“WAIT LANG po, hihinga muna ako (Wait, I need to breathe).”
That was Janella Louise Roque’s (II AB Lit Fil) reaction after finding out that the film Now Showing, where she plays the lead role, was going to be featured in the annual Cannes Film Festival, one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals held in Cannes, France.
Now Showing was shown in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight last April 25. The Directors’ Fortnight features films and documentaries from all over the world.
In the Philippines, the film was shown during the 13th French Film Festival at Shangri-la Mall last June 12.
Looking young
Now Showing is a coming-of-age narrative set in downtown Manila. The story revolves around the mundane life of a kid named Rita, who attends to her aunt’s pirated-DVD business once she becomes an adult. Roque played the role of the ten-year old Rita.
Director Raya Martin said the film was very personal because the things that the young Rita did were also the things that Martin did as a child.
For the role, 16-year old Roque’s hair was cut to a chin-length apple-bob and her chest was flattened to make her look childlike.
In addition to being featured in Cannes, the film project was given the Hubert Bals Grant, a fund to aid remarkable films in reaching completion, at the Cinemanila Boracay Co-Production Meeting in 2005.
First time
Roque was shocked after hearing the news from director Raya Martin. “Tingin ko kasi mas mataas ang Cannes kaysa Oscars kasi very Hollywood [ang Oscars] (I think Cannes is more prestigious than the Oscars because the Oscars is very Hollywood),” she said.
She also couldn’t believe that she was going out of the country for the first time. “Ang saya ng feeling na first time ko umalis sa bansa [tapos] sa France pa (It’s a nice feeling that the first time I went abroad, it was in France),” she said.
Roque recounted an experience when she was shopping for souvenirs in France. A Mexican woman approached her and commended her for her role as Rita. Roque felt so excited that she thought, “First fan ba kita? Gusto kita picturan (Are you my first fan? I want to take your picture)!”
Film and theater
Roque, however, experienced a number of difficulties during production. She had to do her homework while she was on the set. She also had to cut classes for the film, which her parents didn’t approve of. “Siyempre ayaw nila akong nagcucut (Of course they don’t want me cutting),” she said.
Aside from schedule difficulties, she had problems with money, because her parents paid for her trip to Cannes.
“Muntik na akong hindi maka-enroll ng sem (I almost wasn’t able enroll for the sem),” she added.
Since Roque was trained in theater and new to film, she also felt unsatisfied because she could not see the audience’s reactions to her performance.
“In theater, you can [see] whether people are applauding or not from the backstage. You’ll know if they liked it or not. In film, you won’t be able to immediately see people’s reactions,” Roque said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Despite the difficulties, she was very happy about the whole experience. “Masaya naman… Masaya talaga (It was a fun experience… really fun)!”
Small world
Roque said she was happy to work with the cast and crew of Now Showing. “I have a feeling that I’ll be friends with the cast and crew forever,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.
She said she realized that, although theater and film are both different fields, they are somehow related to each other. “Maliit lang ang mundo ng teatro, film, at panitikan (The world of theatre, film, and literature is small),” she said.
After Now Showing, Roque will be acting in a film collaboration by Martin and Batanes director Adolf Alix Jr. She was also cast in another upcoming Alix film.
