PELIKULA NABUO DAHIL SA PANDEMYA

Ni Rommel Gonzales

Entry sa Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2024 ang short film na “As The Moth Flies” ng female director na si Gayle Oblea.

Paano nabuo ang pelikula?

Umpisang kuwento ni Gayle, “This started way back during the height of the pandemic. My sister and I, we are also dealing with our own demons and we were suffering some questions in mind like how long is this [the COVID-19 pandemic] going to be, etc.

“And we diverted our attention into something else which was to write this film. When we originally did this, we wrote an eight-episode script because this particularly was really done for a limited series.

“That was our intention, to do a limited series because I’m currently working on a full-length film called ‘Pag-amin,’ and we all know naman medyo mahirap talaga kumuha ng funding for it, hindi siya biro and ang ROI [Return of Investment] hindi din joke, medyo longer than the usual.

“So sabi namin, gawa muna tayo ng script para sa isang limited series because we tried pitching the full-length but yung full-length na yun, they want to turn it into a series, ako naman I didn’t want to make it into a series. “So sabi ko I figured, why don’t we write a limited series, like a different story?

“So we wrote “As The Moth Flies”. Originally, dapat “Paru-paro” ang name niya, pero nung time na yun, sumikat yung “Paro Paro G”.”

Panahon rin ng pandemya noong sumikat ang novelty/dance song na Paro Paro G ni DJ Sandy.

“So pinalitan namin baka ma-associate doon,” ang natatawang sinabi pa ni Gayle.

Naging therapeutic ba para kay Gayle ang paggawa ng “As The Moth Flies”?

“Both therapeutic and toxic at the same time,” at mulit itong natawa.

“It was therapeutic because it humbles you, it reminds you of what the goal is of this film, and that is to spread awareness and to really end the stigma particularly in our country.

“But it’s also stressful because you deal with different personalities and at the end of the day, you cannot make use of your mental illness as an excuse.

“I’m not a fan of that. So, I feel like it was a challenge all in all that really brought us to the success of this film and its continued success in the future,” pagbabahagi pa ni Gayle

Mula sa Creative Kartel, Desi Matters, Happy Manila at Rav Singh, ang 15-minute short film na “As The Moth Flies” ay nagtatampok kina Boo Gabunada bilang Jett, Mina Cruz bilang Tonette, Pam Arambulo at Epy Quizon bilang Dr. Oliver Sanchez.

Ang Sinag Maynila ay magaganap simula September 4-10 sa Gateway Cinema 2, SM Cinemas in NCR, Robinsons Galleria and Manila, and Market! Market! Cinema 2.