Have you ever noticed how most people own long black wallets and order iced tea all the time? Lyle Sacris is no different. But we’re talking garden variety here, and that’s something Lyle’s anything but. He has two Gawad CCP awards tucked under his belt and chain, a few MTV Awards stuffed into his mid-calf black socks, an NU Rock Award hidden somewhere in his blond Mohawk (although it was tied back into a modest ponytail that day), and a whole slew of films, music videos, and TV commercials stashed away in his pockets. Talk about well dressed. He’s worked with practically everyone and everything, from Slapshock, Chicosci and Kyla to April Boy Regino, Judy Ann Santos and Patricia Javier — and that’s just scratching the surface.
Even before Lyle graduated he was already doing music videos and bagging awards left and right. His thesis, "Ang Lualhati’t Hinagpis ng Ikatlong Hintuturang Nakaririmarim sa Loob ng Hunyangong Bughaw Habang May Luntiang Pag-aaklas sa Kumunoy ng Bahaghari" won the Gawad CCP Awards for Best Experimental and Best Thesis. The thesis got him the recognition he deserved and offers started pouring in not long after. That same year he won Video of the Year in the NU Rock awards and MTV named him Best Director. The year after, Kyla’s Hanggang Ngayon won Best Video and got sent to the MTV Awards Ceremony in New York. Lyle seems to be the type of person to hack anything. Let’s just hope he can hack infamy. I have full confidence in him that he can do exactly that.
Just recently he signed a 2 year contract with VIVA Films making him part of a new breed of directors to approach traditional Filipino filmmaking with a fresher point of view. When asked about being part of VIVA’s new batch of directors, he answers with an optimistic tone. "As of now we’re being given a bit more creative freedom but directors are still being pigeonholed by producers with the masses in mind. We’re reaping the benefits of directors like Raymond Red and RoxLee, who changed Manila’s movie scene to a certain degree. Up till now, producers are still restricting their directors to a certain degree. But sana we change things even more."
Artsy as he is, the young director still confesses to liking normal movies and being able to enjoy them as any other person would. "I don’t restrict myself to just art films, if that’s your notion; I watch everything because in the end, it all boils down to me being just another movie fan." However, even as he is able to enjoy your average movie, he admits to still noticing the subtleties in the scriptwriting, presentation and cinematography. It’s inevitable, he says, being a director and an avid fan of movies. For a guy that should be used to calling the shots, Lyle’s a soft-spoken person. "I’d rather be judged by my works than who I am, because my works reflect myself anyway, so it’s pretty pointless to talk about me." For such a young recruit, he ends everything with a blight and honest message: "we may not completely be able to revolutionalize film for mass consumption as we would want it, but hopefully we’ll open new doors for the next generation of directors. It may not happen with us, but who knows? Young directors making headway like me nowadays picked up stuff from our predecessors. If our generation can’t fully revolutionize the status quo, the least I could aspire for is to pass on my knowledge." Well Lyle, you might wanna start stocking up on polish for your moon man and golden popcorns. Oh and you might as well check your cell phone too, I think some guy named Oscar just called.