DIRECTOR PAUL SORIANO: Taking the positive route

In a departure from the dark or controversial themes that are common fare in Philippine indie films, first-time film director Paul Soriano chose to helm an inspirational indie movie with central themes of forgiveness, family solidarity and the upholding of moral values.

The 28-year-old director is proud that his big screen debut had viewers leaving the theater “touched and inspired”. He personally witnessed this when he graced the two-day special screening of “A Journey Home” at SM City Cebu Cinema last month. At the end of each screening, he hung out at the theater entrance to get a feel of the audience reaction, met the fans, posed for pictures and signed some autographs. It was outside the SM theater, amid a few interruptions by young female fans, that The Freeman sided up to Direk Paul for an interview.

“A Journey Home” was produced by the Jubilee Evangelical Church and Jubilee Youth for Christ, a Fil-Chinese Christian ministry in Manila. Francis Lua, a ministry member and the film’s line producer, has worked with Star Cinema for three years and he first broached the idea to Direk Paul when they met on the set of “My Big Love”, a rom-com of the director’s girlfriend, Toni Gonzaga with Sam Milby.

“He just approached me three years ago and asked me if I wanted to do a movie. He showed me the script and I immediately liked it. Then months turned into years and then finally, beginning of this year, we finally shot and finished it,” says Paul. “Automatically you’d think dark, controversial, bold...but we wanted to show that we can do independent films that give hope and a direction in life.”

His estranged wife’s death reunites Dante (Soliman Cruz) with his son Raffy (Joem Bascon) and daughter Kristine (Athena Tibi) after leaving them 20 years ago for another woman. Still angry at his father’s abandonment, Raffy does not welcome him at the funeral while his wife Gayle (Toni Gonzaga) and sister Kristine accept Dante’s show of remorse. An accident leads Dante to temporarily seek shelter in the couple’s house where Gayle tries to bring father and son closer, but Raffy refuses his father’s efforts to reenter his life. It’s the journey of finding it in one’s heart to forgive and a message of hope for those truly seeking forgiveness that provides a morality check for the viewers of this family drama.

The film is ordinary; it could have been one of those special Lenten episodes that TV shows churn out during the Holy Week observance. We kind of know what will happen next and even the attempts at humor fall flat, but if the goal was to send a message on forgiveness, then it succeeds.

Beginnings

Direk Paul started out with concerts, events, AVPs and music videos (including artists Gary V. and Regine Velasquez) then ventured into TV commercials a year and a half ago. He is US-born and bred but he spent his high school in the Philippines before completing a filmmaking course in the States. One of the mentors he met was Hollywood director Paul Haggis, an Oscar-winning screenwriter of back-to-back Oscar Best Picture winners “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash”.

“I always wanted to be a director. Because of my dad and lolo, I kinda grew up around movies and commercial sets. So when I got into high school and college, I was doing short films. After all that, I was like, I think I wanna do this for a living. I consider myself really blessed because it’s almost not a job for me,” Direk Paul starts when queried on how his interest with directing began.

The lolo he is referring to is the late Nestor de Villa, who was quite the matinee idol in his time. His dad is Jeric Soriano, a well-known commercial director who briefly dipped his hands into showbiz when he appeared and directed his first movie, “Hotshots”, starring Aga Muhlach and Gary V. It was to be his only film project because he chose to concentrate on doing TVCs. For a while there, it seemed the son was following suit in sticking with creating commercials but the experience of doing “A Journey Home” opened other possibilities for Direk Paul.

“Before, I did a handful of ‘Your Song’ episodes. That was about it, I really didn’t stick to TV. I kind of found my comfort zone in commercials. I’m really happy with advertising. I’m with ABRACADABRA, a production house that produces TVCs. Now that I’ve explored films, I’m really happy doing that too,” he says.

He fancies the dramatic genre but is also keen in mixing up his film bio. “I like inspirational themes but you can’t help, at the back of your mind, that you wanna do action, something with special effects or a futuristic movie. Steven Spielberg is one of my favorite directors. You don’t wanna be stuck in one genre for the rest of your life. I’ve done drama so maybe one day, I’ll try comedy, action, something daring or epic, period films. As long as at the end of the day, you’re telling a story because a director is a storyteller.”

Direk Paul has been working here for just three years, most of it focused in advertising, that he admits not being that familiar with local directors yet when made to name some that he looks up to.

“I really haven’t watched local directors although I’m starting now because I’m getting in the industry. There’s Mark Meilly, who’s very good, one of the directors I’m following here. Abroad, I like Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Spike Jones. I attended college in the States so I grew up watching these directors but I’m immersing myself now locally. I actually enjoyed Dante Mendoza’s ‘Kinatay’ which is the total opposite of this film [A Journey Home].”

His choice of an actor to direct someday is Maricel Soriano, saying it would be “great” to do a movie with the Diamond Star.

Directorial style

Toni has once remarked in interviews that her boyfriend was a perfectionist on set. How does he describe himself as a director?

“Exactly as she said, I’m a perfectionist,” he concurs. “Some say it’s a strength, sometimes it can be a weakness. In every scene and every line, I wanna make sure we at least strived to make it perfect. Obviously, perfection can’t be achieved. But I didn’t take anything for granted, from the first shot to the last, I gave it the same kind of effort. I’m also a director who likes to collaborate, I’m not a dictator. I like to hear feedback especially from my actors. Sometimes they have a suggestion, sometimes I use it and it works.”

Though he couldn’t divulge any details, he has two current offers to do another indie and one mainstream film. Depending on which story he can relate to, he’ll decide before the year ends what offer to accept.

Because the guy is undeniably swoon-worthy and a looker, he has had offers to be an actor. While he had appeared in commercials before, he has sworn off acting because he can’t picture himself doing what celebrities do on a daily basis (which is get into character for a role). He just wants to be the guy who tells them what to do.

“I like to be a perfectionist in what I do and I don’t think I can achieve that in front of the camera. I’m just not comfortable. If I really wanted to, I always tell Toni, I would have done it when I was 20 or when I was a teenager.”

Does he consider his good looks an advantage due to the added attention it brings or a disadvantage because some might take him for just a face more than a talent?

“Yes and no. Yah, you can be young and good-looking, you can have connections, all that can get you your first job but for them to hire you again, it means that you probably have some talent there. I’ve been blessed that I’ve worked with the same people over and over again, they wanna work with me again so it means I’m doing a good job. If you do a bad job, young and good-looking will not get you anywhere.”

On girlfriend Toni Gonzaga

But young and good-looking definitely got a Kapamilya singer-host-actress’ attention.

Direk Paul shared that they first met in a Gary V. concert he was directing. He courted her for 10 months, and now they have been together for two and a half years. They go to the same church, the Victory Fellowship.

Others might have speculated that Toni became part of the movie because Direk Paul was directing it. He clarifies that Jubilee already had Toni on top of their list before he took on the project. “Toni being an active Christian, that’s the reason they wanted her to be part in it. Of course she knew I was the director, I asked her if she wanted to do it. She had to ask permission from ABS-CBN, and you could tell she wanted to do it right away because she was making the effort to ask ABS if she could do it.”

He first directed her in the Summer Station ID of ABS-CBN in 2007, then the music video “Catch Me I’m Fallin.” But it was in “A Journey Home” that they got to work for a lengthier period of time and the filmmaker was full of praise for her work ethic.

“I got to know the working side of Toni, which I really don’t know because we hardly work together. I got to see how much she’s also a perfectionist, how she’s so prepared when she arrives on set. She already knows the backstory of her character and she helps her co-actors as well. That’s the good thing about her, she helps bring out the best in her co-actors. I got to see what a great heart she has, not just on a personal level but also in a working relationship.”

Having been used to the straight-forward approach in the US, Direk Paul reveals it was his first time to court a girl. When they were finally a couple, he still had to make adjustments with Toni’s conservative parents. Although both are adults, Toni’s parents do not allow them to travel alone together. He seems to have adjusted well, for he has grown to love the culture that Toni introduced him into.

“When we were just dating, I learned so much not only about the Filipino culture but also about the culture in Taytay, Rizal, where she’s from. As a director, you like to always travel and explore other cultures and she really showed me the Filipino culture. I think that’s how we got to know each other, by her teaching me about her culture and now I got to know her parents and her relatives. I call Taytay almost my second home already. I’m in love with it.”