A new player in the indie game

MANILA, Philippines - Newcomer Criselle Quinn makes the bold move of producing, writing and star- ring in her first indie film titled Transmi- grate.

Inspired by the ongoing indie boom, Criselle gave it shot as she also dreams of submitting her work to international film festivals. “That avenue or opportunity is too great for aspiring filmmakers, actors and even those in production design, etc. I betted on it.”

The UST marketing graduate finally pursued her indie dream when she de- cided to come home after spending some years in the US.

She said, “In 2010, I went to America alone, not to work, but to check the life there if it could fit me. While there, I checked out theater performances. (Theater) absolutely swept me away, on the artist’s expression of humanity. Then I took six weeks of theater training workshop in Los Angeles Theater in Santa Monica.”

She’s been interested in writing since she was a kid. “But (the story of) Trans- migrate was the only thing that intensely inspired me. I knew it was something I wanted to make.”

According to the synopsis, in Trans- migrate, a young woman named Lucy (Criselle) returns to her hometown as a new psychiatrist. Lucy, however, has been showing some strange behaviors. She also develops a deep relationship with her adoptive sister Isabelle. Once vi- brant, Lucy feels a hollowness within her, something that she doesn’t understand, until she meets Caleb, a handsome young man. This gave Lucy a reason to live,

her sadness becoming happiness, then turning into an obsession and devastation of an anguished soul. Things then begin to unravel: Who Caleb really is, why the sudden closeness to her adoptive sister, the presence of a third entity and her real identity.

Criselle said, “The flow of this movie is based on the kind of storytelling that I want to pursue, giving baby hints from the beginning which gradually unfold as they go by. Even before I wrote the story, I wanted to make something that is deeply mysterious, something that would keep the audience guessing, not for the thrill, but on the idea that, ‘what if this is what’s actually happening in a person, and he or she really doesn’t know, would you be able to control it?’”

Transmigrate is megged by Andy Andico; this is his first feature film, but he has served as assistant/second assistant director in mainstream and indie films such as Sukob, Feng Shui, Subject: I Love You, etc.

On her indie debut, Criselle said, “The experience has been extremely taxing, filled with pressure and simply too intense as a first timer. I had to play a complex role, made sure everyone was around and peo- ple depended on me. But I loved every min- ute of it. I can only go as far as complain that I’m tired, but I never regretted it. There’s so much to grow from the experience.”

Transmigrate will be shown in most SM Theaters on June 19.