On December 9, director Carlo Francisco Manatad shared how the victims of Yolanda helped the production of Kun Maupay Man It Panahon.
During an interview with Rappler for Kun Maupay Man It Panahon, Manatad said that the citizens of Tacloban who had personal experiences about Yolanda were “super involved” in their project.
“While we were doing research regarding what had happened, of course, more than anything, the film is very personal. It’s based on a lot of things that happened with me not, just with Yolanda but also partly the research part of the holistic research part of the story of people’s experience.
“Super involved in a sense where I just did not who na-experience ‘yung may mga nawalan ng pamilya, and whatsoever, even ever since hindi pa nasho-shoot ‘yung pelikula nandoon na sila.”
He added that he made sure that their film would be an ode to the victims of Yolanda, so he shot “key scenes” of the film in Tacloban.
“I want the story to be told in such a way na, not just focusing on what had happened during the storm, but more of like the stories and the journey of these individuals based on real experiences.
“I told myself, more than anything, I would want to shoot a few key scenes of the film in Tacloban because it’s also an ode to the people who survived the tragedy.”
He also made sure they didn’t exploit the experiences of the Yolanda victims while making the film.
“We had almost a thousand extras, and these are people. And mostly, people who actually experienced and survived the storm, so more than anything, I didn’t want them to feel as if there’s this line of exploitation–exploitation in a sense where you’re exploiting their experiences and just making something and not thinking about how they would feel.”
Manatad then noted the overwhelming support of Yolanda victims for the project when they filmed the movie.
“But for some weird reason, super–sobrang nakakataba ng puso kasi, I am from there, and I told them about this, and they were just there, they were just really, happy to be a part of this.
“And more than anything, palagi nilang sinasabi na parang, ‘hindi namin nage-gets kung anong nangyayari, or kung ano ginagawa namin kahit ine-explain, but more than anything, nobody is making a film about their story, their struggle, and the mere fact na may gumagawa, it speaks a lot so parang they will be there, until it gets shown to support the film.”
Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine) is a Filipino film under the direction of Carlo Francisco Manatad and starring Charo Santos-Concio, Daniel Padilla, and Rans Rifol. It won the Cinema e Gioventù Prize at Locarno Film Festival in August.
The film follows a young man searching for his mother and beloved in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Kun Maupay Man It Panahon is one of the eight entries for the Metro Manila Film Festival 2021. Unlike 2020, MMFF returns to cinemas, with the eight films premiering from December 25 to January 7.
