Is Baliw going to Tribeca Filmfest?

Everybody deserves a second chance — and even another one — to rectify oneself.

Audiences will think twice if Angelo Martinez, lead of independent film Baliw/Crazy, needs that chance to change when the movie of Fil-Am filmmaker Redd Ochoa hits local theaters (for private screening) in March.

Baliw is being considered in this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Robert de Niro is behind the said filmfest.

Ochoa and his production team are working double time to meet the extended deadline given them. The people behind the film festival only previewed Baliw’s footage and still shots through its website. Tribeca is happy — and looks forward to a possible entry from the Philippines in its annual film presentation.

Ochoa is one of those millions of our kababayan coming in and out of the country for a vacation. He has been visiting the Philippines for five years now.

Ochoa says it was while news surfing local networks that the idea for the film hit him. He was inspired by the crime stories and footage he watched on local TV. That led to so many "what ifs" that gave form and substance to the film. Perhaps, the approach is similar to Constantin Stanislavsky’s imaginary reality Method actors use to get into their characters.

From there, Ochoa gathered more insights for the film by reading news items. This helped him come up with questions and answers his character Angelo will find in the movie.

Baliw, Ochoa says, presents to moviegoers what a criminal is going through before, during and after the commission of the crime. The film will also give a sneak peek of the circumstances — be they psychological, socio-economic and emotional — that push one to the edge of life — or to the point of no return.

In Baliw, Ryan Eigenmann plays Angelo Martinez, a serial killer on the loose, who unexpectedly kills the family of Michael Fernandez (Joshua Deocareza) including his father Pablo (Joel Torre). Michael is left orphaned because of the incident and has found a new family in Fr. William O’ Connor (Jaime Fabregas). Without Michael knowing it, Angelo was Father O’Connor’s former ward. Angelo’s visits to the priest have caught Michael’s interest and leads him to finding the real identity of the priest’s other boy. In no time, Michael finds out the truth.

Moviegoers will find out soon if Michael will take revenge on his family’s killer and whether or not the confused and mean Angelo will get another lease on life.

"I believe in second chances," Ochoa says of the movie. "And never give up even if you’re down and out."