Actress Judy Ann Santos had just left the customary Sunday get-together with her whole family when she received the news that Ploning is RP’s official entry to the Oscars for the foreign language film category. Her delight after seeing her mom—who just got back from her one month vacation abroad—was all the more intensified when the call from the movie’s director, who also happened to be her best friend, came through.
“Lumabas kami after ng lunch namin together. Tapos ako nagpunta muna ko ng Greenhills kasi may drifting dun yung friends ni Ryan (Agoncillo), so I visited them. Sa kalagitnaan ng Greenhills, tinawagan ako ni Dante Nico Garcia, na parang bagong gising at nanginginig yung boses na hindi mo maintindihan. So sabi niya, ‘May balita ako sayo… napili ang Ploning for Oscars!!!’ Yun, sigaw kami ng sigaw. Nasa kalagitnaan ako ng Teatrino tapos yung kuya ko nagtataka kung ano nang nagaganap. Tapos sabi ko umiiiyak ka ba? Sabi niya oo. Sabi ko magkita kami mamayang gabi kailangan nating magusap. Tapos actually, nag-usap na lang kami sa telepono,” Judy Ann recounted to ABS-CBN.com.
A week after that fateful Sunday afternoon, both Judy Ann and Direk Dante were still obviously on a high with the unexpected feats of their experimental collaboration—Ploning being the latter’s first screenplay and directorial job with Judy Ann as its lead star and producer. Prior to the film’s entry to the 2009 Oscars, the fact that it got good reviews, an “A” rating from the Philippine Cinema Evaluation Board, and “GP” or general patronage from MTRCB were more than enough bonuses for the production designer-turned-director.
“Honestly hindi ko ‘to inexpect. Ang unang intensyon lang talaga ay makagawa ng pelikula at mabigyan si Judai ng dream niyang pelikula, yun naman yung una. And mabigyan ko ng homage yung hometown ko. Lahat ng iba pang magagandang nangyari sa Ploning si God na yun eh. Ang dami rin naman naming pinagdaanan ni Judai bago sa panahon na ‘to, hindi lang sa craft namin kundi bilang magkaibigan, bilang mga tao. So may greater purpose that lies beyond na hindi lang naman nakikita. Pero kung ano man yun, willing akong harapin yun at unti-unti ko ng nararamdaman na mukha na akong direktor kahit konti,” Direk Dante said with a laugh.
Judy Ann is also thrilled with the idea of rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and Angelie Jolie. She never thought that she would still keep on sowing more blessings in spite of her already long list of accomplishments as an actress. “Ako siguro kung mangyayari man yun sobrang iisipin ko pa rin siguro kung ano anong bagay ang nagawa ko bakit binigyan ako ng diyos ng ganito kagandang regalo. Bago
ka pa man magsimula ng isang pamilya, bibigyan ka ni Lord ng isa pangpa-texture ng life na pwede mo ikwento sa anak mo, sa apo mo, kasi ang Oscars forever namang andyan ‘yan eh. So sana nga matuloy.”
What does it take for Ploning to make it in the final list of the Oscars’ carefully chosen nominees? “Sabi nga nila yung malalaking kumpanya would spend several million pesos just to do parties and pay Oscars invites to people. Pero ‘di namin afford yun. The only thing that can make this film get to that top 18, and the top 5, and get us onstage of the Oscars is for Filipinos to be together in this. ‘Yun lang papakiusapan lang ulit namin yung mga tao to take time na panoorin yung pelikula namin. If you like it, talk about. If you don’t, still talk about it. So ‘pag dumating yung time na yung jurors eh i-google nila yung film na may ilang milyong results baka tiyagain nila yung pelikula.” they both stressed.
Without a doubt, Ploning is different from other films because with Direk Dante’s “heart” at its core. “That’s what I had when I was doing that film, and that’s what I know that I can put in that film. Becuase if it’s gonna be art or filmmaking knowledge, wala ako nun eh. It’s just heart, it’s just the friendship, the desire to make people happy,” he humbly noted. And Judy Ann quickly agreed, “So yung mga taong gustong gumawa ng magandang pelikula, wala naman talagang imposible. Yun ang isang natutunan ko dito. Nothing is really impossible as long as you believe in yourself and in God.”
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