From camera hand to crowd-pleasing actor

CEBU, Philippines - When Melde “Joe” Montañez started hanging out with the Fine Arts kids of the University of San Carlos, he really didn’t think much of it. Joe helped out in filmmaking projects, made use of his IT skills in the technical side of film and worked for productions thereafter.

If you told him he’d play a lead character in an award-winning feature film all those years ago, he would have laughed at your face.

And yet here he is, doing press for his first ever acting stint in the critically acclaimed Cebuano film “Patay Na Si Hesus,” which won the Audience Award and Gender Sensitivity Award at the QCinema International Film Festival in Manila where it debuted in 2016. It was also a crowd favorite at one of the biggest LGBTQ film fests in the world: the Frameline International Film Festival in San Francisco, California.

Produced by Bianca Balbuena and Moira Lang via T-Rex Productions, and directed by Victor Villanueva of “My Paranormal Romance” fame, “Patay Na Si Hesus” is a comedy satire with a touch of drama that follows the life of an idiosyncratic family as they embark on a road trip from Cebu City to Dumaguete.

Loosely based on the experience of the film’s writer, Fatrick Tabada, “Patay Na Si Hesus” follows the journey of single mom Iyay (Jaclyn Jose), who, after learning that her ex-husband Hesus has died, gathers her reluctant children for a trip to pay their last respects to the father they never knew.

Iyay’s children – Hubert (Paul Vincent Viado), who has Down Syndrome; Jude (Chai Fonacier), a lovesick trans man; and Jay (Joe), who is living the bum life – join her with varying degrees of reluctance as she drives them in her extra-mini mini-van. One unplanned detour comes after another, each pushing this family closer to confronting the past and figuring out how to enjoy the ride to an uncertain future.

Deadpan vibe

With Cannes 2016 Best Actress Jaclyn Jose headlining the film, it would be safe to say that first time actor Joe faced more than what he bargained for.

“Wala gyud ko kahibaw nga ako’y kuhaon para ani nga salida,” Joe began, recounting his disbelief that he landed the role of Jay, Jaclyn’s youngest child described as a college graduate but living the life of a professional bum.

Joe shared how he knew Victor and had worked with him on a whim for many occasions, sometimes as an on-screen extra, but most of the time behind the camera. So when he got a call one Saturday to audition for a role, he was just as clueless as anybody else.

The 31-year-old seemed to be the director’s choice however, despite a bunch of actors coming in to audition for the role. Joe, who Victor describes as “someone with a very deadpan vibe” was exactly what the film was looking for.

“I kind of panicked. I almost backed out at the last minute because I really wasn’t confident, and knowing that I would be acting with the Jaclyn Jose,” Joe confesses, adding that his intention for showing up during auditions was to solicit camera work. But the universe had other things in mind.

“I just looked at it as a different perspective in filmmaking. I thought that since I’ve always been behind the camera, maybe it was time to do something different and be in front of it this time,” Joe shares.

To prepare for his role, Joe, alongside his onscreen siblings, went through a series of workshops to get the feel of their characters. They’d exchange dialogue and help each other out given that Joe and Vincent had no prior acting background.

Soon enough, Joe sailed his way throughout his first acting job, but he admits that he still had production manager reflexes in his bones and would sometimes find himself helping out with setting up, messing around with the cameras, and assisting the crew – even when he was strictly not supposed to.

“Badlungon gud ko ni Victor, he wouldn’t let me lift equipment and do things besides acting. Bawal kun okay artista ko,” Joe laughs.

His behind-the-cameras know-how did come in handy when it came to adjusting his lapel, working the clapper, and the like. But all in all, the rookie still needs a lot of getting used to in this side of the filmmaking spectrum.

Actor for a change

Joe admits that it was fun working as an actor for a change. Seeing the set from a different point of view made him appreciate both types of jobs, and the dynamic during the filmmaking process even more than he used to.

“Lingaw siya, you see all of these people working and doing very different jobs for the film. You witness all the action going on that the viewers don’t get to see very often. It’s refreshing,” Joe quips.

The cast also shared their experience with acting alongside premiere actress Jaclyn Jose—especially Joe who now has the badge of honor of being slapped in eight takes by the film icon.

Joe recalls how Jaclyn got into her role so much that she would call them by their characters’ names and “anak” off-screen and give them pointers. In turn, he would help her with her Bisaya.

“After doing that scene where she slaps me, it kind of broke the ice and that sort of gave us a connection,” Joe muses.

Having never cried on-cam before, Jaclyn helped summon those tears out of Joe.

“I was worried about crying. Di gyud siguro ko kahilak ato, but when I saw Jaclyn Jose in tears, she was so good that it kind of made me think of my own mother and her pain. Having that soft spot for my mother, I thought about how I wouldn’t want to see her like this, and the tears just fell,” Joe shares.

While Joe is open to more acting projects, he’s adamant about not leaving the camera department just yet. Currently, he is attending a cinematography seminar conducted by celebrated director of photography Matthew Libatique.

Homegrown craft

Relaxed, and timid to an extent, Joe, who wishes to work with veteran actors like Joel Torre, hopes that Cebuanos would appreciate “Patay Na Si Hesus” and support the Bisaya filmmaking industry in general.

For him, the film is a reflection of a typical Filipino family that is facing their own problems. If viewers from Manila, Mindanao, and abroad unexpectedly loved the film, he trusts that Cebuanos would show their support as well.

Joe and the rest of the “Patay Na Si Hesus” team is proud of how the film turned out to be and is holding out for their fellow Cebuanos to rally behind homegrown craft.

“Ato man gyud ni. Nindot gyud unta nga atong suportaan aron ma-inspire sad ang mga director, mga writer, arun dili sad masayang,” Joe urges.

Rated R-13 by MTRCB, “Patay Na Si Hesus” also stars Angelina Kanapi, Publio Briones, Mailes Kanapi, Olive Nieto, Precious Miel Espinosa, Sheenly Gener and Sadie Enriquez.

It will open August 16 in cinemas nationwide as part of the first ever Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino. (FREEMAN)