Q & A WITH DIREK BOBBY BONIFACIO (DIRECTOR OF THE FILM "HOSPICIO")....

BOBBY: a promising film director

ROBERT: Are u pursuing the film making career for good? Because in your first film Hospicio, you showed a lot of promise.

BOBBY: Thank you po for appreciating my work in Hospicio. Yes, film making will always be a career that I would be pursuing. I make narrative commercials in Guam, and continuously, I keep working on coming up with stories that I would like to see on the big screen as feature films.  It has always been my passion to tell stories and it makes me happy to be able to share them with an audience. Hindi lahat, makaka-appreciate sa mga gawa ko, pero I find it fulfilling that each of the stories I share would have their own audience na makakasakay dito at ma-a-appreciate ang timpla nito.

ROBERT: How did it all start, we mean, your passion for film making?

BOBBY: My dad and eldest sister had a knack for writing and they were the ones who inspired me to write stories of my own. Nung bata ako, ginawan ako ng dad ko ng isang  homemade projector gawa sa karton, pocket mirror, binocular lens at flashlight. Mag-drawing daw ako at bumuo ng kuwento.

Nakahaligan ko rin ang mga palabas gaya ng Are You Afraid of The Dark, kung saan nagkekuwentuhan ang iba’t-ibang bida ng mga horror stories. From there, I formed my own storytelling group in the neighborhood kung saan salit-salit kaming nagshe-sharing ng sarili naming imbentong mga ghost story.

May luma rin kaming video camera na pinaglaruan naming magkakapatid para gumawa ng maiikling skit. Eventually, nahilig na rin ako sa pagsusulat ng script.  High school ako nung binili ko ang mga screenplay ng Bata Bata Paano ka Ginawa, at Laro sa Baga, pati na ang scriptwriting manual ni Sir Ricky Lee na Trip to Quiapo. Dun ako unang natutong magsulat ng screenplay. High school pa lang ako, gusto ko nang makita sa pelikula ang mga naiisip kong kuwento kaya’t tinuloy ko nang kumuha ng AB COMMUNICATIONS sa Ateneo. Swerte naman at naging professors ko sina Sir Ricky Lee, Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya at Direk Quark Henares. Sila, kasama ng mga kaklase ko, ang nag-inspire sa akin na ituloy lang ang hilig sa pagbuo ng mga kwentong pampelikula.

Eventually, nakapagtrabaho din ako sa Star Cinema, and everyone there played a big part on keeping my spark for the craft.

ROBERT: Horror films ba talaga ang genre mo?

BOBBY: Hilig kong takutin ang sarili ko. Hilig kong mag-isip ng mga What If, at kadalasan, natatakot din ako sa mga naiisip kong What If, kung kaya naisasapapel ko rin agad. My college film that I did together with Dan Villegas (Bulong sa Kawalan), na nagbigay sa amin ng Dean’s Award for the Arts sa Ateneo, ay isang psychological horror film. Ang first feature film ko rin 10 years ago, yug NUMBALIKDIWA, horror-romance-drama naman. HOSPICIO is a campy-horror flick, horror din ang ALIBANGBANG, a Filipino short film I wrote and co-produced in Guam. So nalilinya talaga ako sa horror. I guess I like building worlds and setups na out of the ordinary.

On the other hand, gusto ko rin umiyak at magpaiyak, tumawa at magpatawa, kiligin at magpakilig sa pelikula. Sa Guam, kung saan nagtatrabaho din ako as a TV commercial director, mga heartwarming na kuwento ang binubuo ko at doon ako kilala ng mga tao doon. So given a chance na makagawa ako ng isang heartwarming movie as a feature film, yun din ang gusto kong masunggaban.

bobby: changing batteries

bobby with MM gigante and kurt kendrick: his great actors in the film "Hospicio"

bobby with kurt and MM gigante in a CNN Philippines TV guesting more than a couple of months back, to promote their film "Hospicio"

direk bobby and kurt: the director and the actor

ROBERT: How would you describe yourself as a film maker?

BOBBY: I’m a collaborative filmmaker. Nakikinig ako sa ideas at talino ng bawat isa sa team, and I could say that I’m usually very patient. Para sa akin, story comes first. At the same time, I love organic ideas na nangyayari on set. I like to look at my surroundings on set, and see kung ano pa ang pwedeng gamitin, para makadagdag sa kuwento. Also, I like to sprinkle some humor in my stories. Sometimes they could get silly, pero ganun naman kasi ako bilang tao rin.

ROBERT: In your last film Hospicio, one of your actors there, by the name of Kurt Kendrick, was so good. What can you say about this actor named Kurt?

BOBBY: I’m very happy to have worked with Kurt. Binuksan niya ang sarili niya para sa role, at nagkarga siya ng mga emotion from some of his life experiences which he openly shared to me as his director. Bago pa lang si Kurt, but he has a lot of potential and could go a long way kung tulot-tuloyin niya ang pagseseryoso sa craft niya. He’s very professional on set at very receptive sa lahat ng feedback na binibigay sa kanya.

ROBERT: Will you be having a follow-up movie after Hospicio? Can you tell us more about your upcoming film projects?

BOBBY: May upcoming movie po ako with a mainstream film company, which yet has to be finalized, but it would be a very unique rom-com-drama, with an unusual millieu. Tinatapos na namin ang script ngayon, and will be shooting soon. Kapag finalized na po, maikekuwento ko na po sa inyo.

direk bobby with two female "scarers"

direk bobby: sexy?

ROBERT: Can you say that the indie film industry is doing good nowadays?

BOBBY: It’s a great time to be a filmmaker nowadays, sa dami ng indie films na napo-produce. Ang dami na ring platform na pwedeng mag-distribute ng pelikula. Sana lang ay dumating ang araw na kahit indie film, kaya na ring makipagsabayan sa budget, dahil same workers na rin naman ng industriya ang mga gumagalaw dito.  Hindi na rin mura gumawa ng indie film ngayon, kaya makakatulong talaga kung may marketing support para naman mas malaki ang maging distribution ng mga ito, para mas mapanood din ng karamihan.

ROBERT: Would you love to go Mainstream someday as a film maker?

BOBBY: Yes, definitely.

ROBERT: Who's your idol as a film maker? We mean, film directors here and abroad that greatly influenced you.

BOBBY: Sa local scene, si Direk Chito Rono po na magpalipat-lipat man ng genre, ang gaganda ng mga pelikula. Si Direk Wenn De Ramas na non-apologetic sa kanyang atake ng pelikula at huling-huli ang taste ng masa. Si Direk Joey Reyes in the way he tells very relatable domestic stories.

Sa foreign directors, gustong gusto ko si Guillermo del Toro, Hideo Nakata, Zhang Yimou at Spielberg. Kung may influence sila sa akin, ewan ko lang. Haha.

ROBERT:  Last question: Whom among our actors and actresses today that are popular and on top of their edges that you would love to direct someday?

BOBBY: Ever since, dream ko po maktrabaho si Judy Ann Santos. Kaibigan ko rin si Dingdong Dantes, at matagal ko na siyang gustong makatrabaho as an actor, pero wala pa namang tamang project. Sa mga mas bata po, si Bela Padilla, si Kiray Celis, at si Carlo Aquino.

-----END OF INTERVIEW------

THE FILM