THE Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), as it has for 56 years ago, returned last December 25 with a new set of locally produced films for moviegoers nationwide. Formally launched last March, the 43rd edition of the festival features major changes, from the composition of the MMFF Executive Committee, to the film selection process, as well as new rules and regulations.
The 2017 edition also ushered in a new player in the annual event.
Deadma Walking, a musical/comedy film directed by Julius Alfonso from the Palanca-winning screenplay by Eric Cabahug, was the first entry from this year’s entries to receive Grade “A” from the Cinema Evaluation Board. The movie stars Edgar Allan Guzman and Joross Gamboa who, as the Cinema Evaluation Board noted, are “obvious standouts.”
The film is T-Rex Entertainment’s official entry to the festival that has been facing off with the big names in the industry. “We’re hoping we’ll be the David to their Goliath,” Guzman said in an earlier interview with the Deadma Walking cast. Guzman and Gamboa play gay besties whose friendship deepens in the shadow of death.
The actor also expressed optimism that Deadma Walking would have a good chance in winning some of the filmfest’s major awards. Indeed, besides the plum for Best Float, the film won the Best Supporting Actor prize for Guzman during the awards ceremonies held last December 27.
“Para sa akin, ’yung mga nagawa nila, ’yung mga kalaban namin, sila Derek [Ramsay for All of You], Coco [Martin for Ang Panday], Paulo [Avelino for Ang Larawan], kumbaga kaya rin namin ’yun, magagawa rin namin ’yun…pero yung ginawa namin dito, parang mahihirapan din sila kasi kumakanta, nage-emote, sumasayaw kami ni Joross, so mahirap talaga,” Guzman shared.
“Para sakin, ito ’yung pinaka-all out ko na nagawa. Hindi in terms ng paghuhubad, or love scenes, kundi sa pagpapatawa, sa kalokohan, ’yung pagiging emotional, all out na pati song and dance,” he added.
Deadma Walking tells the life of two gay friends. John (Gamboa) is terminally ill. Anxious, he plans a fake wake and funeral with his best friend Mark (Guzman) to see for himself his friends’ views of him.
While elements of the film may seem to have an uncanny resemblance to Die Beautiful by Jun Robles Lana, screenwriter Eric Cabahug emphasizes that it’s two entirely different stories. He explained that the character of Die Beautiful’s Trisha Echevarria (Paolo Ballesteros) looked for acceptance, while Gamboa’s character is seeking to fill the void in his heart by staging a fake funeral.
“I see Die Beautiful as an individual fighting for his truth about himself. There are no issues like that in the character of Joross. Die Beatiful revolves around the life of Trisha, his journey to find his place and acceptance of his true identity. Deadma Walking revolves around the upcoming death of Joross’s character, what he wants to happen in his funeral, why he has these kinds of ideas, why he wants to fake his own death and what people has to say about him,” Cabahug said.
He added, “It’s sad because he’s already an orphan, he’s estranged from his own sister in the story, and he’s having a hard time finding love, so there’s something lacking in his heart that he wants to fill. So it’s very different, the premise is very different.”
Nonetheless, Cabahug is honored that Deadma Walking has drawn comparison to Die Beautiful. “It’s an honor because Die Beautiful is one of, if not the most successful gay-oriented movie in the post-Dolphy era.”
He added that the key theme on which Deadma Walking centers on is friendship and selfless love.
“We wanted to balance the darkness and morbid subject of death with the lightness of wit, the sense of humor and surprising elements of the [two] gay friends. But at its heart, the film is really a friendship story that everyone who loves their friends would appreciate and would love, as well. It’s a universal friendship story.” As for the inspiration of his screenplay, Cabahug related that its development came from his neighborhood. “At the front of our house, there’s a small squatters’ settlement. Almost every week, a lot of happenings, like birthdays and wakes, happen there with matching videoke that last until morning. I then asked myself whether the funerals were true because there’s common knowledge that low-income communities stage fake wakes to raise funds for their families. I also had a wishlist for my own wake, so that’s how the story came about. I also thought to myself what good would eulogies do if the dead person can’t hear it anymore, and that became my main inspiration. ”
As for the journey from script to a Palanca award, Cabahug said: “After writing the sequence treatment, I sent it to a director friend as sort of a pitch. He liked it, but unfortunately he could not commit to the project. Eight months later, we saw each other again and he asked me to submit the Deadma Walking script to the Palanca.”
It won second place in the screenplay category of the 2016 Palanca. “It was very surprising for me because the story was light-hearted. It’s not heavy and not socially conscious, and that is why I’m very thankful.” Cabahug concluded.