We all worked closely together to give the film an encompassing theme.” I must say Lacap did a very good job here and so did the film scorer in the person of Von de Guzmán. We settled for various hues of sepia to denote a past that we have forgotten already. On the other hand, I also collaborated with the production designers and the cinematographer in the person of Rody Lacap.
Many in the cast appeared in my previous films and they know my language on the set and what I want. The various hues of sepia gave it a simple yet arresting quality and Lamangan made sure the story is the thing, not the cast.Īnd yet all the who’s who in Philippine cinema are in the film giving it a casting of epic proportion.Įlaborates Lamangan: “It helped of course that I’ve been directing for some time. The fine elements of cinema from cinematography to production design and music scoring are noticeably present in the two versions of the trailers. A substantial part of the film is about their church doctrine and since this is part of their spiritual lives, I welcomed all advice and suggestions to make this special film take off.”īefore the presscon proper, the media was invited to a special preview of the trailer and surprisingly, it earned a unanimous positive feedback. When your knowledge of their religion is quite limited, you naturally welcome all the help you could get by way of inputs from the authority. The script was written by the head of evangelism of INC and I had to be guided as the story of the film can’t veer away from their church doctrine. “No, their presence didn’t cramp my directing style as I needed every detailed advice on how this church came to be. On the set, Lamangan was guided by a minister who gave advice on how certain church rituals were done in real life. The writing of the script took some time and the production meetings were as exhaustive as the research work involved. Whether we like it or not, the rise and domination of INC is now part of the country’s history.” And so I have to study his social milieu, the family where he came from and the forces of culture and politics that shaped him. His kind of faith attracted millions of followers here and abroad and that is no easy feat. He points out: “As it turned, Ka Felix Manalo’s efforts paid off. He has to read the Bible, he has to attend worship sessions and read all publications to know everything about the religion. To do justice to the film, Lamangan has to do a lot of immersions. As the scenes from his early life are recorded by the camera, I could feel his aspirations, his vision, his tough times and how he hurdled all the trials and tribulations of a man tied to his Bible and determined to convert the faithful to his side. I am no INC member so I am talking from the point of view of an outsider looking in. What Ka Felix Manalo, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) founder, went through is for me a lot of revelations. Says he: “Let’s admit it, the film is quite complicated and the subject out of the ordinary. In the same breath, he finds it quite complex and many-layered for one reason or the other. MANILA, Philippines - In the special presscon for the epic film, Felix Manalo, direk Joel Lamangan admits his latest project is one of a kind.
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