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The World Through the Lens of Antoinette Jadaone
The acclaimed film director sheds light on her film “Sunshine” and the rise of Philippine cinema on the international stage.
Published Oct 29, 2024
The sun is shining on Philippine cinema, with filmmakers like Antoinette Jadaone at its heart.
Quiapo is in the heart of Antoinette Jadaone’s 2024 film Sunshine, where ironic tableaus play on screen, and to an extent, in real life.
This was a conscious decision on the director’s part, where the film’s setting is as much of a vital component in the story as its titular character. “Whenever I write, I make sure na 'yung milieu where the lead character is living—kung saan siya lumaki, kung saan nakaset 'yung pelikula—it also becomes a character in the film.”
In Sunshine’s case, at its center was the imposing structure of Quaipo Church, which, Direk Tonet notes, was surrounded by ironies in abortifacients (“pamparegla”) peddled in stalls beside a prominent place of worship.
Much as Quiapo is a character, to its creators, the setting was also a microcosm of Sunshine’s story. While Filipino filmmakers have told their versions of Quiapo from Lino Brocka’s Bona to the many iterations of Batang Quiapo, Sunshine’s take on the Manila district tells the story of its teenage protagonist played by Maris Racal, who finds herself pregnant at the start of a promising gymnastics career. Like her setting, Sunshine’s mind was its own pocket of chaos, where she ran over the tangled web of possibilities that could happen. She finds peace at moments of self-reflection and focus, when, as the trailer says, Sunshine is able to “drown out the noise” amid the chaos of outside influence.
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While not all were gymnasts like the titular Sunshine, her story was a reflection of a reality that young women face–one now told through the lens of Antoinette Jadaone, a director who doesn’t shy away from raw, authentic moments told through a camera.
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Sunrise
Toronto, and by extension, the rest of the world, was introduced to the busy mind of Sunshine and the setting of Quiapo during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). As part of the prestigious festival’s Centrepiece Programme, the film’s world premiere in September 2024 was met with sold-out screenings. Over the internet, users praised the film’s gripping trailer and how it ventured into taboo territory, where conversations like these were mostly told in hushed tones.
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But in the case of Direk Tonet, the “germ of the whole concept” began with the same question most of her films are prefaced with. “When I make films, it usually starts with ‘What if?’,” the director explains. “What if mayroong isang teenager na nabuntis, and what if kung ano 'yung gulo sa utak niya, it becomes something tangible?”
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And so, the pre-production of Sunshine gained its first steps. The director and screenwriter rifled through a series of documentaries and interviews about the topic, and later, went through first-hand interviews of young women who terminated and continued their pregnancies. “While doing those interviews, at first, parang hindi ko pa naman alam kung itutuloy ko 'yung story,” Direk Tonet says. “But after talking to a lot of these girls, nagkaroon na ako ng connection to the story na alam ko na kailangan ko siyang i-push, kailangan ko siyang ituloy ikwento.”
The director recalls having lead actress Maris Racal along with her during some of the interviews and ocular sessions in Quiapo. During those times, an inquisitive Maris had even delved into one-on-one conversations with the young women whose lives were similar to that of Sunshine’s.
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Direk Tonet had found her ideal Sunshine in Maris, as the actress seemed to tick her mental checklist for the character. First was the physicality involved in portraying a gymnast, manifested in the actress’ build and experience as a dancer. “'Yung flexibility is something na hindi mo agad matututuhan kung wala ka 'nun from the start,” the director notes. “Na-assure ko muna na physically, hindi pag-iisipan ng audience na hindi naman gymnast 'yan o parang artista siya.”
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Second was their past collaborations, which convinced Direk Tonet that the actress had the range to portray the lead character. “The way I wrote Sunshine, I didn’t want it to be dreary and very heavy. I wanted it to still have a certain kind of lightness,” the director says. “Meron [si Maris na] certain maturity for her age na nakakapag-shift siya. Even when I was working with her for the first time sa The Kangks Show, kita ko na agad the way she handles sensitive or very heavy scenes. It’s always with care.”
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But one of Sunshine’s integral parts can only be found within the actress—that is, if her actress was compelled by her character’s story and the themes of the film, which called for the absence of judgment. “Sinabi ko sa kanya, kailangan natin i-make sure na kung ano 'yung sinasabi ng pelikula, naniniwala ka 'dun. Kasi importante sa akin 'yun, kasi ikaw si Sunshine,” Direk Tonet says.
“Importante sa akin na 'yung artista na gaganap kay Sunshine embodies the values and the philosophy of the film and of Sunshine herself,” she continues. “Binalikan niya after ilang days or a week, sabi niya, ‘Yes.’ 'Nung sinabi niya 'yun, I think naging perfect match na talaga.”
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The film doesn’t stray away from the sensitive topics that are a reality, regardless of how it’s dampened by mainstream dialogues. Like the formidable structure that is Quiapo Church, religion and a conservative Philippines are lingering forces in the film, where backlash and censorship are potential threats that hang over it. But like many filmmakers and storytellers who came before her, such risks shouldn’t hinder stories from being told, especially one that mirrors real life.
“When I write, the bias should be always for the story. This is the story of Sunshine,” Direk Tonet states. “And you want what’s best for the character, who represents someone else in the real world, in the real Philippines.”
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“When I write, the bias should be always for the story. You want what’s best for the character, who represents someone else in the real world, in the real Philippines.”
“Of course, nakakatakot with the possible backlash, but I think mas important na matuloy 'yung kwento ni Sunshine. And then the rest should be up to the viewers,” she says. “Ikwento na muna natin, tapos tignan natin kung papano siya tatanggapin, kaysa matakot ka na agad sa umpisa.”
And while the nature of art can birth a thousand interpretations of a singular film, Direk Tonet hopes that audiences will find the reality hidden beneath the film’s fictional lens.
“'Yung mga nakapalibot sa kanya, these are supposedly the people that are holding her hand, the friends that keep her safe. It takes a village to raise a kid,” the director says. “So what kind of village are we becoming kung hindi natin napaparamdam na safe itong mga batang babae na 'to sa kamay ng ibang mga tao? This is the reality that is happening to our Filipino girls. And because this is the reality that’s happening, we can’t turn a blind eye,” she pauses. “It will happen. It’s happening. We can’t just look away.”
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In the Limelight
The very thought that this conversation began with some light congratulations on Sunshine’s TIFF premiere wasn’t lost to anyone. Philippine cinema is gaining momentum, as a result of a clamor for stories from the Asian side of the globe—among them are stories of people like Sunshine in Quiapo, screened miles away in Canada.
With its string of successes in the film festival circuit and the awards season, Asian cinema is having its moment. To Direk Tonet, the continent’s narrative had a shared sense of “heart” that seemed to echo throughout the region’s themes.
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“Meron talagang kakaibang heart ang Asian cinema and Filipino films at their core–it’s something na universal, kahit anong language,” she says. The director notes that the presence has also been amplified by the streaming platforms for many up-and-coming filmmakers across Asia, which have also become sources of inspiration. “The thing with young filmmakers is they’re full of idealism, they’re full of hope, and 'yun 'yung hindi natin pwedeng matanggal sa kanila.”
But idealism can only go so far, and budget constraints have long been a point of struggle in the Philippine film industry and the local art scene as a whole. Sunshine, for example, was able to gain financial footing courtesy of a grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). Direk Tonet points out that the film’s finances haven’t been completed a month before shooting started, with the gap eventually filled by the council. “That kind of support is what filmmakers need, actually,” the director says.
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There have been many comparisons made between the thriving Korean film industry and that of the Philippines, with the latter still in its baby steps despite being “born at the same time” as Korean cinema. The difference, according to Direk Tonet, was the initial government support given to Korean film, which had consequently birthed the Hallyu wave.
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“There’s support now, but sana mas marami pa,” the director says. “Not just to the filmmakers in Manila, but mas kailangan din ng tulong ng mga regional filmmakers.”
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’” she quoted. “Kapag may mga Filipino filmmakers na nagiging successful, inaangat din niya lahat ng mga Filipino filmmakers sa buong mundo.”
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“Kapag may mga Filipino filmmakers na nagiging successful, inaangat din niya lahat ng mga Filipino filmmakers sa buong mundo.”
At this point in her career, Antoinette Jadaone seems to be paying it forward to the young filmmakers who are coming onto the scene. Before the TIFF premiere of Sunshine, co-founding Project 8 Projects, and earning acclaim for Fan Girl (2020) and That Thing Called Tadhana (2014), the director was a young cinema enthusiast, who watched Dolphy films and The Sound of Music with her family. Her inclination to creative pursuits eventually turned to film school at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where, after graduation, the future director would find herself in the industry’s rank and file as a production assistant.
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Her debut film in 2011, Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay, was an ode to that moment in time. While the mockumentary followed veteran actress Lilia Cuntapay as its focal point, it was much of a tale of Antoinette as its main character.
“It will always have a special place in my heart, my first film, because it was my story,” she says, when asked about the film in hindsight. “All of filmmakers’ films, it’s who they are as a person during that time that they did it. It’s a picture of me 'nung nag-uumpisa pa lang ako. Wala pa akong kamuang-muang, pero ang dami kong gusto, ang dami kong komento, ang dami kong critique 'dun sa industriya na I consider my home as well.”
With that retrospective in mind, the director advises the filmmakers to come, who are now at the exact same spot she was at one point in time.
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“Be patient,” she says. “You will only get that one chance to make your first film. Your duty to your first film is to make yourself as prepared as possible bago sumuong 'dun sa gera.”
“You owe it to your first film,” Direk Tonet continues. “You owe it to your first script, to your first character, to make yourself as prepared and as ready as you can.”
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The sun is shining on her side—but so it is on local cinema as a whole, if the signs ring true enough.
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