Being proactive has its rewards.
Ahead of the Feb 17 screening of Tandem in Metro Manila, the film’s director and producers are appealing to the viewing public to catch the movie and let it run for more than a week.
“Para saan pa ang pelikula kung wala namang laman ang sinehan (What are movies for if theaters are empty)”, director King Palisoc asked Coconuts Manila.
The film — produced by Tuko Film Productions, Buchi Boy Films and Quantum Films — has received positive nods after being shown abroad. It had its world premiere at the 2015 Montreal International Film Festival in September, and also participated in the film festivals of Vancouver and Cairo.
Its producers are the same duo that backed Heneral Luna, Fernando Ortigas and Eduardo A. Rocha.
Tandem is a movie about “riding in tandem robbers” but the movie is too colorful and intricate to be called a simple crime film. It is a timely storytelling of a disturbing Manila reality.
It’s been hell to shoot, according to Palisoc, because he wanted the audience to feel like they themselves are on the motorcyle.
Together with director of photography Pong Ignacio (who also worked on Heneral Luna), he attached camera rigs to the motorbike while it was moving to capture the feel of being on a motorcycle.
Since they also wanted a variety of shots, depending on what’s happening in the scene, they would adjust the rigs.
In the beginning, you will notice that most of the shots are taken from a high angle, he explained to us. “Pero later on, mas mga close-up na ang makikita. So for every shot na ginawa namin, iba-iba ang camera setup na ginawa namin,” he said.
King is aware that Tandem is a risk in more ways than one, but he hopes it would impact the Philippine filmmaking industry.
I hope that more producers will take a risk on new filmmakers, he said. I wish that there would be more venues for our movies. If we’ll have risk-taking producers, I hope that there would also be risk-taking theater owners.
Palisoc said he wants to see the Philippine film industry flourish. In the long run, he wants avenues for writers and directors to develop their stories.
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