Filipino-Australian film comes home to the Philippines

From international festivals, First Light to show in local cinemas

THE DEBUT feature film of James J. Robinson, a Filipino-Australian commercial photographer and director, will be showing in Philippine cinemas starting June 24, coming from a successful run in film festivals abroad. Most notably, the film earned him the Best Director award at the Melbourne International Film Festival last year.

Meditative by nature, the movie explores the corruption in religious and capitalist institutions in rural Philippines, born from the lasting wounds of colonization. Starring Ruby Ruiz as a pious nun whose faith is shaken as she uncovers the truth, the film was screened in a premiere on June 21 at the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in Intramuros, Manila.

FDCP produced the film alongside Screen Australia, marking the first co-production between the Philippines and Australia.

“To be here right near Fort Santiago where [Jose Rizal] was imprisoned and near Rizal Park where he was executed, I hope we can summon his ghost today, the spirit of protest, and the spirit of questioning the links between religion, politics, and their institutions,” said Mr. Robinson before the premiere.

Fittingly, the film — set in the present and shot in multiple locations around the Philippines — opens with a Rizal quote (“I enter the future with a memory of the past”). In the first scene, nuns light candles in the dark and place buckets beneath the waterlogged ceilings of their 400-year-old convent, showing signs of impending collapse.

First Light centers on one of the nuns, Sister Yolanda (played by Ms. Ruiz), who later witnesses a young construction worker’s fatal accident, leading her to question the principles of the institution she has devoted her life to.

Built around themes of faith, tradition, and heritage, the film offers more of a slow-burn, impressionistic view of the Philippines, as opposed to the expected social realism of independent cinema.

For Mr. Robinson, it was important that the main character take on a very internal journey alongside her external search for the truth.

“The themes speak a lot about religion, corrupt institutions, decolonization, and the ghost of Spain, but I made a lot of effort to restrain the film to allow multiple readings,” he said at a discussion after the screening.

As a queer man who experienced a Filipino Catholic upbringing even while growing up in Australia, he drew from his observations of how religion has been used to quash the rights of the marginalized all over the world, from women to queer communities to indigenous people. First Light was the result of processing his emotions.

“These moments of nature and the spirit, I wanted that to reflect the journey of Ruby’s character, beginning quite composed and precise, then as we go further in, it starts opening the form in the same way that Sister Yolanda’s worldview opens up,” he explained.

Ms. Ruiz, whose performance was acclaimed in Australia, said that she consulted with two real nuns for the physicality of the role, though the internal preparation pushed her to draw from something deeper.

“Sister Yolanda is typical of a Filipino — smiling, pious, pero ang dami palang kinikimkim at dinadala (but secretly hiding and carrying a lot of things),” she said. “Sana pumukaw ito sa mga tao na magsalita para di magkaroon ng bulok sa kahuyan tulad ng nasa pelikula (I hope it arouses people to speak up, so that there won’t be a ‘rot in the forest’ like the film expressed).”

Another person who shaped the film was creative producer Emmanuel Santos, a documentary photographer who helped Mr. Robinson get acquainted with precolonial Filipino wisdom. He eventually joined the production as an actor as well, playing Mang Cesar, the father of the deceased worker whose death Sister Yolanda starts to question.

“The film shows the beauty of our rural surroundings, the environmental beauty. I migrated to Australia 40 years ago and those are the things I miss, the things I want to remember,” Mr. Santos shared.

He also brought in another key figure: National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik (who recently renounced this honor in protest of the government’s Reframed General Education Curriculum).

For Mr. Santos, who grew up with the acclaimed artist and filmmaker, inviting him to be part of the cast of First Light was perfect for the film’s message, which includes returning to one’s roots to move forward.

“I thought he could be a voice to give wisdom to the film. He’s also very much involved in the preservation of the environment and of Filipino culture,” he said.

The film’s producers Jane Aguirre, Gabrielle Pearson, and Christelle Dychangco told BusinessWorld that the film’s release in the Philippines means it will finally “find the audience that will resonate with it the most, with its subtle depiction and criticism of the corrupt facets of religion and the ghost of colonization.”

Ms. Ruiz added that one of her realizations playing a pious nun was how the quiet act of searching and of questioning can also be an act of resistance.

“People say it’s a compliment that Filipinos are resilient. Sana pumukaw itong pelikula sa henerasyon ngayon kasi ibang iba na talaga ngayon (I hope this film arouses this generation because it really is different now),” she said, noting how the character of the younger nun, Sister Arlene, helped in her character’s journey.

While First Light tackles heavy themes that tend to be conveyed with intense anger and conviction, what sets it apart is its quiet, impressionistic approach, anchored by Ms. Ruiz’s solid, steady performance.

For Mr. Robinson, who is inspired by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Yasujirō Ozu, he had faith that “static shots and nuanced storytelling could breathe life” into the meditative rural textures of the past and scenes of imperfect highways, hospitals, and heritage churches of the present.

“It’s about questioning and critiquing institutions while also uplifting grace and core Catholic values,” he said. “A lot of people have that exact same perspective, and it’s a consistent thing we can identify with.”

First Light will be released in Philippine cinemas on June 24. It has been rated PG by the MTRCB. — Brontë H. Lacsamana