I knew it was a good film when even I fell in love with Empoy after watching it, \u201d said filmmaker Sigrid Andrea Bernardo of the romantic comedy \u201cKita Kita, \u201d starring comedian Empoy Marquez and dramatic actress Alessandra de Rossi.<\/b>
\nI knew it was a good film when even I fell in love with Empoy after watching it, \u201d said filmmaker Sigrid Andrea Bernardo of the romantic comedy \u201cKita Kita, \u201d starring comedian Empoy Marquez and dramatic actress Alessandra de Rossi.
In the film, which will be screened nationwide starting July 19, Alessandra plays a taxi driver-cum-tourist guide in Japan. Her character, who is suffering from temporary blindness, meets and falls for Empoy.
\u201cI already knew Alex (Alessandra\u2019s nickname) , so I did my research on Empoy by watching his videos. I looked for their common denominator. I learned that Alex can also be funny, but she was never given comedic projects, while Empoy also has a serious side. I discovered the balance between them, \u201d Sigrid said during a media gathering that was also attended by Spring Films producers Erickson Raymundo, Joyce Bernal and Piolo Pascual.
How did the director make a serious actor out of Empoy? Sigrid said: \u201cI didn\u2019 t tell him to stop being a comedian. I just told him to reduce his acting by 90 percent, to act more real and natural, to show the Empoy behind the camera we knew.\u201d
Sigrid said she was earlier offered a different script, which she said \u201cwasn\u2019 t my style.\u201d
She explained: \u201cIts brand of comedy was different from mine, so I pitched my own story. I was surprised that my producers took a risk on it. They just said they wanted the film shot abroad.
\u201cI thought Japan would be perfect because shooting there would be cheaper. Then, I went there ahead to research on the culture.\u201d
The filmmaker said her task was to make a love story about how one falls in love with someone she doesn\u2019 t see. \u201cThere\u2019s also the aspect of them being OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) , and the fact that the movie is set in Japan. I just married all the elements and came up with this. We\u2019 ve heard of many stories involving OFWs, mostly about their money issues. But, this is different\u2014after all, OFWs also fall in love.\u201d
Sigrid said that while the original plan was to shoot the film somewhere in Europe, she opted to do it in Hokkaido, Japan. \u201cI\u2019 ve been to several places in Japan, but not Hokkaido. The area is known for hosting the Winter Olympics, but we went there during summer. It\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d
Incidentally, the film is one of three that competed at the 2017 Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. Sigrid\u2019s \u201cAng Huling Cha Ni Anita\u201d (2013) brought home a special mention from the same festival in 2014.
\u201cFrom previous encounters with the Japanese audience, I already knew how they\u2019 d react. We\u2019 re so used to Filipinos laughing aloud inside the cinemas, but in Japan, there seems to be a rule not to disturb other people who are watching, \u201d Sigrid recalled.
\u201cThey were all quiet, but after the screening, during the autograph-signing, a lot of them approached us to say that they were so affected by the movie\u2014and some of them even cried.\u201d
Asked what it was like to have Piolo as a producer, Sigrid said: \u201cHe gave me complete artistic freedom while filming. He made a comment only during the editing.
\u201cI\u2019 m glad that Piolo trusted me with this project, as well as Direk Joyce and Erickson, who even went to our Manila set just to say they\u2019 re proud of it. This might just be commissioned work for me, but I also want my producers [to be] satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

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