Sigaw AKA The Echo

Sigaw was well-received in Hollywood. In fact, its director, Yam Laranas, was asked to be part of ICM (International Creative Management), Inc. which would represent him in Hollywood.

The movie will have it's North America premiere via Screamfest LA International Horror Film Festival. It will be shown along with The Grudge (I dunno if it's the Hollywood version or the Japanese one) and A Tale of Two Sisters (Korea).

Isang mahalagang balita ang inihayag ng Regal Entertainment sa movie press nu’ng Miyerkules nang gabi sa Café Imperial.

Ang pelikulang Sigaw (The Echo ang international title) na pinagbibidahan nina Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin, Iza Calzado at Jomari Yllana ay opisyal na napili upang maging kalahok sa Screamfest LA International Horror Film Festival na gaganapin sa Loews Universal Studios Cinemas sa may Universal City Walk sa Oktubre 14-23.

Bukod doon ay meron pang isang malaking announcement ang direktor ng pelikula na si Direk Yam Laranas.

Ani Direk Yam, "I wanna sit beside Mother Lily (Monteverde). I wanna hold her hand and say, ‘Thank you, Mother, for giving me Sigaw. Because of you, because of Regal, here we are…’

"I just want to hold her hand when I announce it. Kasi, she doesn’t know. It’s my late birthday gift to Mother. Tinagu-tago namin sa kanya ito ni Roselle (Monteverde-Teo) until everything is on paper.

"Now, I am so proud to announce that I am very lucky to be handled by the International Creative Management, Inc. or the ICM which handles the careers of Julia Roberts, Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, etc.

"Its roster of directors includes Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings, P.T. Anderson (Magnolia), Hector Babenco (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Robert Altman (Gosford Park), Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon) and many others.

"It was thru my friend Roy Lee, he’s the Korean-American executive producer of The Ring, The Ring 2, The Grudge and Dark Water remakes in Hollywood. He has become my confidante and friend.

"Nabasa niya ‘yung article ni Tessa Jazmines, our local correspondent sa Variety magazine. Tessa wrote an article about the last Metro Manila Film Festival, how varied the movies are and then at the same time, Manila is now producing horror films…

"Like the blockbuster Feng Shui and everybody liked the movie. And on Christmas time, we produced new horror films like Spirit of the Glass and Sigaw. Something like that. And I had a quote there kasi, I said something like, ‘My objective in Sigaw is for the audience to bring home the fear.’

"Naintriga ru’n si Roy Lee. Hinanap niya si Tessa, in-email niya si Tessa, hinanap ako ni Tessa, nag-email-an kami ni Roy Lee. He was so intrigued with Sigaw and humingi siya ng copy sa akin tapos, pinadalhan namin siya.

"Roy gave the DVD to Screamfest. It’s a big filmfest in LA, it’s the biggest genre festival. For horror films lang ‘yon, so kumbaga, hindi saturated na ang dami mong kasama na ibang pelikula. Ito, isang genre lang.

"I’m not so sure this year kung ilang films ang kasali, but last year, I think there were like 30 to 50 films. What they do is they will ask for a DVD of your movie and then they will view it. If they like it, they’ll invite you to the festival.

"They’re supposed to announce it pa on Sept. 1. Kaya lang, the organizer was so excited, she said nag-violate siya ng rule niya dahil gusto na niya agad sabihin sa akin. In-email niya agad sa akin na kasali na ang Sigaw sa Screamfest.

"Part of the advisory board aside from Roy Lee was Wes Craven and other masters of the horror genre and the art of special visual effects. Official na ang invitation na ‘yon. That gave me the visa sa US embassy," masayang salaysay ni Direk Yam.

Sa Oktubre 12 o 13 ang alis ni direk at umaasa siya na makakasama niya ang ilang stars ng Sigaw sa nasabing event sa Amerika.

"Mga 3 weeks ako doon to a month because aside from the festival itself, my agent will set up a lot of things for me. They call the Screamfest event as ‘honoring the masters but opening new blood.’ Gusto nila itong i-open sa mga new directors.

"The festival organizer, Rachel Belofsky, is a famous marketing agent for Cannes films. So, we have the advantage of distribution also.

"In fact, there are offers already but nothing in black and white pa. Kami kasi ni Roselle, wait and see muna until after the Screamfest kung sino ang mag-o-offer ng maganda. Hopefully, ma-distribute din ang The Echo sa Europe."

Si Cesar Montano ang naunang napabalita na pipirma umano sa isa sa malalaking talent agencies sa Amerika, pero naunahan pa ito ni Direk Yam.

"I signed up last Saturday lang. We call it a ‘handshake deal’. It’s when you say yes and it’s yes! Verbal lang siya but a lot of their stars actually do the handshake deal because if you break the handshake deal, they will break you.

"Kumbaga, ICM is the biggest and most powerful talent agency in Hollywood or even the whole world. So, you don’t break an agreement with them.

"We’ll be signing a contract but according to my agent, ‘It’s not important because we’ve already listed you as part of our roster of talents and that’s all you need’.

"They email me, they call me up, we always talk. Kaya ako napupuyat ngayon, kasi bukod sa nagtitimpla ako ng gatas para sa baby ko (10 month-old boy), eh, gumigising ako nang alas-dos nang madaling-araw at nagtetelepono!"

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Hindi raw ibig sabihin nito ay sa Amerika na magbabase si Direk Yam. Katunayan ay may bagong horror flick siyang gagawin dito pagbalik niya mula sa Screamfest.

"I wanna take it one little step at a time. Take it slow and let’s see what happens next. I don’t want to jump too much too soon. I’ll just wait for my agent to tell me what to do.

"I’m not gonna stay there. It’s a per project thing. Kung may project doon, which definitely will gonna happen next year, I’ll go there. Marami namang international directors na gano’n, eh. Like sina Ang Lee or John Woo, even Jackie Chan.

"Aside from directing, we’re also thinking of doing commercials or advertising in the States, also music videos. Nakagawa na ako rito ng music videos pero mostly movie tie-ins lang, like ‘yung kay Regine Velasquez.

"I’m more attached sa advertising. The latest commercial I did was Drew Arellano’s McDo. I’m now writing the story of my next project with my wife Gin de Mesa (ng ABS-CBN) and Roy Iglesias. It’s really super-super-scary! Parang it will make Sigaw a walk in the park!

"The guys in the States are waiting for it already. Some are asking me nga na, ‘Why don’t you just sell us the script and do it here?’ I said, ‘No, I wanna do it with Mother Lily. I wanna do it with Regal. I wanna do it in Manila.’

"We’re still casting, and the first one to be in is Iza Calzado. But she’s not playing ghost here. Her partner will be Dennis Trillo. Ang tentative title is Kapitbahay (The Neighbor)."

Ano raw ba ang ikinaiba ng Sigaw sa sangkaterbang horror flicks na naglipana ngayon?

"They always say it’s the atmosphere, na ‘yung horror daw, ‘yung takot ng Sigaw, pumapasok sa buto mo. And sabi nila, ‘You guys did so good in sound’. Tuwang-tuwa ako because that only means na meron tayong technology to do it. Hindi tayo third world when it comes to moviemaking!

"Sabi ni Roy Lee, napatalon daw siya nang mapanood niya ang pelikula. Kaya sana, everyone will do and come up with quality films not just for the consumption of the local market but also for international release.

"Alam mo, next year, I believe that it will be the start of the year of the Filipino films. Finally! It’s not just me, maybe in some other competition or maybe in some other ways," pakli pa ng mapalad na direktor.

It's a very good news, indeed, to direk Yam and for us, Filipinos. At least now, we could show the world that we as good as our Asian neighbors. When I saw Sigaw last year, I know that it is at par with the rest of the Asian horror flicks. Whatever it lacks in story telling, it makes up for it technically. It had a dark and eerie feeling to the whole film which made it effective as a horror film.

As what I've read in one of the foreign reviews about it, it says:

"Sigaw, despite its oppressive use of drab olive greens and dreary sepia browns, is a beautifully shot film with some truly interesting camera angles and clever use of negative space. The moody musical score adds to the feelings of foreboding and danger, and the ambience of knocking, crying, and clanking are stealthily woven in to create a creepy cloak of sound. Each of the actors does a believable job of conveying a real sense of dread. While the solving of the mystery comes as no surprise and some questions are left hanging, the writer (Roy C. Iglesias) and director do a nice job of making the audience care what happens to the characters anyway."

It further adds, "Slowly drowning in a netherworld of torment and loneliness, Sigaw is not a feel-good horror movie. It’s not even particularly scary or thought-provoking, but there is something oddly compelling about it."

The Echo will also be screened in Cine Asia International Film Festival in Cologne, Germany on December 2005.

So, should I say, "Hollywood, here we come?"

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Credits: PEx Post
Visit: The Echo
Related Post: Sigaw Review