VETERAN actor Tony Boy dela Rea, who previously worked with seasoned director Elwood Perez back in the 1970s and 1980s, plays a starring role in his new movie, Paghilom. Now a movie producer, together with his sister Avelina dela Rea, former commissioner of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), they have set up a new movie outfit called Cine Silang.
Filipinos highly value family bonds. Our parents and siblings can be a source of strength and a shelter to go to during troubled times. For many, the dream of providing a better future for their family is one of the driving factors to succeed in life. Another powerful factor is the dream to maintain family tradition as to a chosen profession.
However, many of these bonds can also become a shackle that could limit the potential of people. There are children who are forced into a career they did not want but do it to please their parents even if it was against their will. They suffer silently as they have to obey their parents, especially their father. Others who choose to live their lives by their own rules pay the price of cutting relations with their family, some permanently.
As producer of this movie, Tony Boy embarked on this project because of his passion for movies, while Nette wanted to leave a legacy for their family. “We want our audience to appreciate their family more after watching this film. This is a feel-good movie that aims to highlight that there will always be ways to heal as long as we learn to forgive. It is a hard lesson we all have to learn,” Tony Boy dela Rea shared.
The film was shot in Silang, Cavite, where the Dela Rea family traces its roots and with the goal of showcasing the beauty of the town, especially their ancestral home and the resort they built where much of the shooting was done. It also features one of the oldest churches in the Philippines with a white marble retablo, the only retablo built by Jesuits in the Philippines and the second oldest in the country. The movie was directed by Tejay Gonzales with Lala Servano as the assistant director. Paghilom (Sa Luha ng Buhay) is rated general patronage and will be shown in selected theaters nationwide.