The film education of direk Olivia Lamasan

MANILA, Philippines - After 11 feature films with most of them blockbusters, director Olivia Lamasan admits her film education started from the time her mother (a Nora Aunor fan) would drag her siblings to the movie theaters to watch her favorite movie star.

“I have no schooling in film theories, no exposure in intellectual things like cinema verite and the like,” she says. “What I have is a simple growing-up experience and I guess I was luckier than most because I was naturally fascinated about people. I observe them a lot and always ask myself why they behave the way they do. I don’t even have exposure to good films. In school, I guess I am known for skipping Fr. Nick Cruz’s film appreciation class.”

Having said that, the director felt that her movies probably look more real and very in touch because everything she did and executed was based on real people and real emotions. “I guess you become an effective director if you have natural interest in people. That’s where I learned a lot after 10 years in this business. When I am offered a story, I ask myself what is in this story that will likely affect me. Then I flesh out how I am going to give life to it using my director’s insight with a lot of help from my writer and the cast. I am not the know-it-all director type. People sometimes think that a director is someone who knows everything on the set and should be treated as the commander-in-chief of the project. I don’t work that way. Filmmaking is very collaborative and I try to get the best not only from my writer but from all elements including my actors.”

The key is really to get inputs from all those involved with the project. The writer usually has a finished script based on his own input and when it lands on Lamasan’s lap, the big re-write begins. She says films deal with real people and real feelings and so it follows that what people would see should be based on what’s happening in real life.

The lady director points out: “After the writer’s input, I contribute mine. Then I turn to my actors on how they perceive the character and how they should act. We discuss the direction of the movie and we always brainstorm why we are headed in one direction, instead of the other. On the set, I don’t say I am the director so just follow me. I tell them you are here to guide me on how to figure out the best approach. So in one confrontation scene, Toni (Gonzaga) contributed something and so did Piolo (Pascual). So it was like workshop right on the set. For me, this is the best way to do things. Because actors can give characters a new life instead of just memorizing the finished script. Actually, there is no final script in my book. We revise depending on the result of the individual inputs. In that way, actors can really relate to the characters and express more real feelings.”

Asked how she balances widely-perceived demands of the audiences on one hand and likewise sensitive to the demands of the company who bankrolls the project, Lamasan says that she has come to terms with those factors.

“The kilig factor I cannot do away with because that is part of what affects audiences. The producers — and I am part of them — consider the basic ones. If it is romance comedy, then there should be element of fun with romance. What I basically ask from the company is for me to be able to express what I feel about the subject and how I should develop the story and what I want so share with my audience.”

It is indeed a collaborative process not just from director to writer and cast but from the one line-producing the project. “In general, I accept suggestions and observations. I weigh everything but when I feel I have a point, I work hard at arguing with them and winning them. For example, some would say the film is beginning to look like a documentary. So, I re-edit the film and show it to them and say, ‘Pag ganon pa rin ang feeling ninyo, then pag-usapan natin uli’ until I convince them why it has to be my way. I can actually change the structure of the film and still fulfill the requirements of what a love story should be.”

She feels that the days when audiences watch films simply for its star attraction are no longer true. “In my mother’s time, I know that we were all watching the movie because Nora Aunor was there.”

The director is short of saying that even big stars do experience big flops.

“The presence of big stars help a lot but their names on the marquee is not a guarantee of the film’s box-office acceptance. Because filmmaking is a combination of many things. Among other things, you need a good marketing network. But what I get from the writer and from the cast will determine the final box-office outcome. Filmmaking is about working with various elements from writing to directing. The director’s work is how to use all the elements, to guide the cast on how best to give life to the characters and to ultimately come out with a film where everyone can relate to.”

By any means, Lamasan considers herself a dreamer, a daydreamer. “I write and do stories in my head and I don’t stop until I finish my story. Looking back, I guess I have a gift for storytelling. I have no sure knowledge about what the masses want. I didn’t research on that. First and foremost, my finished films should be to my taste. What I enjoy watching as an ordinary moviegoer is also my gauge as a filmmaker. Films should be pleasing to me emotionally, intellectually and yes, visually.”

(Olivia Lamasan’s Starting Over Again starring Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga, among others, will open in all theaters on Feb. 12.)