Director Jun Lana Narrates His Experience Winning The Best Director Award In Russia For 'Anino Sa Likod Ng Buwan'

DIRECTOR JUN LANA says he didn’t expect that his indie film, “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan”, would win major awards at the Pacific Meridian International Filmfest at Vladivostok, Russia. “Tiningnan ko kasi yung lineup ng entries nila at ang gaganda, malalaki ang budget,” he says. “Maraming entries, nanalo na ng awards sa ibang festivals. At ang tataray ng nanonood ng movies sa kanila. Yung isang director, after the screening, sinabihan ng isang matanda ng: ‘Your film is meaningless’. So during the screening, hindi ako nakipanood. I just waited outside the theatre. Pumasok na lang ako noong Q&A na. They were applauding and saying ‘Bravo!’ At yung matandang namintas, nagulat ako, sabi sa’kin, naiyak daw siya sa movie namin. Everybody was looking for our lead actress, LJ Reyes. Noong awards night na, we all thought ang mananalong best actress was the South Korean star kasi nanalo na siya sa ibang filmfest. Nang tawagin si LJ, nagulat kami and later, they told me siya lang talaga ang unanimous choice ng lahat ng jurors. Hindi ko nga akalaing mananalo yung movie ng NETPAC and FIPRESCI critics award kasi in Russian ang announcement. But when I saw scenes from our movie being flashed sa big screen, I realized kami ang nanalo at nun pa lang ako umakyat ng stage. First time raw sa filmfest na yun na one entry won a total of four awards, including the best director trophy for me.”

He salutes LJ for being a real trouper. “First time niya ginawa ang mga pinagawa ko sa kanya rito, lalo na yung love scene with Luis Alandy at drained talaga siya kasi the movie is one long take using one camera. After each take, hinang-hina siya. Bago pa mag-shoot, three months na kaming nagre-rehearsal, kasi dapat precise yung blocking at memoryado nila lahat ng galaw nila, so paulit-ulit talaga. We built a set na collapsible ang walls para kapag umiikot ang kamera, hindi makasagabal yung mga dingding. Buti na lang, hindi nasayang lahat ng paghihirap namin.”

“Anino sa Likod ng Buwan” is his third indie film that won an international acting award for its star. The first one was “Bwakaw” that won several best actor awards for Eddie Garcia here and abroad, then “Barber’s Tales” that won the Madrid International Filmfest best actress award for Eugene Domingo, and now “Anino” for LJ Reyes. When will the movie be shown in local theatres?

“Well, we know na indie film ito, set in 1993 during the military operation at Marag Valley in Mindanao, so it has a limited niche market. But entry rin kami sa QC Filmfest in November so mapapalabas kami roon. I’m happy about that kasi walang censorship yun, e. After that, we hope we’ll have a wider theatrical release na sana, hindi putulan ng MTRCB ang love scenes dahil hindi naman ito sex movie but against militarization, which is now happening to the Lumads .”

Aside from “Anino”, he has two mainstream films: “Pre-Nup” with Jennylyn Mercado and Sam Milby that will be shown nationwide in October, then “Haunted Mansion” with Iza Calzado, LJ Reyes and Janella Salvador that’s a Metro-Manila Filmfest entry. “What I earn from the mainstream movies I do, yun ang ginagamit ko for the passion projects I really want to do in indie films. After ‘Anino’, I have two more indie films lined up, ‘Die Beautiful’ with Paolo Ballesteros and ‘Ama Namin’ about a priest na nagkaanak.”