Kinunan ang kabuuan ng Cinemalaya 2024 film na Kono Basho (This Place) sa Rikuzentakata City sa Japan. Bahagi ng kuwento ang lindol at tsunami sa nasabing lungsod noong 2011.
Sa istorya, ang 28-anyos na Filipina anthropologist na si Ella (Gabby Padilla) ay nagtungo sa Rikuzentakata para sa funeral ng kanyang estranged father na si Emman.
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Nagkasama sila roon ng half-sister niyang Haponesa, si Reina (Arisa Nakano).
Tampok si Arisa sa pelikulang Perfect Days na nag-compete sa 76th Cannes filmfest last year.
Nominado ang naturang pelikula sa kategoryang best international feature ng 96th Academy Awards o Oscars noong nakaraang Marso.
Bago ang gala premiere ng Kono Basho noong Agosto 6, Martes ng 8:30 P.M. ay merong pa-cocktails, at nainterbyu roon ang bidang si Gabby.
GABBY PADILLA ON WORKING WITH ARISA NAKANO
Kumusta ang pakikipagtrabaho kay Arisa?
“It’s a great experience po. Although we met a few days before the shooting lang, she made it so easy to connect with her,” tugon ni Gabby.
“And hindi mahirap i-imagine na magkapatid kami. And she’s such a generous actor, so it was really a great experience…
“Magaling po si Arisa. I’m so excited for you to see her. Sobrang husay niya… hindi mahirap to share a scene with her.”
Ang 85-minute drama film na Kono Basho ay isinulat at idinirek ni Jaime Pacena II, with Dan Villegas as cinematographer.
Napupuri ang husay ni Gabby sa Kono Basho.
Napangiti ang aktres, “That’s really yung guidance po ni Direk Dan saka ni Direk Jaime. Anything that they put their minds to, they really are able to create great film, tell a great story.
“So I have to give the credit to them, too. Kasi sila talaga yung nag-guide sa akin.”
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Ang galing-galing din ni Gabby sa Cinemalaya film niya last year na Gitling (Hypen), for which na-nominate siyang best actress sa Gawad Urian.
“Eto na naman po, kasama ko na naman yung mga Hapon! Ha! Ha! Ha!” natatawang sambit ni Gabby.
Ang Japanese na si Ken Yamamura ang co-star ni Gabby sa Gitling na syinuting sa Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
“Pero hindi ko naman po mako-compare. Both experiences were different,” pagmamatuwid ni Gabby.
“And parehas silang special for me for different reasons. But it’s always nice to come home to Cinemalaya.
“Kasi it feels like a reunion with friends from the press and, of course, in the industry as well.”
Kumusta ang pagsu-shoot ng Kono Basho sa Japan?
“Kakaiba ang experience na ito, kasi mixed yung crew and yung cast, Hapon and Filipino,” sabi ni Gabby.
“So nakakatuwa, kasi kahit na hindi kami nagkakaintindihan all the time, naka-build kami ng community and nakapag-connect pa rin kami.
“Kasi we really love the material and we wanted to give our best, so yun. So naka-build kami ng family doon.”
GABBY PADILLA ON DEALING WITH GRIEF
Challenging para kay Gabby ang maraming eksena sa Kono Basho.
Pagtatapat niya, “Yung buong nature po kasi nung film, yung grief niya, so mahirap siya talaga.
“As someone who has dealt with it in her personal life, mahirap lang because I had to revisit my own feelings na baka hindi pa nag-heal.
“So, kinailangang humugot dun. So, that was the challenge for me.”
Saan siya naka-relate sa story?
Napabuntong-hininga si Gabby, “Nung nabasa ko po siya, medyo tumagos siya sa akin.
“Kasi may sister din ako, and the film is about the sisters going through the loss of their father together.
“And that’s something that I’ve experienced with my own sister. So, siguro yun po siya.”
Sa totoong buhay, ilang taon na ang lumipas mula nang pumanaw ang ama ni Gabby. Ano ang naging epekto ng pinagdaanan niya sa pag-portray ng karakter niyang nagdadalamhati?
“I think tumulong naman siya in giving me a perspective of what Ella must have been through,” pagsisiwalat ni Gabby.
“And I guess it also helped give it depth. Kasi that’s something na you have to go through, I think, grief.
“I think it really changes a person, and pag nawalan ka, you kinda live your life through that lens na.
“So I think having gone through that really helped tell the story a little bit more.”
Ano ang maituturo ng Kono Basho tungkol sa grief?
“I think what this film can teach you about grief is that… sometimes when you feel like you’re alone and the darkness comes late kasi wala kang kasama…
“Meron ding… there’s someone in the darkness fumbling as well, and when you hold on to that person, and when you connect with them, you have hope.
“And you find healing together.”
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TARGETTING INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTS
Ang executive producers ng Kono Basho ay sina Jim Baltazar, Dan Villegas, Antoinette Jadaone, Reign Anne de Guzman, at John Bryan Diamante ng Mentorque.
Inaasam ni Sir John Bryan na mailahok ang Kono Basho sa mga international filmfest.
“Wow! Well, sana naman! I mean, we’re happy to bring the film to wherever it’s meant to go,” saad ni Gabby.
“If it’s to Japan or worldwide, why not? We’ll be happy to share it with a bigger audience po.”
Nasa cast din ng Kono Basho sina Reiko Kataoka, Satoshi Nikaido, Sheryl Ichikawa, Sho Yakumaru, Meanne Espinosa, Daday Bustamante, Junichi Hasegawa, Masatoshi Konno, Shigeo Moriyama, Shinichi Murakami, at ang pusang si Baron.
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