The actor’s director is back!

I had the most gratifying pleasure of working with him in the late ’90s when I did a film named Deliryo with Jomari Yllana. I’d like to think it was a film that was ahead of its time bordering on psychotic obsession between a man and a woman. It was raw, sexy and unadulterated and gave us the opportunity to go to the Toronto Film Festival back in 1997. Most importantly, however, it was the film where I really began to understand the art and craft that went  into portraying a character for a cinematic masterpiece and admittedly, it cemented my undying adoration for maestro director Peque Gallaga.

So when I found out that Gallaga was back to making movies after more than a decade hiatus, I got really excited. I also sense how parallel our lives are, having taken a long break away from the scene yet finding ourselves both back at it once again. He has been away from the industry almost as long as I have living a peaceful and quiet life, tending to his garden in Bacolod and teaching his very successful artist summer camps. Gallaga has also been filming even while away from the commercial movie industry with films such as Mindy and Agaton. And as an actor, he made several appearances, even for one of the Enteng Kabisote flicks where I was in the cast as Ina Magenta.

Peqs and I spent the day together last month, reminiscing and catching up as colleagues do. As I sat down with him that afternoon not to long ago to discuss Seduction, his comeback film with Regal Films, I felt nostalgic. I wanted to interview him not just about his film but about the relationship he takes on with his actors. Gallaga is an actor’s director. The crafting of a character from any of his films undergoes a process of exploration and discovery. And when you are an artista and work with the likes of Gallaga, then you come to appreciate that acting is really a profession that requires tedious and meticulous research. The artist in you is born.

After Seduction, there are many other projects in the works for Gallaga. However, I am most excited about his collaboration with Cherie Gil, which  is slated to be an entry to the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ Sineng Pambansa festival later this year. Undoubtedly, Philippine cinema is richer now that he’s back!