Biri is in the heart

It’s true: you can take a boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of a boy.

Look at direk Chito Roño, a true-blooded Waray (from Calbayog City, Western Samar), who retreats to the island of Biri where he has built a rest house to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. In his latest film, Signal Rock (which he also produced under his own CSR Production and released through Regal Entertainment), Chito pays tribute to Biri, the one place on earth which is so serene and so quiet that he could listen to himself think and feel the rhythmic beating of his heart. An entry in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP, Aug. 15 to 21), Biri is described by Chito as “my passion project” and it was his third time to shoot a movie there (the first was Badil, which is about dynamite fishing, his first indie also shown at the PPP; and the second was Spirit Warriors 1).

Signal Rock (no, it’s not a musical) stars mostly newcomers led by Christian Bables (photo) who is rebounding from his break-up with his discoverers, the couple Perci Intalan and Jun Lana (who cast him in the sleeper hit Die Beautiful which won him acting awards; they have since let bygones be bygones).

“It’s my first time to work with direk Chito and there’s no truth to the rumor that he’s a ‘terror’ on the set,” said Christian who plays Intoy, a carefree high-school dropout who decides to help his sister (working) in Finland win a child-custody battle. “He’s the type of director who knows how to show his love for his actors,” adding, “like Intoy, I would do anything to protect and save my family. The shoot was challenging. Direk Chito didn’t allow me to read or study the script. I got to know my lines as soon as I got to the set. For the three weeks that we shot in Biri, Intoy has become like second skin to me.”

The only veterans in the cast are Daria Ramirez, Rubi Ruiz, Arnold Reyes, Nanding Josef, Ces Quesada and Mon Confiado. The rest includes Elora Espano, Mara Lopez, Francis Magundayao, Archie Adamos, Sue Prado, JayR Versales, Keana Reeves, Julia Chua, Kokoy de Santos, Jomari Angeles, Dido dela Paz and Lee O’Brian (Pokwang’s boyfriend).

Here’s direk Chito talking about his beloved Biri:

You are still a probinsyano at heart, aren’t you?

“We always go back to what we call home, don’t we? I go home to Samar once a month or every other month and I spend quiet time in my rest house in Biri which is composed of three islands, two big ones and the third a small one. Biri is about 40 minutes from Catarman (Northern Samar) and one hour and a half from Calbayog. When I am there, I enjoy time with the locals. They are simple folks, very good company.”

What is Signal Rock all about?

“Signal Rock refers to the tip of one of the huge rock formations in Biri that protrudes into the sea, the only spot on the island na may signal. It’s a 20-minute walk from the town proper. Some of the residents have boosters installed; I don’t have one, so like everybody else, if I want to get a signal I have to go to that spot known as Signal Rock. During high tide, you wade in waist-deep water.”

Direk Chito Roño

What made you fall in love with Biri?

“I fell in love with the place because it’s one of a kind. My rest house faces the rock formation. I could hear the waves that sound like music to my ears. I could see the rise of the tide and its ebb. Biri is a world of its own; it has no connection to the world that we know. Thankfully, it is not (yet) commercialized. There’s no Starbucks, no McDonalds. You get the feeling that you are away from it all.”

What inspired you to do Signal Rock?

“I wanted to do a movie about provincial life. Signal Rock is based on true stories of residents who mortgage their property or get a loan from five-six agents with their houses as collateral, just to raise money to pay for placement document. But it’s the story not of those who have left but of those left behind who wait for the money sent to them by relatives working abroad. The place is unnamed and Biri is associated with the movie only because it was filmed there.”

You have done movies starring big stars. What’s the difference between directing big stars and directing new, relatively unknown actors?

“Ang mga veterans, they have certain expectations at mayroon na silang affectations. The newcomers are more receptive because they are willing to learn unlike the veterans who believe that they already know everything. Directing newcomers is both challenging and fulfilling because you are exploring their potential and thus helping them grow.”

When you do a movie, what do you have in mind, awards or box-office?

“Well, maganda sana if both kumita at magka-award. When a producer does a movie, siempre ang gusto niya ay kumita and if the movie wins awards bonus na ‘yon. Signal Rock is a very personal movie. I call it my passion project. It doesn’t have big stars. I think that the selling point is the story which resonates with hundreds of Filipino families who have relatives working abroad. I’m hoping that people will appreciate a movie that tackles a very real and very relevant subject.”

Direk Chito (fourth from left) with the mostly newcomer cast of Signal Rock which he describes as ‘a passion project’

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