Pelikula Q&A: Anatomiya ng Korupsiyon An interview...

Pelikula Q&A: Anatomiya ng Korupsiyon
An interview with director Dennis Marasigan by Jansen Musico

This is your second film in the festival since Sa North Diversion Road.

This is now my fourth film, counting the two Cinemalaya entries, I also completed Tukso and Vox Populi.

Four projects down, how have things changed for you as a director?

Every film I make is a learning experience, more so when I get to know the reactions of the audience to each one. I would like to think I’ve been able to learn from the mistakes or inadequacies of my earlier works and that these have informed the latter ones. I do hope that I have improved as a storyteller through film.

Anatomiya ng Korupsiyon is based on a stage play by Malou Jacob. Why did you decide to adapt it for film?

When the deadline for submissions was coming up, news headlines full of reports about corruption being unearthed in various branches and offices in government were surfacing. Aside from ZTE-NBN, there were also those in the AFP, in DBP, even in the courts. I had directed the premiere performances and succeeding stagings of the play for Tanghalang Pilipino in CCP (1992, 1994, and 2000) and was intimately familiar with the material. I felt that it was also possible for it to connect to viewers as a film version, more so considering the relevance of the topic even for the present day audience.

What was difficult with adapting the piece for the big screen?

The obvious answer is how to open up the material, to make it less stagey and more cinematic. The other challenge, which we did not realize until production, was trying to maintain the setting and milieu of the film given the relatively limited budget.

Why decide to keep the setting in the ‘80s?

When I was pitching the story to Cinema One, we had a lengthy discussion whether to keep the setting as it was in the original material, or to update it to present times. We felt that there would need to be major changes in the narrative if we chose to set in the present time. Besides, we also realized that keeping the time period would emphasize the reality that corruption still exists.

Has Malou seen the film? How much was her involvement in the production?

First, I sought her permission and then sent her an earlier draft of the screenplay. Afterwards, she was kept abreast of developments in the shoot. Other than that, she wasn’t directly involved. She hasn’t seen the film yet, but I hope she can get a chance to comment on it.

You have an interesting cast. How did you go about assembling it?

Since the film was under Cinema One, we were set on casting an ABS-CBN artist for the role of Cely. The only obvious choice then was Maricar Reyes. Then we had to find an actor who could convincingly play her boss in the film. We cast Sid Lucero, who I had previously directed in Tukso. Then we built around them an ensemble composed of veteran and dependable actors from film, theatre, and TV.

As it turned out, most of the ensemble, except for Maricar, either knew or had previously worked with each other. On the first day of shooting, Maricar knew very few of them. This paralleled the reality that Cely encounters in the film. She enters a new office where she’s the outsider.

I had specific requirements for certain scenes. For the couples seeking legal separation or annulment, we cast real-life couples: Lem and Espie Garcellano, and Robert and Isay Alvarez-Seña. I also wanted opposing lawyers to be similar to each other, somehow saying they were really interchangeable and could actually change sides depending on the situation. We got Ricky Davao, Franco Laurel, Lou Veloso, Garry Lim, to name a few, and even Raquel Villavicencio and Eugene Domingo.

I have to ask, where’s Irma Adlawan? She’s been your muse since day one. Your past three films have her as the lead.

From the beginning, the project was intended as a film that without Irma in it. She already originated the role of Cely in the stage productions I directed.