Emilio's calculated risks

MANILA, Philippines – Emilio Garcia does not repeat himself. At least that’s what he thinks is the reason why he still has a waiting list of assignments while other actors don’t. He accepts some offers and rejects others.

He has, for instance, won acclaim for gay roles in Walang Kawala and Selda. But he avoids typecasting by playing them in various ways.

“I can be a subdued or out-and-out gay in films,” he explains.

Reinvention, he goes on, is saving the day for him. Indie cinema, the toast of local cinema today, is also doing Emilio a lot of good.

On the heels of his acclaimed performance as a bi-sexual cop in Walang Kawala, Emilio is tackling another indie role: That of an underdog TV reporter in Tutok.

This time, he’s not gay. He’s a quiet guy who wants his network bosses to notice him oh-so-badly. The need for recognition drives him to go for broke. He goes to never-never land and interview the Abu Sayyafs without telling the higher-ups. He pays for his indiscretion in ways he would greatly regret.

Emilio’s string of indie roles makes him a spokesman for independent films. So strong is his sympathy towards these films Emilio wants to spread the gospel of indies even in the hallowed walls of the Senate.

“I appeal to our senators: Please file a bill supporting indie films. We can, for instance, assign a theater just for indies,” he says.

This should allay parents’ fears about their children watching sexually-themed indies.

Emilio offers words of comfort to them and others like them: “Not all indies carry sexual content. And I’m speaking about a lot of them. ”

He ticks off indies’ other pluses.

“Since indies are done on a smaller budget,” he notes, “Filmmakers can cut down on costs by doing them. It’s just what we need in these financially trying times,” he observes.

Another call of the times is employment. More indie films means more work for otherwise jobless movie people. It’s a win-win situation, observes Emilio.

“Then maybe, our entire system of filmmaking will change,” he adds.

Emilio’s Tutok co-star Boots Anson-Roa agrees. But she has a caveat.

“We must remind indie filmmakers that while creativity is good, they must not let it carry them away and make them lose touch with the audience,” she warns. “Of what use is artistry if the masses can’t connect with the film?”

Boots adds her Tutok director Joven Tan, has both artistry and the audience in mind. He blends the two ingredients and comes up with a film he can be proud of when it opens May 27 in select Metro theaters.

Emilio’s cup is overflowing with assignments after Tutok.  Bente, where he plays a mayor who hires an assassin to kill a radio correspondent, has a June playdate.

Marino, a drama about seamen’s lives, comes next in July. Director Joel Lamangan, whom Emilio worked with in Walang Kawala, has tapped him again, this time for the human rights fillm Dukot (Deseparacidos), written by Palanca awardee Bonifacio Ilagan. Yet another Lamangan work, Sagrado Pamilya, is also waiting for Emilio.

Yes, ‘tis the season for Emilio Garcia. And all because he dares venture out of his comfort zone. These calculated risks take him to roles untried and unexplored. In winning the battle against stereotypes, Emilio is not just pleasing himself. He is pleasing an audience hungry for new roles, new takes on otherwise ordinary, ho-hum subjects.