Filmmaker John Paul is deeply attracted to Toto’s story, a dark comedy-drama about a young Filipino bellboy determined to secure a U.S. Visa.
Set in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the film takes its audience on a fun emotional roller coaster ride that leaves them inspired and moved.
“In moments of self-doubt, do you give up or do you soldier forward in pursuit of the dream? This is a question that, as a filmmaker in a new land where I was a complete(ly) unknown, I was constantly forced to ask myself,” says Paul who is an immigrant himself.
The premise of the film is the pursuit of the American dream. Toto, played by Sid Lucero, is from Tacloban, a place ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). His mother has cancer. He works at a hotel in Manila, and tries every which way to get to the U.S. so he can support his family – which he’s been doing since his father died and left them penniless.
Toto’s father had made it to Las Vegas to become a stage act and promised to petition his family, but he ended up a dishwasher who drank and gambled away everything. The only thing Toto inherited from his father is the obsession of the dream, which he has forged into his own, and is intent on fulfilling it, because it was also once his mother’s hope.
Undeterred by his lack of education and scant prospects, Toto schemes relentlessly to achieve his goal. When his antics put the lives of his loved ones in danger, however, he is forced to question the extremity of his actions and to re-evaluate the cost and implication of fulfilling his dreams.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the huge divide between rich and poor in the Philippines, “dreaming big” is an integral part of the cultural DNA, and Toto is a satire of the veneration of wealth and celebrity in a society where opportunity and resources are still scarce.
But it is also an allegory of the immigrant experience in general, seizing upon the luxury hotel where Toto works— with its glamorous classic Hollywood facade — as a symbol of the American Dream, and the sordid infrastructure as a persistent reminder, to Toto and to us, of the often treacherous underworld upon which that facade depends on.
In this film, all the characters have dreams and aspirations, be it about love, career, or simply friendship. But how far will one go to reach his dream?
Toto has been sweeping awards on the international scene, most recent of which is the Audience Choice Award for Best Film at the 39th Asian American International Film Festival in New York. It also won two more international awards when it bagged the Best Foreign Feature Film award and Best Actor for Lucero at 19th L.A. Comedy Festival.
In the Philippines, Toto competed at the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival’s New Wave section, and walked home with numerous awards including Special Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (for Bibeth Orteza), and Best Supporting Actor (for Thou Reyes).
Toto is currently touring the festival circuit around the world. It has made it to the official selection at numerous film festival including Hawaii International Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival and Rome Independent Film Festival, to name a few.
Graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), Toto premiered on Nov. 23 and is now showing nationwide in SM Cinemas.