After the discussions and analysis of characters, direk Mikhail Red felt he had no reasons to worry.
MANILA, Philippines — Charo Santos-Concio has only good things to say about filmmaker Mikhail Red, who is directing the horror film, Eerie, where she co-stars with Bea Alonzo. “I’d say that Mikhail had the movie in his mind even before the shoot. All sequences were clearly illustrated in storyboard and had everything timed and indeed he wrapped up the whole project in 20 shooting days.”
It’s been exactly 43 years since Charo did Itim under Mike de Leon and the comparison is uncanny.
Added Charo: “Mike (de Leon) was 28 when I worked for him in Itim and here I am working on a horror film with Mikhail, who is only 27. Like Mike (de Leon) who reported to the set with a shot list per sequence (and number of camera set), Mikhail had everything storyboarded. As it is, he has a clear grasp of the filmmaker’s craft.”
His keen eye for details is not surprising at all.
Direk Mikhail (Birdshot and Neomanila) comes from a family of filmmakers. He is the eldest son of Raymond Red, the first Filipino filmmaker to receive the Palme d’Or award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his short film Anino, and nephew of filmmakers Juan and Danny Red. “I must say it is an advantage that I came from a family drawn into independent filmmaking. The exposure helped but I have to do my own homework and study the craft firsthand.”
At age 15, he studied with director Marilou Diaz-Abaya from whom he learned the fundamentals of storytelling. “What I learned from her was that if you have any story to tell, share it. You can tell stories around a bonfire and share experience. But to be able to convey your message to your audience, you should be able to articulate, you have to explain where you are going with an artistic team that will execute what you have in mind. Young as I am, I like to learn from those who had years of experience in the craft. That’s what I enjoy in filmmaking — the process of collaborating until you get close to what you want to do until it becomes very personal for you.”
Eerie was the title of his choice for some reasons. He wanted the film’s horror genre to be easily identifiable to prospective audiences and sales agents promoting it.
But in essence, the film is about characters caught in between the stronghold of faith and the inroads of science or new ideas.
Charo as Sor Alice clearly represents the old school, while Bea Alonzo as Patricia, the guidance counselor is always asking questions and finding new ways of looking at things.
The nun’s penchant for mouthing Latin verses shows a character living in the past and holding on to her belief even with the onset of new ideas.
Direk Mikhail says that on the whole, the film is a fusion of Western and local beliefs with characters he describes as morally ambiguous. The nun lives on stern rules the breaking of which has equivalent punishment. She symbolizes traditional upbringing among children enrolled in Catholic schools.
That he has good actors that needed very little or no coaching at all is one worry out of his task as a filmmaker. “At first, it was intimidating working with these seasoned actors.” But after the discussions and analysis of characters, he felt he had no reasons to worry. He asserts his authority as director but as always, he tries to learn from everything that his actors want to contribute.
Charo describes Mikhail’s generation of filmmakers as “fearless.”
When the project was first pitched to her, she noticed that the young director knows his material inside and out. “He has clear vision for the film and he knows what is involved to translate script into the visual medium. For another, he is not afraid to experiment. One can say that these are exciting times for cinema, especially for young filmmakers. They are constantly challenged to do more compelling stories and doing many new things on how to convey them. It was a revelation working with young filmmakers.”
Eerie will open in cinemas on March 27.