Director Mel Chionglo was one of those present during the thanksgiving
party organized by the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa para sa Pelikulang Pilipino
(NMPP) last March 12 at the Kamay Kainan restaurant in Quezon City.
During this event, Senator Miguel Zubiri pledged a total of P6 million for the
NGO that works primarily for the welfare of directors, actors, stuntmen, and
other movie crew members. This fund will be used to provide scholarships for
children of movie workers as well as provide low-cost housing and training
programs for NMPP members.
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) took this opportunity to ask Direk Mel
regarding his film Bente, which was supposed to star the late actor
Marky Cielo. Has he chosen an actor to replace the Sole Survivor of StarStruck
Season 3?
"Oo, may napili na. He was with the PBB [Pinoy Big Brother Teen
Edition], si Aldred Gatchalian," reveals Direk Mel. "Ang partner niya si Jewel
Mische ng GMA-7."
According to the veteran director, the other cast members are Jinggoy Estrada,
Richard Gomez, Iza Calzado, and Ricky Davao. He is also in the process of
casting Lani Mercado as the wife of Jinggoy.
When asked to describe the plot of Bente, Direk Mel said: "It's a
back-to-back story about political disappearances. Jinggoy is playing the role
of radio commentator, who is slightly under threat from a mayor [played by
Ricky Davao], who is his classmate. Aldred is playing a political activist
student, who is also under surveillance by the military. Richard Gomez is
hired as the assassin."
According to the veteran director, his "first and only choice" to be the lead female character is StarStruck Season 4 Ultimate Female Survivor Jewel Mische. Why did he pick her as the love interest of Marky and now the onscreen partner of Aldred? "Kasi nag pa-audition kami. They got these roles only through auditions. We auditioned with GMA Talent Center as well as ABS-CBN's Star Magic."
Direk Mel also said that he had difficulty forming the cast of Bente since
he had to stick to the P2 million funding provided by Mr. Tony Tuviera of APT
Entertainment. The film Bente is actually part of the upcoming film
festival called Sine Direk. A project of the Directors Guild of the
Philippines, Sine Direk is scheduled to begin this April and will screen one
digital film for every two weeks.
Aside from Mel Chionglo, the other directors include Joel Lamangan, Lore Reyes,
Soxie Topacio, Maryo J. delos Reyes and Peque Gallaga whose films are titled Fuschia,
Litsunero, Dead na si Lolo, Kamoteng Kahoy, and Agaton and Mindy, respectively.
Bente, a fictional story written by Ricky Lee,
will be shot in Metro Manila and Cavite.