QUEEN OF ‘MAINDIE:’ It was quite a gamble for Batangas Governor Vilma Santos to take on the title role in “Ekstra,” her first indie film that pays tribute to the lowly lives of movie and TV bit players.
The role is a departure from how the public had always known Vilma. It allowed her to face the cameras without makeup, in street clothes, deglamorized, as she calls it.
“I got scared, but faced the challenge of appearing in an indie film,” Vilma told us recently.
To Vilma’s credit, she passed her acid test in crossing over to the indie side of filmmaking, given its limited resources. With “Ekstra,” she has proven that she’s willing to go the extra mile to make a film work, even at the risk of presenting herself in an unglamorous situation.
The actress-politician has also proven that given a good material and an excellent supporting cast, an indie film, also called maindie in this sense, can succeed at the box office. “Maindie” here is used as a crossbreed between a mainstream film and an indie film; in other words, an indie film with mainstream sensibility.
“Ekstra” turned out to be the top grossing film in the recently held Cinemalaya even as it won major awards, including best actress for Vilma, in the same festival of independently produced films (Directors’ Showcase).
Vilma recalled that she worked on the film for 12 days. She averaged 17 hours a day filming. She waived her usual fee for film work but entertained an offer to be Joji Alonso’s and director Jeffrey Jeturian’s industrial partner for this endeavor.
“Ekstra,” according to Ms. Alonzo, has been invited to screen under the Contemporary World Cinema Programme at Toronto International Film Festival in Canada in September. It is due to fly to other international filmfests, she added.
EXTRA FLAVOR: “Ekstra” offers fresh perspective in indie filmmaking where casting is concerned.
It is topbilled by a superstar and backed up by a list of supporting players who are stars in their own right. The film features in guest roles the likes of Piolo
It is topbilled by a superstar and backed up by a list of supporting players who are stars in their own right. The film features in guest roles the likes of Piolo
Pascual, Marian Rivera, Richard “Sir Chief” Yap, Pilar Pilapil, Cherie Gil.
Unlike other indie films, “Ekstra” offers genuine entertainment. Its script is written with lots of humorous scenes that take a jab at today’s entertainment industry. The one scene that draws the biggest laughter from the audience is when Vilma’s character, Loida Malabanan, is caught in huddle with her fellow extras as they discuss their fate.
The extras cite the rise to stardom of former extras, like Gloria Romero and Susan Roces, who are both mestizas. Vilma blurts out, “Eh bakit si Nora Aunor?”
The scene is the winningest in the film’s humor department.
The scene is the winningest in the film’s humor department.
