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2 Mac Alejandre movies to compete in Asian film fest in Barcelona

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Leah C. Salterio

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="alt" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/16/poster_1.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA -- Two films in competition at the Asian Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain in December are by director Mac Alejandre -- “May-December-January” and “Silip sa Apoy” -- both written by National Artist for Film, Ricky Lee.Screening his films in an international film festival is important to the veteran director, known for such films as “Tagpuan,” “In Your Eyes,” “One True Love,” “Captain Barbell,” “Lastikman” and “Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot.”“On the surface level, masaya ako dahil masaya ang mga artista for the festival,” the director told ABS-CBN News.“Masaya ako dahil masaya ang friends ko. Masaya ako dahil proud na proud ang mother ko at ang family ko sa akin. It makes the people I love and care for happy.“Does it change the value of the films? No. May dinadagdag ba siya sa meaning ng films? No.“The festival is important because the film is given a wider audience. The platform given to the film as an official selection in the festival and it will win awards, may validation of the hard work behind these movies.“Is the validation needed? No. Is the validation important? Yes, because it makes everybody feel good and fuels us to do more.”Neither do the films change their worth because they join the international festival. “Pero may halaga siya sa maraming aspects,” Alejandre pointed out. “Nabibigyan ng chance to spotlight Philippine cinema.“Call this my selfish motive. We can make a film that’s sexy, ultra sexy, super sexy and yet, that’s a film that people will notice and remember, like ‘Silip sa Apoy.’ That’s important to me.“We should not get attached to labels. Sexy film. Problems with labels, it creates biases that are unfair.”Alejandre has been making films for more than three decades now. “I’m old,” he unabashedly admitted. “But I can handle the pressures in filmmaking. Through the years, I’ve learned how to handle pressures.“I can contextualize and compartmentalize. Hindi lang naman ang pressures ‘pag gumagawa ka ng pelikula. I don’t compare my movies. Each and every movie has its own story. Mas malaking pressure na pagandahin ang pelikula.”Thankfully, Alejandre is not affected by his image as a director, unlike perhaps, an actor.“Actually, ang gusto ko lang at this point in my career, gumawa ng magagandang pelikula,” he said. “What I do for Vivamax, pinaniniwalaan ko na maganda ang ginawa namin.”The directors whom he admires when he was still a student before he started making films, were important names to Alejandre’s growth as a megman.“Ishmael Bernal was one,” he disclosed. “Lino Brocka, Mike de Leon, Laurice Guillen, Mario O’Hara, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Maryo J. de los Reyes. They are all major influences on me. I love the films of Bernal.“Open akong manood ng kahit ano. I was so young when I watched ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ (1976). That was graphic sex. But I really loved the film. So that early, I never judged the works of other directors.“Western directors, I love [Federico] Fellini, [Michelangelo] Antonioni, [Francis Ford] Coppola, John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich. Asian directors, I love Wong Kar-wai. Very elegant, very classy.”One of the most viewed films on Vivamax, Alejandre’s “Silip sa Apoy,” is making the rounds of the international festival circuit.“That is a validation not only for the people behind the film, but also the producers,” he said. “That makes me happy.“The reviews that came out in international festivals for ‘Silip sa Apoy,’ there was no mention of sex. They focused on how the film was made. We are so grateful, we are so proud, we are so thankful.”In his forthcoming film, the period sexy drama, “Selina’s Gold,” with his “muse,” Angeli Khang, paired for the third time with Jay Manalo, Alejandre insisted he never changed his preferences. “Nabuo ang germ ng ‘Selina’s Gold,’ college pa lang ako sa UP,” he shared. “About sexual politics and sex itself ang story. Bakit ba ang mga lalake kapag may pera, makapangyarihan? They get everything they want.“I pitched ‘Selina’s Gold’ to Vincent del Rosario over 15 years ago. Pareho naming gusto. Nagustuhan din ito ni Boss Vic, although alam namin at that time, hindi pa pwedeng gawin. When Vivamax came last year, naalala ni Boss Vic ang kwento ko.”<div>Related video:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NCnKkabXpb0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Screening his films in an international film festival is important to the veteran director, known for such films as 'Captain Barbell,' and 'Lastikman.'