Direk Sigrid Bernardo nagluluksa sa pagpanaw ng bida sa susunod na pelikula: I’m still in shock!

NAGLULUKSA ang puso ngayon ni Direk Sigrid Andrea Bernardo dahil ang bida niya sa indie film na isu-shoot sana niya ay nawala na.

Narito ang buong Facebook post ni direk Sigrid: “This morning I woke up to very sad news. Andie, who was supposed to be my actor for my film, I’m Perfect, passed away. It was very sudden and I’m still in shock.

“I am extremely heartbroken. He would have played ‘Jiro’ the lead character who falls in love with Jessica.

“I’ve been pitching this film since 2010. I almost wanted to give up. But when I met Andie, Bea and Richelle, and Carl they made me more inspired to do this film.

“We made a teaser to find out what they COULD NOT DO.  But that’s not what happened, we found out what they COULD DO.

“Their talents were limitless. It was really one of the most inspiring shoots that I have ever experienced in my entire film career.

“After the shoot, Andie ran to me and hugged me. He was holding back his tears. He simply said ‘Thank you.’ He ran back to his Mom Marice and hugged her, who was now crying.

“I went up to them. I asked him, ‘Why are you crying?’ Andie said in a very low voice while not looking at me, ‘You made me really happy.’

“I cried too. He made me feel that it was the most important shoot in his life.

“When he got home, his mom messaged me, “Andie is still crying. He misses you. He misses working with everyone.”

“Andie made me realize that happiness can be found in things that we take for granted. Even if it was just one day of shooting, for Andie it was something special that made him happy.

“I am more inspired than ever. I promise you Andie, I will never give up on this film.

“Thank you for being you. Thank you for being the PERFECT JIRO. Thank you for letting us into your life. You will live forever in our hearts. Thank you, Andie.

“Here’s the teaser that we did a few years ago. I hope you can find time to watch it for Andie, our Jiro.”

Pinanood namin ang teaser na sinyut ni Direk Sigrid noong 2017 pa at teary eyed din kami kasi very inspiring ang pelikula kaya sayang at hindi ito natapos.

Habang sinusulat namin ang balitang ito ay ka-chat namin si direk Sigrid kung bakit hindi niya ito natapos.

“Naghahanap pa lang ako ng producer diyan. I pitched it sa mga pitching sessions like FDCP, Cinemalaya. Du’n kami nanalo so ‘yung money we made a teaser kasi requirement sa HAF Hongkong Asian Film Financing Financing Program,” paliwanag ni direk Sigrid.

Nabanggit namin na sinubukan na ba niyang ialok ito sa Ideafirst Company at Cornerstone dahil maganda ang mensae ng pelikula kahit hindi kilala ang mga magsisiganap.

“Inalok ko sa IdeaFirst pero kasi ang dami na rin nu’ng time na ‘yun ginagawa namin. Kasi after ko gawin teaser, nagkaron Kita Kita, Mr and Mrs Cruz tapos Untrue. Naalok ko rin Spring (Films). Pero hindi na naman ako nabalikan about it. Viva is helping me pitch it to different producers too kasi napanood nila,” kuwento ng direktora.

Mahirap bang idirek ang may disabilities? “Ayos Lang. They are very hardworking and patient. Mas madali pa silang i-direk kesa sa ibang artista.”

Wala raw kasing mga inhibition at natural ang acting ng katulad nina Andie, Bea, Richelle at Carl.

Bakit ganito ang tema ng pelikula at dumaan ba sa audition ang apat na gumanap?

“Yes. Nagpa-audition rin ako. 2009 pa lang gusto ko nang gumawa ng pelikula about people with disabilities. I even volunteered noon to do acting workshop one summer to understand them fully.

“Gusto ko sana ipakita sa mga kababayan natin na we should focus on their abilities and not on their disabilities.

Gusto ko sana ma-empower sila. Sa ibang bansa, maraming work for them,” pahayag ni direk Sigrid.

Sa Pilipinas daw muna gustong mapanood ang “I’m Perfect” bago isali sa film festivals sa ibang bansa.

“Mas para sa bansa natin. Gusto ko ma-educate mga tao dito what they are capable of doing. So they can give them more jobs,” sagot sa amin.

Nabanggit namin na baka puwede niyang ilapit sa Hapee Toothpaste dahil ang mga empleyado nila ay pawang PWD o persons with disability.

“Nag pitch na rin ako sa Hapee hindi na rin ako nabalikan, but they said they were interested.

“Actually may interested na mag-produce pero confidential pa. Kaso. Nagkakaganito, pandemic. I was hoping to start pre-prod this year. Secret pa ‘yun sana. Di ko pa nakakausap co-producer ko,” lahad nito.

Nabanggit din ni direk Sigrid na mas lalong lumaki ang budget ng I’m Perfect dahil nga sa bagong protocol ngayon na 12 hours lang ang shooting.

“Medyo malaki ang magagastos kasi mga two months of workshop tapos 12 hours of shoot lang sila puwede and every other day, tapos may pick-up rehearsal before the shoot lagi, naka peg ng P20 milliom,” pag-amin ni direk Sigrid.

Samantala, wala pang detalye ang direktora kung ano ang ikinamatay ni Andie.

“Hindi ko alam exact details. Pero nag-seizure siya and about the thyroid problem. Hindi ko pa nakakausap ang nanay mismo,” say ni direk Sigrid.