Direk Chito always ahead of his time

Chito Roño’s Spirits has raised the benchmark of the primetime series of Philippine television. An award-winning film director, Roño returns to the small screen with Spirits, the action adventure series which captured people’s interest not just with the actors but with the over-all quality of the show.

Roño is always ahead of his game. As the tagline goes, "Astig maging iba!", Spirits is out of the ordinary. Those who followed the series aver that the experience is similar to watching a movie with every episode leaving the viewer awed with the unique camera shots, editing and effects. Initially, there were talks that Chito will just start the project then delegate the remaining seasons to someone else. Roño proved them wrong and more because he is very much hands-on with every aspect of the show from the concept, casting, writing its intricate script to editing.

There was never any doubt about the content. But having newcomers as the show’s lead actors raised eyebrows. Again, the young artists from ABS-CBN Star Magic proved everyone wrong. Roño’s gamble paid off. He not only offered a different quality show but is developing young talent as well.

After checking out discussion threads in the web, there were views that Spirits is comparable to programs like the X-men or Charmed in the US. Spirits is purely Filipino and its appeal to the audience is that they can easily relate to the supernatural element presented on screen such as aswang, dwende, diwata and the like, which are part of the Filipino culture and beliefs.

There are even rumors of the show catching the interest of international TV networks and talks of syndication of the show are on the way. There is no reason why not because Spirits has a good plot, interesting characters, impressive camera work and effects.