The surfing capital of the Philippines finally takes front and center in acclaimed director-producer Paul Soriano’s first Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry Siargao, starring Asia’s Drama Prince Jericho Rosales and celebrated actresses Erich Gonzales and Jasmine Curtis-Smith.
Deviating from his previous serious projects, Soriano finally dips his fingers into the lighter romance-drama genre with his first travel-themed movie focusing on the story of a woman who is finding, recreating and rebuilding herself in the picturesque island of Siargao.
“It was very light. It was very peaceful. I really had the most fun shooting this film out of all my films,” he said.
More than showcasing and promoting the beautiful island and its majestic tourist spots, He also aims to create an awareness to match the province’s booming tourism.
“Now that we have this voice, we have this media attention, we also want to make sure to create an awareness that let’s take care of Siargao. Let’s take care of the beauty of Siargao, the beauty of the beaches. Let’s respect the locals and let’s not saturate it,” he explained saying that they made sure to interlace their advocacy into the film’s script and their ongoing promotional efforts.
Joining him in this cause are Jericho, who plays the role of Diego, the island-lover love interest of the brokenhearted video blogger Laura, played by Erich and the environmental activist and Siargao native, Abby, played by Jasmine.
Although Soriano’s Ten17P Productions produced Jasmine’s indie film Transit (2013), in Siargao he to direct her, Erich and Jericho.
“I’ve always thought ‘This girl has it!’ She takes her craft seriously and I’ve always wanted to work with her as a director,” he said of Jasmine. “What was nice about Jasmine was even when we were shooting, she was really immersed to the experience.”
Although he’s long been wanting to work with him, Soriano shared that he wasn’t able to get Jericho’s approval right from the get go.
“When I was starting to think of my actors, of course Jericho was top of mind. Jericho has been a good friend of mine for how many years. I pitched it to Echo it wasn’t a ‘yes’ agad it was more of ‘Let’s meet usap muna tayo, kape muna tayo.’ Tapos we talked and talked and we talked and talked more,” he described.
Erich caught Soriano’s attention as early as her promising Katorse days. True enough, he was able to discover Erich’s passion for acting while filming Siargao.
“When we went to Siargao, she had a really crash course on surfing and she did it. I mean it’s not easy to get up on your surfboard but she did it. I remember pa when we had our dinner she had cuts and bruises all over her legs and her arms pero go pa rin siya,” he said.
Erich couldn’t be any happier that she’s returning to the big screen after four years and with her first-ever title MMFF entry at that.
“Well it’s nice to be back to be back and to do a movie na… nakaka-excite ito yung story mismo. And then siyempre yung setting niya, one of the beautiful destinations in the country and swerte tayo na napasali rin siya sa Metro Manila Film Festival,” she said. Erich’s last film was 2014’s Shake Rattle and Roll.
The film also saw a lot of first for Erich including surfing, cliff jumping, going to Siargao, riding the motorbike and working with her co-stars and her director.
“Nandoon kami for a like a month, I mean balikan naman. Sobrang ganda ng experience namin dun kasi parang you’re working pero at the same time parang nagbabakasyon ka rin doon,” she said.
Erich describes their set as “one big happy family” as she learned life lessons from Jericho, got along well with Jasmine and appreciated the passion of Soriano for his craft.
“We all got along, like what I said kami-kami lang and andun eh. Nagtutulungan rin kapag kailangan ng example sa camera or ilaw, tulong-tulong walang diva or ano,” she said.
After trying and getting rejected in the Metro Manila Film Festival thrice, Soriano finally made it. But, according to him, he’s looking forward to experiencing one particular thing this coming Metro Manila Film Festival season.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to finally having one of my films watched by a lot of people. Yun lang. Most if not all of the films I’ve done in the past, my audiences are very niche lang. It would be nice to see the cinema more than 50 percent full. Sanay ako sa 10 people lang watching my film, 20 people watching my film, 30 people watching my film,” he ended.