Cebuano screenwriter Fatrick Tabada directs first solo full-length film ‘Flower Girl’

CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano screenwriter Fatrick Tabada always features in his scripts strong women placed in extraordinary situations.

In “Patay Na si Hesus,” a Bisaya-speaking Jaclyn Jose tries to keep her family together on a road trip from Cebu to Dumaguete to attend the wake of her ex-husband. In “Si Chedeng at si Apple,” Gloria Diaz and Elizabeth Oropesa play best friends on a complicated journey across the country: Oropesa carries the severed head of her abusive husband inside her Louis Vuitton bag, while Diaz searches for her long-lost lover, a woman, after coming out as a lesbian.

For Tabada, writing complex female characters comes naturally as a queer son who grew up in a female household in Lahug, Cebu City.

“I was raised by women: my mother, two sisters, my grandma, and my aunts. I am the only male in the house. Growing up, I was exposed to how women speak,” he told The FREEMAN in a virtual interview. “When my father left us when I was seven, I saw how strong and empowered my mother was raising three kids alone.”

His favorite comedies such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington,” shaped the way he wanted to tell stories through film, finding the genre to be powerful when audiences think through what the story is trying to say behind the punchlines.

“If they laugh, you already won half the battle,” said Tabada. “It’s such a powerful genre when you insert sociopolitical commentary.”

Perfect ‘Flower Girl’

His solo full-length directorial debut, “Flower Girl,” continues his exploration of womanhood with a comedic flair. Kapamilya actress Sue Ramirez stars as Ena, a woman who discovers that her lady parts are missing after a trans woman she offends casts a curse upon her. She must go through a journey to find someone who will love her for who she is, in order to get her “Poochy” back before it’s too late.

Produced by The IdeaFirst Company, OctoberTrain Films, and CreaZion Studios, “Flower Girl” also stars Martin Del Rosario, Jameson Blake, KaladKaren, and Drag Race Philippines Season 3 winner Maxie Anderson in the cast.

Tabada does not writes his screenplays with actors in mind, focusing on creating the character first before casting someone who will embody his creation. “I don’t want to limit my characters to my actors because I want to give justice to the characters I write. I let the producers handle who will be cast,” he said.

According to Tabada, Ramirez didn’t hesitate to say yes when the script arrived in her hands, and no adjustments were made to her character, as she was all game to play the colorful Ena in full glory.

“Sue is the perfect actress for this role,” he said. “She may be known for drama, but she has great comedic timing and she’s very playful.”

Filmed last year, Tabada described the set as fun, as he allows actors to ad-lib.

After letting his screenplays be tackled by different directors, including fellow Cebuano filmmaker Victor Villanueva for “Patay Na si Hesus”, the characters and themes of “Flower Girl” resonated with him so much that he felt it was time to direct his script alone.

On his inspiration behind “Flower Girl,” he explained, “It comes from exploring what makes a woman a woman, and a man a man. Are women and men defined by what’s between their legs?”

“As a filmmaker, I always view stories from a queer perspective. My struggles of growing up queer, being in a queer relationship, my views on social justice [play a part in my storytelling] because these inequalities tend to overlap. There are nuances in my characters. They are empowered but flawed at the same time. I always make sure their character arcs are strong throughout the story.”

From writing the scripts on his laptop to sitting behind the camera monitor were different experiences altogether for Tabada. Prior to this, he directed a short film when he was a Mass Communication student at the University of San Jose-Recoletos, and co-directed “Si Chedeng at si Apple” with Rae Red.

“In screenwriting, it’s just you and the screen. You send the script to producers and revise it until you’re done with the shooting script. But as the director, it’s a collaborative process. There’s me, the producers, the cinematographer, the actors, and many more on set,” he shared. “I love directing and I hope I can do it again.”

One of his idols, Jun Robles Lana – one of the producers of the film through IdeaFirst – praised Tabada as a director.

“Fatrick is the kind of electrifying storyteller poised to invigorate our movie experience once more,” Lana said in a promo video for “Flower Girl,” which will hit cinemas this June 18. “We’ve championed his journey since his co-directorial debut, and with ‘Flower Girl,’ he delivers a film that magnificently amplifies his distinct vision – from his wonderfully irreverent humor to dialogue that absolutely crackles and lingers long after the credits.”

Tabada is not interested in posing a moral lesson in his films. He’d rather have audiences pondering on the themes he presents.

“It’s a bad way to watch films from a moral lens because my priority as a storyteller is to make a good story. Stories come first before everything else,” he said. “First, I hope the audience will laugh. That’s the purpose of comedy. If they laugh regardless of the message, I am happy already. Second, I hope they start to question themselves on what the definition of a woman is. Are they solely defined by their reproductive organ alone?”

‘Woke not killing comedy’

Before becoming a filmmaker, Tabada was a hard news reporter for a daily newspaper.

“It’s so cutthroat because you are always competing for scoops,” he recalled. “But it was so fun because I had the best time of my life. It was my first job, and I have always wanted to write. It was more about figuring out what kind of writing I wanted to pursue.”

He looks back at his time writing “Patay Na si Hesus” with so much nostalgia, as it was the script that allowed him entrance into the film industry.

“I want to go back to that moment when I was still fresh,” he said. “I wrote the script when I had no pressure on me, and I wrote it for the sake of telling a story. Now, screenwriting is something I treat as my bread and butter.”

“‘Patay Na si Hesus’ reminded me of my idealistic self. I am still idealistic, but I was so young that time, and it was a reflection of my ideals, my vision, and my voice as a storyteller. That film will always keep me grounded and remind me who I am as a person and as a filmmaker.”

Tabada also dabbled in TV writing, contributing to episodes of the Angelica Panganiban-Maris Racal sex comedy online series “The Kangks Show” and the Netflix series “Replacing Chef Chico” starring Piolo Pascual, Alessandra De Rossi, and Sam Milby.

As comedy storytelling becomes more diverse, some argue that it has become too “politically correct.” Tabada disagrees, saying it all comes down to execution and intent.

“I don’t agree [that woke is killing comedy]. If your comedy relies on belittling minorities, you need to reassess your comedy. There is no secret trick to comedy. You can always poke fun at them, you just have to be funny. It’s just that when these comedians make fun of minorities, it comes from a place that they feel threatened,” he said.

“I don’t feel threatened. I love my trans friends, so when I make a joke about them, it comes from a place of love. I am confident enough as a filmmaker that I can make fun of wokeness because I know my values and where I stand on issues of social justice.” — (FREEMAN)