A gay movie with friendship at its core
By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter
THIS YEAR, another gay movie entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will try to replicate Die Beautiful’s success: Julius Alfonso’s Deadma Walking.
Both films feature gay protagonists, equally fabulous gay best friends, and death as their theme.
But the similarities end there as Eric Cabahug,who wrote Deadma Walking’s screenplay, told the media during a press conference held on Dec. 12 at Limbaga 77 restaurant in Quezon City.
Deadma Walking, said Mr. Cabahug, is a tribute to friendship. “There are a lot of films where friendship is a side story, but in this film it’s at the center,” he said. Added Mr. Alfonso, “[It’s a story of how] best friends can be soulmates.”
The plot revolves around Mark (played by Edgar Allan Guzman), a theater actor, who mounts a fake but fantastic wake to fulfill the final wish of his best friend, John (played by Joross Gamboa), who is terminally ill (the movie’s title is a pun on “dead man walking”).
The team acknowledged early on that Deadma Walking would undoubtedly be compared to Die Beautiful — and it’s a comparison they welcome as Jun Robles Lana’s flick proved that gay narratives could be successful.
“We’re proud to be compared to Die Beautiful but we’re confident they’re different films,” said Mr. Alfonso, who noted that the screenplay for Deadma Walking was in the works even before Die Beautiful hit the screens October 2016.
Both Mr. Cabahug and Mr. Alfonso had been toying with the idea of Deadma Walking since 2014 and in September 2016, their script placed second in the Screenplay Division of the Palanca Awards for Literature.
Mr. Alfonso has never seen Die Beautiful. He explained that he didn’t want to be “constrained and intimidated” by Mr. Lana’s award-winning comedy-drama.
Meanwhile, the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) gave Deadma Walking a grade of “A,” noting its “comic timing” and its musical numbers, which give the film “an engaging energy.”
With a budget of around P10 million, the film is T-Rex Entertainment’s bid for commercial success, something Mr. Alfonso, as the director, took into account when shooting.
T-Rex Entertainment previously produced Victor Villanueva’s Patay na si Hesus, a Cebuano dark comedy and entry to the 2017 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino headed by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
The PG-rated Deadma Walking features cameos by Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, Iza Calzado and Eugene Domingo as well as from directors Marlon Rivera and Joel Lamangan.
