Subtle acting…an entirely new environment…provocative stories.
These were the phrases that came out of Mercedes Cabral’s mouth when she was asked about her experience filming Rosita, a 2015 film about a Filipina mail order bride in Denmark.
A stalwart of the Philippines’ indie film scene, the 30-year-old Fine Arts graduate at University of the Philippines is best known for starring in award-winning independent films like Serbis, Kinatay, Captive, and Thy Womb, and for being cast by South Korean director Park Chan-wook in his acclaimed and blockbuster 2009 film, Thirst.
“Filming Rosita was an entirely different experience for me acting wise. Here in the Philippines, the audience looks for a different formula. In Denmark, you can’t just be an actor if you didn’t have a degree. Their acting is really subtle. They don’t exaggerate. And I had to level up with these guys,” Cabral said pertaining to the film and her co-stars.
The actress considers being one of the main characters in Rosita a humbling experience, not to mention that she’s the first Filipino actor to top bill a Danish film. She also commends the actors she had worked with particularly Jens Albinus for helping her “break the ice” and for inspiring her to improve her craft.
“I consider him as of the most intense actors I’ve ever worked with. He’s such a brilliant film artist,” she mused.
According to Cabral, language was one of the biggest challenges she encountered when she was filming the movie helmed by Frederikke Aspöck. She had to learn the language in a short period of time noting that Danish is spoken differently from the way it is written.
“Memorizing my lines was a bit of a challenge. That’s why I appreciate all my co-actors for giving me an instant language lesson and for being very patient with me,” Cabral shared.
Described by Variety as “a compelling humanist drama about a Filipino mail-order bride in a small Danish fishing village,” it follows the story of Rosita who arrives on Denmark’s windswept north Jutland peninsula, a rural hamlet where fish dominates the local economy. She arrives on a tourist visa and moves in with Ulrik (Albinus) so the latter can evaluate her suitability as a spouse. In the process, Urik’s son Johannes (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) becomes more acquainted with his future stepmother.
“This film is really different from what I’ve done before. It’s very simple but it has an element of reality, which people can really relate to. Emotionally it’s really heavy,” she revealed.
The film is one of the films featured in the second of Danish Film Festival that runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 at the Shang Cineplex.
The Danish film fest
The 2016 Danish Film Fest features 11 films that aim to encourage Filipinos to know more about Danish culture, traditions, interests and basic way of living.
Now on its second edition, the film fest highlights the cultural exchange between Denmark and the Philippines and encourages to explore what the Scandinavian country has to offer.
“We are eager to further develop our cultural links to the Philippines and give the Filipinos a chance to experience some of our cultural expressions through film, music, painting and literature. We believe that by engaging each other, we can inspire each other, too,” said Jan Top Christensen, Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines.
Films to look out for are thrillers The Keeper of the Lost Causes and The Candidate (both by Nikolaj Lie Kaas), the notorious drama Sex Drugs and Taxation (Pilou Asbæk), the crime film The Hour of the Lynx (Sofie Grabol), the drama thriller The Idealist (Christina Rosendahl), the psychological drama Fear Me Not (Ulrich Thomsen), and family comedy Karla’s World (Elena Arndt-Jensen).
For further information and screening schedule, follow the Shang on Instagram @shangrilaplazaofficial or visit their Facebook page.
