The Don of a new age

CEBU, Philippines - When Don Gerardo Frasco’s dad asked him what college graduation reward he wished to receive, the elder Frasco would not have known then that he would be gifting his son something beyond the tangible. Straight out of university, this gift would fast-track Don’s pursuit of finding his life’s passion and “place in the world.”

Born and bred in Liloan, Cebu, Don says filmmaking as a career was not commonplace in the Philippines, and in his hometown specifically. Movies were viewed as a form of escapist entertainment, and the people in his environment didn’t “bother so much, at least, about making movies.”

High school and college saw him dabbling a bit in photography. From time to time, he would sign up for editing workshops offered by the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT). “I enjoyed putting moving images together a lot,” he recalls.

Right after earning an Accounting degree from the University of San Carlos, his dad gave him a free hand to choose his graduation gift. “I told him to bring me back to school, but this time, something [a course] I really want to do. I said, ‘Remember you told me that when you were younger, you finished two courses.’  I guess that’s why he was so supportive,” he says.

The initial plan was to stay close to home. “Originally, I just wanted to study Filmmaking at IAFT, but then, it was suggested that I try somewhere else so that I also get the opportunity to live elsewhere. So I ended up studying in New York.”

New York state of mind

In 2008, Don, found himself a student at the New York Film Academy, enrolling under a Filmmaking program for a year, and then discovering how he enjoyed Cinematography the most, took up another program focused on this aspect for the next year.

“While in New York, that’s when I really got to internalize Filmmaking,” shares Don, 28. “I really enjoyed the shooting process. Plus, my classmates were from all over the world: South America, Europe…in my class, there were only two Americans. It was beneficial because they’d always share the cinema from their countries. Like Argentinean cinema is really nice. My roommate was French, and he’d always show me French films. My cinema palate was opened up, my filmmaking perspective was broadened outside of the usual Hollywood blockbusters.”

Because art house films never found a venue in Philippine theaters, Don says that growing up, he was naturally fed with whatever Hollywood churned out. His time in New York changed all that, and he reveled at the new enriching world introduced to him at every turn.

“I learned as much from my classmates and the environment. Filmmaking in New York is very mature. You walk around, and you see a shoot going on. It’s fun to be in an environment where cinema is highly regarded,” he muses. “You tell people here in Cebu that you’re a filmmaker…it’s not very sustainable.”

For his thesis, Don was heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s 1970 film “Clockwork Orange,” which dealt a lot with ultra-violence. “My thesis was called ‘Lucid Interval.’ It’s kind of like a psychological thriller. It’s one of those things that you have to get out of your system. Your first film, you usually end up hating it. I hated it.”

After finishing at the academy, Don freelanced on several productions in New York and LA for another year, mostly doing camera work and narrative Cinematography.

“Rebirth,” a short film directed by Nicole Libassi and shot by Don, was selected at various film festivals such as the SOHO International Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, New York Independent Film Festival and Crown Heights Film Festival. Another short titled “Echo,” directed by Djordje Djokovic and shot by Don was also selected at Festival de Cannes 2013’s Short Film Corner.  To date, he has shot over 40 short films.

Coming home

The Big Apple was a blast, but you can’t fault a Cebuano for always yearning for home.

His first few months back in his home turf was spent in withdrawal mode, and he admits he had no clue then what to do. But the time off also allowed him to recall previous plans before jetting off to New York.

“Before I left, what I really wanted to do was a documentary about Titay’s, my grandma. She influenced me a lot. I feel her story is very inspiring. But when I got back here, documentary filmmaking was no longer that interesting for me. Instead, I  came to enjoy the process of narrative filmmaking, where you storyboard everything, and if you don’t get it right, you can shoot again. In docus, you rarely have that opportunity. I also enjoy the Lighting aspect so much, which you won’t have control over in documentaries.”

Titay’s, of course, is the family’s famous original rosquillos business in Liloan, where he currently serves as Marketing Director. While the hometown delicacy has reached an enviable level of popularity, little is known behind the woman who steered Titay’s into its present status. This is what Don hopes to do: tell the whole world about his grandma’s inspiring tale through his art of filmmaking.

“One of the projects I really hope to do in the future is a biopic based on her life. Personally, I don’t know a much more hardworking person than her. She started out as a kneader for rosquillos. She got married to my grandfather, but then he died of asthma at 28. When her husband died, she was pregnant with my dad. My dad never saw his father. Single parent, two kids, and she brought Titay’s to a bigger level. Hers is an against all odds story.”

He continues, “But I know from the start that if I do it right away, I won’t be able to do it right because I still don’t have the experience. If I do a film based on her life, it would be a period piece, and that’s still difficult for me to achieve now. For now, I want to do a couple of films that are much simpler.”

First wave

Don is one step closer to fulfilling his goals, as he debuts his first directorial job on a feature-length film titled “Waves.”

“I visited Palawan in March 2012 with a friend. Originally, we planned to stay for just two to three days, but we ended up staying for five, since the place was so beautiful. There’s not much to do in the island…really quiet and the rooms have no TV. It’s an entire island, but you can circle around it in just 30 minutes. There’s only one resort there, with just 10 rooms. Running the intimate resort is a couple. Most of the day, you do nothing. So you think a lot. It’s like paradise, but in some ways detached, so there’s an eerie feeling of being in isolation. I thought it would be a great backdrop for a romantic film. It’s slightly based on my personal experience. I also thought it would be a great way to highlight the Philippines,” explains Don on how the idea for “Waves” was born.

For the screenplay, he commissioned a friend  from Los Angeles named Scott Curtis Graham.

A romantic drama, “Waves” zooms in on the intimate relationship between Ross and Sofia – “two old friends passionately in love, yet life’s cultural, geographical, and emotional obstacles get in the way.”

Multi-award winning actor Baron Geisler portrays Ross, a talented but troubled architect who resorts to binge-drinking during moments of instability.

Playing opposite him is Ilona Struzik , a professional model of Polish descent. She plays Sofia, an international model who’s enjoying recent successes. Despite being engaged to her boyfriend in New York City, she appears carefree and all-fun-and-games.

Then there’s award-winning Cebuana actress and beauty queen (she represented the Philippines in the Miss Universe 1967 pageant) Pilar Pilapil who plays Cora, an eccentric Spanish ex-beauty queen in her early sixties. She and her husband Gerry (Leo Pilapil) own the island and the private resort where Ross and Sofia indulge in their emotional adventures.

Don shares, “My brother suggested Baron. Out of all Filipino actors, he said it was Baron who caught his attention. I watched some clips of him in YouTube, and I saw his intensity. He’s very natural. You could see the pain on his face onscreen. I’m not that familiar with Philippine cinema, so I Googled male Filipino actors. Jericho Rosales struck my interest, but he couldn’t do it due to a scheduling conflict. So we had Baron, and I think we did pretty well. I  casted Ilona before the script. We met when I worked for a fashion magazine in New York.  I had her in mind for that role specifically. ”

Filming took place in Palawan, Oslob (shot here was a scene where the main characters swim with whale sharks)and Liloan in Cebu, as well as Cebu City.

Veering away from Filipino indies that usually showcase the Philippines’ gloomy plight, Don sees this film as his contribution  to featuring the positive aspect of his country.

“I understand why we do a lot of films about poverty. With any place, there’s the good and the bad. This is my way of showing the other side, the good side,” he says.

“It’s called ‘Waves,’ because more than anything, it’s about emotions. My intention from the start is to successfully capture emotions onscreen. For me, the emotional aspect of it was more important than the plot. There were days where we just threw away the script.”

Of his debut directorial style: “I feel that filmmaking should be collaborative. The script is just a blueprint. If you don’t take into consideration the contribution of the actors, for me, it won’t be as natural.”

‘I’m throwing everything here’

As of May 31, 2014, the production cost for “Waves” has reached P7 million plus. Don, though, shrugs off the huge risk. “It started way less. It’s a lot of money in the Philippines, but I guess I was able to justify it to myself because that’s considered inexpensive if you compare it to international filming. In LA, they would call it ultra-low budget. You know, I’m throwing a lot of my inheritance here, including the trust of my family. Then again, this is the time for me to make mistakes, if ever, since I’m still young and don’t have  a family of my own yet. I can get myself together again. Our pursuit is to find our place in the world, and this is how I’d like to contribute.”

With his first full-length film came the idea to build a company that will hopefully start a new wave in the Cebu filmmaking scene. Along with his fresh grad first-degree cousin Ayana Jimenez (Bachelor of Science Major in Entrepreneurship from the University of San Carlos) as Business Developer and Marketing Officer, the duo make up  Waverly Pictures, a Cebu-based motion-picture company.

“My address in New York was 11 Waverly Place, Apt 10C, in Lower Manhattan. My filmmaking life started there, so when I returned here, I missed the place. I wanted to do ‘Waves,’ and I felt like it needed a company to produce it. When I was thinking of names, it felt natural to name it after the apartment where I made my first few films,” explains Don.

Under Waverly Pictures, Don hopes to produce one film every year or two. If the company flourishes, he hopes to do simultaneous productions. He, in fact, already has a next film in mind: a sort of road trip film completely in Bisaya.

*“Waves” will hold a by-invitation only screening this Friday, September 5, at Ayala Center Cebu Cinema 5, to be graced by its main stars. The film received an R-13 rating from MTRCB.