Last November 2009, Ded na si Lolo or Grandfather is Dead (international title), was being viewed at key cinemas in Los Angeles, USA. As expected, audiences who have watched the comedy-drama by Soxie Topacio, are laughing and crying at the same time, amazed with the delicate balance of high strung madcap scenes and dramatic moments, and are amused on how the Filipinos oddball manner of deal with the death of a loved one.
Grandfather
is Dead is the
Philippines’ bet in the annual race for the foreign-language film category of
the Oscars. Produced by APT Entertainment and the Directors Guild of the
Philippines, many are optimistic that Topacio’s opus that tells the story of
Bobet (BJ Forbes), a young boy who observes the many superstitious rituals
followed by his family in the six days following the death of his grandfather.
Other
stars in the film are Roderick Paulate, Elizabeth Oropesa, Gina Alajar, Manilyn
Reynes, Dick Israel, Ranier Castillo and Richard Quan. “Direk
Soxie is the main reason why I accepted the project,” said Richard. In the
film, he played Kiko, father of Bobet, and husband to Charing (Reynes).
Richard
beamed, “This independent film was the biggest grossing and the longest in
terms of commercial run. I think people loved it so much because of the story.
One can easily identify with all the many characters and the circumstances they
were in. When you view it inside the movie house, the good vibe immediately
grows in you, and you are not aware that together with the rest of the
audiences, you laugh, and then you cry, only to laugh again, you come out of
the movie house feeing re-charged and thankful of the many eccentricities of
the Filipino family.”
How
do you feel now that the film is Oscar bound? ”Heaven!” Richard exclaimed. “We
did not expect that it will go this far, when somebody told me about it, I
thought it was, you know, a joke, then I got a confirmation that it is for real
and that it was deemed meritorious by members of the Film Academy. When we were
shooting it, we just wanted to share to the people the wonderful growing up
story of Direk Soxie and his quaint observations of his family’s practices
during the wake of his grand dad. That was all he wants, so this recognition is
really big for all of us.”
“I
hope the Oscar people give us a shot, I know the foreign film category is a
very competitive field,” Quan said. “However, I am very optimistic that members
of the Academy will find our small film appealing and full of heart.”
Ded na si Lolo/Grandfather is Dead, will be shown again in local theaters starting December 2, 2009.
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