kinda feels a bit awkward. Jasmin Curtis plays the role of Dio's ex-grilfriend, Pathy with honesty. I don't know why but I can't feel any hate towards her character with the way she portrays the role. She's supposed to be the kontrabida in the love story of Carson and Dio but Jasmin gives her character some empathy, that she's just a normal person like one of us, hoping to be back with someone she loved before. Instead, my hatred was actually all pointed towards Dio. I don't know why I loathed him so much after the film. Maybe I met one like him in my life before and seeing what Dio have done to Carson made me feel all the pain all over again.

Another thing that I really loved about this film is the awesome soundtrack. Taking cues from films like the 2007 Irish film Once and the 2013 American film Begin Again, JP Habac infuses some great OPM songs into the story. But don't think of it as just another musical film because it isn't. The injection of songs into the scenes doesn't change the whole movie's reality based tone and atmosphere. It actually adds more punch into the pain that the audience will feel while watching the scenes. From Juan Miguel Severo, Kai Honasan, The Out of Body Special, Ang Bandang Shirley, Cynthia Alexander, Parokya ni Edgar, as well as Ebe Dancel, Johnoy Danao, Bullet Dumas and many more, what else can you ask for, right?

I'm Drunk I Love You presents itself as a romantic comedy/ music film. But if you've actually watched the film already, you'll know that this is by no means the romance film you were expecting to see. Yes, it does feature a character who is in love with another character which I guess is a requirement for it to pass as a romance movie. Yet I've read in Wikipedia that one dictionary defined it as "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily". Well, this movie is not that. It's actually more of a coming-of-age story. A wake-up call. A self-help manual. A reminder. And slap in the face. A harsh slap to make you realize that hey, it's time to grow up and move on. 

The so-called friendzone is a great basket of tearjerk stories that will definitely bring out all the hugot and feels in each one of us. We love stories about friends falling for their BFFs, and ending up together. Therefore, we live these stories and follow these character's decisions. These days, a lot of people, particularly those in the teenage years up to young adult stages are very fond of the idea of hiding their feelings for a person. We entertain this poetic idea of a love, and are contented of just being the best friend. We end up being martyrs because of our own doing. We are hoping that we are somehow gonna end up like those fairytale stories of BFFs ending up together in the end. We end up hoping, and hoping. But this film wants us to wake up from this dreamy depiction of love and asks us to get real. The movie wants us to be honest to our emotions and to ourselves. It wants us to take the chance, to risk and make that decision. Because if we won't take that one, bold move now, what else is there for us but to be stuck in an endless cycle of heartbreaks. Just like Carson who already maxed out on the MRR (Maximum Residency Rule) of UP, we too have reached our quota in our own lives. Guys, it's time to grow up and move on.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ out of 5

I'm Drunk I Love You (2017)

Starring Maja Salvador, Paulo Avelino, Dominic Roco, Jasmin Curtis-Smith
Directed by JP Habac