Grand Gestures, a thesis capstone short film directed by Benilde Digital Filmmaking alumnus Cody Abad, is an official entry of the Indie Nation Shorts exhibition of "Cinemalaya" film festival’s digital edition—“Stream Consciousness.”
John, played by film and theater actor Gio Gahol, flies home for his father’s funeral. The furniture is rearranged for the guests and the bedroom loses its function as a space for comfort. Together with his mother Leia, played by film and stage actor Irma Adlawan, they learn how to put the pieces back together.
Conversations with the filmmaker
In an interview with The Benildean, filmmaker Abad, who graduated last year, shared that the story is dedicated to his mother.
“Grand Gestures was my thesis capstone film. I had a hard time deciding on what story I wanted to tell because it will be the first film that I’ll be able to make with a budget and a full-sized production,” he said.
The film reflects about “how we reconcile with our loved ones and how we deal with grief,” as Abad expressed his love for his late mother to make up for lost time in the form of this film.
“When you watch the film, there is no actual “grand” gesture performed by any of the characters, because I think paying attention is the best way you can express love to someone else,” he added.
Moreover, films such as What Time Is It There? by Tsai Ming-Liang, Summer Hours by Olivier Assayass, and Beginners by Mike Mills served as inspirations for Abad’s film.
One the other hand, a comparison with the 2019 rom-com “Sila-Sila” is brought up as both films feature Gahol as the protagonist.
“I’ve read some reviews pointing this out! But, it was really just a coincidence. Though I’m very flattered with the comparisons because Sila-Sila is one of my favorite films that came out last year,” Abad added.
The two actors are both dream castings for the filmmaker. “At first, I was really intimidated. Gio and Irma are really well-respected actors from the stage, and this was the first film I am going to make, so I wanted to be very careful.”
Abad wanted to cast Adlawan ever since she performed as Lady Macbeth in the 2017 theater adaptation “Makbet,” which premiered at the School of Design and Arts (SDA) Black Box Theater. Gahol also starred in another thesis film, 2019’s Palacio De San Rodrigo by film alumnae Len Frago and Mika Quizon.
Moreover, it’s the filmmaker’s dream to attend a film festival, or better yet, have his film to be included in the lineup; so naturally Abad felt absolute joy after knowing that Grand Gestures would be part of Cinemalaya exhibition.
Pandemic effects
However, a major loss in the industry is the closure of cinemas due to the pandemic. “My friends and I even talked about how we miss lining up for 20 minutes just to watch a film, hearing the chimes before the [Cinemalaya] film starts or seeing people from different walks of life in CCP [during this month],” he reminisced.
Good thing is now accessing films has never been this easy with a variety of online platforms. After being pulled out of cinemas early in their original run, local films Through Night and Day and Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap found a second home on Netflix.
The film festival is a project of the CCP and the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. Due to the pandemic, the 16th annual “Cinemalaya” is an all-digital film festival and competition for film breakthroughs as well as honoring the legacy of the country’s finest films and filmmakers.
The COVID-19 pandemic also caused stories to be rewritten in the context of our current living conditions.
“My only advice is to watch more films and read more books. Since time has kind of been frozen, and we are living in such an indefinite state, we can consume art everyday,” Abad shared to artists struggling with anxiety and feeling uninspired.
This year’s digital edition ran from Aug. 7 until 16 on Vimeo. Cinemalaya films are to be streamed on iWant and TFC for its international viewers after its initial festival run.
