Patintero brings Pinoy flavor to ASEAN Film Week

XI’AN, China — A first-time filmmaker’s movie on the traditional Filipino street game Patintero joined the roster of select Southeast Asian films showcased at the recently-concluded ASEAN Film Week.

Mihk Vergara’s Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo was one of the finalists in the local film festival QCinema last year. It won the Audience Choice and Gender Sensitivity awards, with the latter given for having a female lead in an otherwise sports-action oriented film.    

“It’s a sports-action comedy, a coming-of-age story about a patalo (loser) named Meng — the weakest (player) — in the game of patintero, and who wants to prove to everyone that she’s not patalo. So, she will form a group of fellow patalo to compete in the biggest ‘stage’ there is in their barangay, which is the Linggo ng Wika sports fest,” Vergara told The STAR on the sidelines of the ASEAN film week held at this city.

During the film week which was sponsored by the ASEAN-China Center together with the Silk Road International Film Festival executive committee, among others, Vergara described patintero to the foreign delegations as “modified tag.” But the game is uniquely Pinoy as it can be, and a dying one, so to speak, now set to be reintroduced to a digital-savvy generation, at the same time, hopefully recapture memories of a once-upon-a-time childhood spent outdoors with real, not virtual, playmates.

Patintero started out as a submission to the first Neil Gaiman comic strip contest sponsored by a bookstore a decade ago. Vergara wrote it while his friend Dave Alegre provided the illustration. They didn’t get to finish it but “our love for the project never went away.” 

His co-creator has since left for the States, while Vergara continued to work in film production. “It was always at the back of my mind. I tried to pitch it as a short then as a full feature, but it never materialized.”

Not until last year, when Patintero qualified as a full-length film entry at the QCinema. It also earned the backing of no less than TBA (Tuko Films, Buchi Boy Entertainment and Artikulo Productions) a.k.a. the guys behind the highest-grossing Filipino historical film of all time, Heneral Luna.

“It’s such a big deal for us that we sort of have this pedigree behind us, that will help push the movie. We’re very thankful to them,” said Vergara.

He added that part of his inspiration for the film came from such Asian sports films as Shaolin Soccer (Hong Kong) and Ping Pong (Japan) most especially. “Alam ko na di ko magagawa yung scale ng Shaolin Soccer, but Ping Pong, it was somewhat low budget and yet it was able to achieve that animé feel. So, I thought, kaya pala to, this is doable, I just have to push for it.”

If his film receives that kind of comparison, he will be happy. “That’s the intended feel — larger than life, in the eyes of the children… If you remember that (old) Fita commercial, when a child plays, he plays with his whole heart? So, the thesis is something like that, because when kids play, they’re all out, and I wanted to reflect that in the film with some exaggeration on the stakes (involved). When children play, it’s all or nothing, that’s why they cry when they lose.”

Joining Vergara in the ASEAN Film Week was one of the film’s child stars, Isabel “Len-Len” Frial, who proved to be quite the hit among delegates from the ASEAN region being the youngest participant at 11 years old. It was also her first time to travel abroad and attend an international film gathering.

Among their activities were the red-carpet opening ceremony of the third Silk Road International Festival at the Xi’an Radio and Television Grand Theatre and the ASEAN-China Film Cooperation Forum at the Gran Melia Hotel. 

“I’m very grateful (to represent the Philippines). The food is delicious! I’m just listening to the talks even if I don’t understand some of them. I’m enjoying everything,” said Frial, who was accompanied by her mom Golda.

Frial plays Nicay, the brains in the Patalo group, in the film that also stars Claude Adrales, William Buenavente and Nafa Hilario Cruz as the title character.

“(Shooting the movie) was fun because we were all kids. It was like playtime,” Frial said, also describing her director as “silent, he doesn’t say anything negative, he’s cool and calm!”

Asked what foreign audience can learn from Patintero, she said, “Friendship.”

“And (how to) be true to yourself. Choose to do what you really want, what’s in your heart,” the young actress added. 

Some filmmakers might avoid directing children but for Vergara, “It’s fun (working with children). I’m lucky that they’ve been easy to work with. It’s a result of our casting (process). It took us three months to find the child actors. We would screen 100 kids a day just to find the kids who would really fit the roles.”

Vergara considers Patintero as his film directing debut, although previously, he made a short titled Ang Mascot with Chris Costello for Cinemanila in 2013. 

Since graduating with a Communications degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 2004, he has worked as assistant director and done scripts, “pero di na-produce yung screenplays ko, so (my work was) yung typical na kayod sa ads and virals while waiting for a major project.”

Growing up, Vergara was always interested in telling stories, although he wasn’t quite sure in what medium. He loved cartoons but he said he was “lousy at drawing.” When he reached college, his desire to enter the film business was “cemented.”

During that time, he recalled, Ateneo’s film track was “pretty solid” because it had film stalwarts Ricky Lee, Yam Laranas, the late Marilou Diaz-Abaya and Quark Henares as teachers. “I’m very thankful naabutan ko yun.”

He’s college batchmates with Dan Villegas, the rom-com director du jour (English Only, Please, Walang Forever, Always Be My Maybe, etc.). “He gives me a lot of inspiration. I’m so happy for (his success),” said Vergara.

After the ASEAN Film Week, Patintero rolls into Philippine cinemas come first week of October. 

Asked what he hopes audience will get out of his film, Vergara said, “For people who grew up with the game, a sense of fondness and nostalgia. But for people who have just walked into it — to have fun. I don’t want to hard sell or dictate them, but there are lessons, especially for the kids on (how to rise above) failure.”

The ASEAN Film Week from Sept. 18 to 24 formed part of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, which aimed at featuring ASEAN’s “colorful and diverse culture, art, tradition and lifestyle through film,” organizers said. 

The event was also simultaneously held with the third Silk Road International Film Festival.  

The other ASEAN films that screened were Yasmine (Brunei Darussalam), Price of Love (Cambodia), 66# (Indonesia), Noy, Above It All (Lao PDR), Beautiful Woman (Vietnam), Ola Bola (Malaysia), Buffalo Rider (Thailand), and Long Time Ago and Distance (Singapore). 

Singaporean director and ASEAN film delegation convener Neo Chee Keong said, “Every film could be regarded as a spiritual travel of (the audience) to their hometowns (and their) film industries. Every piece of work has its own life; it can take you back to the past or the future... or through every detail of a process that one might not be able to understand in real life.” 

He believes that the ASEAN Film Week was an opportunity to share talents, experiences and resources to be able to push their respective film production efforts to “new heights.”