By Caesar R. Vallejos
EBC Correspondent
At the Hapi ang Buhay set, eaglenews.ph sat with the Eagle Broadcasting Corporation’s (EBC) award-winning director Carlo Cuevas who earned international recognition for the INCinema-produced ‘Walang Take Two’ from London and Jakarta. The film is also nominated in another award-giving body in Madrid, Spain. The film resulted to EBC’s spin-off sitcom Hapi ang Buhay, the network’s first, that is redefining situational comedy-making in Philippine entertainment.
Cuevas answered eloquently throughout the interview but when asked how he defined happiness, it took him a while to give an answer, only to come back with an arresting response: “I have a one-year old baby and to go home to my family is my happiness.” Learn more why this director and Hapi ang Buhay, are making great waves and happy vibes on EBC from this exclusive interview:
CRV: What is your inspiration in directing?
Cuevas: ‘Walang Take Two’ was a collective experience of people around me and people close to me including my relatives. Some of the lines and scenes really happened to me and most of them happened in real life. I covered weddings in real life and I had so much frustration producing a film. I talked to a lot of producers and offered them to produce this film. I entered this into various festivals but was rejected a lot of times.
CRV: How would you describe your style of film-making?
Cuevas: It’s personal. It’s from a first person’s point of view. I observe people and I draw inspiration from my own experiences.
CRV: From film-making in ‘Walang Take Two’ to sitcom-directing in Hapi ang Buhay, how do you describe the transformation?
Cuevas: I have the same characters, names and ambiance. While there is slapstick comedy, which is typical in sitcoms, what we retained since the beginning are the values that it conveys. We are not just here to provide humor and entertainment. While we make people laugh, we make it a point in every episode to have our audience learn values.
CRV: I noticed in today’s taping that the title of the script is ‘Honesty’, are all the episodes laden with values?
Cuevas: Yes. Our pilot episode tackled the proper use of the Internet. That not all the things that you see there are to be believed. We also tacked unity, anti-smoking, illegal jobs, and having a good health in our previous episodes. We do not create 45 minutes of material just for people to laugh. We make sure that while they are entertained, they learn values. And I believe that through this way – making people laugh as they learn – is a lighter way for our audience to accept the values we are conveying in our episodes.
CRV: Is this your purpose?
Cuevas: When INCinema produced this and my script was used, conveying the message of values has become my purpose. The most important part of a film or a video production is its message. We are not here to showcase our talents or great acting of the actors. For me, what is more important is the message of a film rather than its presentation.
CRV: Is there a character in your materials that you relate with the most?
Cuevas: I relate the most with Hapi, the main character in the film and in the sitcom. I easily get frustrated when I thought of something and I cannot produce it. So I strive hard to find a way to create it. In this case, I have a story and I want to share it with people.
CRV: What are your influences?
Cuevas: It is a mixture of what I have watched but what struck me most was the very first independent short film I saw in a school festival entitled ‘Andong’ by Milo Tolentino. It has a simple story about a child who wants to buy a TV. I thought that it was something that we don’t normally see on film and on TV and it triggered my interest in film-making.
CRV: What is your background?
Cuevas: I am a graduate of Communication Arts from Dela Salle Lipa. After graduation, I worked as a director and director of photography for five years, producing documentaries for ABS-CBN.
CRV: What are the challenges that you encountered in directing?
Cuevas: I had so many frustrations especially in ‘Walang Take Two’. There was a time, in the middle of film-making, that I wanted to quit. I even told my Assistant Director to be the one to continue the film. There were a lot of problems and as my first full-length film project and the biggest production I handled, I thought I was not fit to finish the movie. “Nakakalula!”
When I was at my lowest, I just asked, “Why am I doing this? What is my reason?” And I responded to myself, “I am here to tell a story. I am here not to impress, but I am here to express myself. ”
And with the goal of INCinema which is to teach values and share the message, everything fall into place. We have the message of faith; we have the message of salvation. These are the messages that have to be shared with a lot of people. I was given not only an opportunity but a responsibility. I was given the trust to produce this, and these thoughts have motivated me to keep going on.
CRV: What creative process are you putting in your material?
Cuevas: I usually have two layers in my stories. The first layer is my narrative, which is usually for the general audience. The second layer is something satirical, which is designed for a specific audience whom I know, can appreciate and understand what’s happening in my story. It has a deeper meaning and message. To attract a wider audience, I have to highlight the lighter side of the first layer of the story. Pero kung maiintindihan nila yung second layer, malaking bonus para sa akin.
CRV: How did film-making transform you?
Cuevas: INCinema Productions transformed me and gave me direction in life. It has changed my spiritual beliefs. It is here that I experienced that anything that God is guiding will end up victorious. When we finished 50% of shooting ‘Walang Take Two’, I said, let’s re-do everything. But when we started editing, I said, “Ang na-shoot natin, pangit, pero ba’t dito gumaganda!” Spirituality has helped me a lot. When we were filming the movie, my wife was about to give birth. So I commuted regularly from Manila to Batangas and when my baby came to my family, there also came a clearer direction to what I really do.
CRV: What is your reaction to the awards that you are receiving?
Cuevas: I promise to help INCinema and EBC to continue producing films and video productions that educate and inspire audiences. These are the arms to share our faith and the values that we uphold. I am very thankful receiving the international awards but witnessing a premiere night full of people watching our values-laden project gives me more satisfaction than receiving an award.
HAPI ANG BUHAY, the spin-off sitcom from Walang Take Two is shown Saturdays at 4PM and Replays on Sundays at 9PM on NET25.