Proud ang direktor na si Paul Soriano sa The Fisher, ang bago niyang pelikula na produced by his own companies Ten17P Productions and Black Cap Pictures.
Maganda kasi ang pagkakagawa sa epic fantasy drama na tungkol sa isang mangingisda at isang misteryosong nilalang na magbibigay sa kanya ng umaapaw na suwerte.
MON CONFIADO'S PREPARATION FOR THE ROLE
Si Mon Confiado, na gumanap sa mangingisdang si Pedro, ay nag-viral kamakailan dahil nag-iba ang ang kanyang hitsura: Bukod sa nagitim ang balat ay pumayat ito.
Hindi marunong mangisda at mamangka si Mon kaya’t nag-volunteer itong pumunta sa location nang mas maaga upang magpaturo.
Gusto pa nga raw ni Mon na tumira sa bahay kung saan talaga isu-shoot ang pelikula, pero hindi siya pinayagan ng production dahil malayo ang lugar sa kabihasnan at hindi pa matiyak kung gaano ka-safe ito.
Wala kasing kuryente at tubig sa nasabing barong-barong.
Nagkuwento si Direk Paul tungkol dito: “I'm concerned, of course, for his safety nga, di ba?
"He was there 3 A.M. every day with the fisherman, and you know, he literally became a fisherman so that, I believe when we were shooting, I was not anymore giving him direction,” saad niya.
Sobra-sobra ang paghanga niya kay Mon dahil sa dedikasyon nito sa trabaho.
Read more:
Meet the PBB: Collab 3.0 housemates!
Inside BTS Manila comeback: Rhiza Pascua shares exclusive details
THE FISHER's CAST
Si Enchong Dee ang nagsabuhay sa kakaibang nilalang na si Hai.
Nasa cast din sina Mercedes Cabral, Tommy Alejandrino, Heaven Peralejo, at Eula Valdez.
Ayon kay Direk Paul, mahirap ang produksiyon ng The Fisher dahil ilang buwan silang nag-on location sa mga baybayin ng Ilocos Norte.
Totoo ring nag-shoot sila sa gitna ng dagat, habang malalakas ang alon.
Kaya puring-puri si Direk Paul sa cast dahil wala silang reklamo kahit na mapanganib ang ilang eksena, gaya na lang nang maghabulan ng kutsilyo sina Mon at Enchong habang nasa isang maliit na bangka sa gitna ng dagat.
Ilang beses ding sumisid sina Mon, Enchong, at Tommy.
THE FISHER's story
Samantala, tahi-tahing kuwento ang ginamit ni Direk Paul para mabuo ang pelkula.
Una na rito ang tungkol umano ng babaeng nanganak ng isda.
“There are provinces here in the Philippines, especially the provinces that live near the ocean, where there's this superstition that when it's the time of the month for women, that they go to the ocean to cleanse.
“I'm not sure if you're familiar with that, but I guess in communities that live by the beach.
"One of the witnesses in one particular barangay province, one lady got pregnant, and nobody knew how.
“And truth be told is, she apparently gave birth to a fish,” kuwento niya.
Dahil namangha, nilagay niya ito sa pelikula.
“So when I was writing this with Anton Santamaria, I already had the ending. It's about, a woman giving birth.
"And then I kind of worked backwards, and tried to figure out how I can get to that ending,” saad niya.
WEST PHILIPPINE SEA CONFLICT
Bukod sa urban legend ng babaeng nanganak ng isda, naisip din ni Direk Paul na gamitin ang nangyayaring sigalot ng China at Pilipinas sa West Philippine Sea.
Pero ang abiso niya: “I'm not an expert, so a disclaimer, it's just my thoughts as a filmmaker, as a storyteller.
"But my protagonist obviously is a Filipino fisherman who encounters a Chinese fisherman, a character played by Enchong. And so I used that whole conflict that we see today.”
Naisip daw niya ang maaaring maganap kung magkakasundo ang dalawang bansa para matigil ang hidwaan.
“What if we practice peace? What if we practice grace? That, yeah, maybe we don't deserve it, but yet we give it our peace.
"And through Mon's character, through Pedro's journey, he was struggling to find a unity with, Enchong's character Hai.
"But as they found each other, and working together, for each other, I feel like if you can find a way to put aside all the violence and that stuff, but you work in harmony, if you work in peace, there's prosperity for both.
"I just thought of maybe using that as a metaphor that when we come together for the greater good, it can only benefit humanity, especially in today's situations.”
Kasalukuyang showing ang The Fisher sa mga sinehan sa buong bansa.