Jay Altarejos’ fearless storytelling in Balangaw
“We should only be afraid when the time comes we are confronted with it because it’s useless to think about fear right now. Gamitin natin kung kailangan na matakot. Dumarating ‘yun at any point but we cannot stop.”
That was what filmmaker Jay Altarejos said about his firm belief in making fearless cinematic storytelling that tackles gender sensitivity issues and socio-political sentiments in the new digital series titled Balangaw (rainbow, hope, love).
In a recent virtual conference via Zoom, Jay said that creating thought-provoking projects would allow people to be aware of issues that need to be addressed. The pandemic, he cited, has crippled the economy, more so the entertainment industry. And as film stalwart, Jay stressed that filmmaking is also essential in this quarantine period.
“Art, film should continue its purpose to entertain the heart, feed the mind and nourish the soul through content that reflects the struggle of people and offers hope amidst this catastrophic event. We cannot stop being filmmakers; we cannot stop being artists whatever the situation is,” he said.
Premiering on June 27, 9 p.m. on 2076balangaw channel, Balangaw tells the story of eight people of diverse personalities, each with their own story to tell in the time of community quarantine. It will also translate on screen the challenges faced by LGBTQ people in the mainstream society as well as issues on press freedom.
“I think, the struggle of the LGBTQ community is far from over. I mean, the discrimination is still there at kailangan maikwento ang kwento namin at kahit ano pa sabihin ng mga tao na kwento na naman yan ng mga LGBTQ. I care less because I, for one, do not complain about (the number of) contents about ‘straight’ (people).”
Jay’s approach to Balangaw is akin to “blurring the line between reality and fiction. So, it’s up to the audience to see or judge if what they are seeing is true or just role-playing.”
He admitted to the big challenge of coming up with the series given the new set of filmmaking guidelines due to pandemic, not to mention incorporating some scenes in his previous works and asking the full cooperation of actors in following his directions via online meetings and shoots. The result, nevertheless, turned out well.
The pilot episode highlights issues such as the closure of ABS-CBN and alleged move to suppress press freedom.
Asked how he thinks the LGBT-themed online series would impact the Filipino audience, Jay said there is no study from their end but he is confident that it will create an impact the way his previous films did.
“We have an audience for my films and we are not here to compete with anyone given the (audience) reach on the Internet. Even if we do not have much resources, we will go on creating contents other than Balangaw.”
(Produced by 2076Kolektib, Edith Fider and Pete Mariano, Balangaw stars Jal Galang, Karen Toyoshima, Tads Obach, Rap Robes, CJ Barinaga, Mac Mendoza and Mela Habijan. Apart from him being the producer and director, Jay also plays one of the characters.)
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