WE are deeply proud of our artists who continue to raise our flag overseas in the advancement of their careers. Year after year, we learn about Filipino artists landing substantial roles in international productions, getting recognized, winning plums and elevating Philippine artistry to a higher level.
One of them is veteran actor Soliman Cruz, who quietly flew to far away Romania last year to shoot the movie To The North, directed by Mihai Mincan, who also wrote the screenplay.
The narrative, inspired by a true-to-life event in 1996 involving a Filipino sailor aboard a Taiwanese container vessel, is about a religious Filipino seaman assigned on a transatlantic ship whose life crossed paths with a young Romanian stowaway. Cruz plays one of the two main protagonists in this debut feature film of the director.
“I was in Bucharest for many weeks, and I also visited other Romanian cities,“ he shared, adding, “There were many times that I felt homesick because it was so chilly and cold. I am glad there is Facebook to help me cope. Seriously, never in my dreams did I think that I’d be able to do a film in Europe at my age!”
Cruz added that he would try to be funny and come up with comic antics to warm up before getting into character during filming. He said it also helped that there were also two Filipino actors in the cast.
“Bart Guingona and Noel Santo Domingo also got good parts, and the shoot went smoothly. Tingin ko naman, bumilib sila sa mga Pinoy!”
MEMORABLE LEAD ROLE
ASIA Pacific Screen Awards best actress Max Eigenmann is also back from an almost two month stay in the United Kingdom for the movie Raging Grace, under the helm of filmmaker Paris Zarcilla.
“I flew to the UK at the end of autumn and it was already the onslaught of winter when we finished shooting. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had in my career as an actor, and something that I will hold dear in my heart for a very long time,” she enthused. “It is my very first lead role in an international movie, my first foray into a foreign film production, and I simply feel so grateful that the universe allowed this to happen to me, given that it was also during these uncertain time of a worldwide pandemic.”
Eigenmann plays an undocumented Filipino immigrant who took on a job as a caretaker of a terminally ill old man (played by Scottish actor David Hayman), so she can give a better life to her daughter, just to unravel a mystery that will threaten to destroy her dreams and everything she has worked so hard for. “Warming up to an entirely foreign way of making movies and to people I’d meet for the very first time in my life was initially nerve-wracking, but it turned out to be a walk in the park because the people I had the chance to work with in this film were just so pleasant and professional that it made the work a lot easier for me, who was the outsider coming in. Everyone made me feel so at home and I just clicked with the cast and crew of this production. I am indeed very happy with the new friendships I forged in the UK.”
She added, “The experience definitely recharged me as an actor, and I am so ready to take on more acting jobs now that I am back in Manila.”
FIRST HOMEGROWN FILIPINO SIMBA
ANOTHER Filipino who is making us proud is musical theater artist Joaquin Valdes who has just played Simba in Disney’s The Lion King, currently on tour in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We first met Valdes in 2010 when he directed his first feature Dagim, one of the entries for that year’s CinemaOne Originals Independent Movie Festival. After a few years, Valdes focused on theater and since he has a powerful singing voice, he also appeared in worthwhile musical theater productions.
Valdes, a hardcore fitness enthusiast when he was still based in Manila, effortlessly stole some scenes in Matilda, gave a splendid performance in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and impressed us in The Last Five Years.
In 2018, Valdes passed the auditions to be the understudy of Thuy in the UK touring company of Miss Saigon, a move which opened a lot more doors for him on stage. “I am just so happy to be able to play Simba and sing ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ on the big stage. I’ve loved The Lion King from the first time I saw the film, and this opportunity is a dream that continues to unravel every time I am onstage.”
And just like the circle of life, Joaquin Valdes, Soliman Cruz, and Max Eigenmann have proven that hard work can take one to the top and dreams can come true when we pursue these with passion.