‘This is the wave of the future – Alemberg Ang’
Showing in the Philippines beginning Wednesday, August 27, is the drama “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking”, a story of four young men who make a journey to the province to bury their friend who suddenly dies after a “booking” (a session with a customer). The movie is written and directed by visionary filmmaker Petersen Vargas, and stars young actors Miguel Odron, Jomari Angeles, Argel Saycon, Tommy Alejandrino and Gold Aceron.
The local release is much anticipated after “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” had sold-out screenings at the RainbowQC Pride Film Festival, and a recent well-publicized premiere night at Isetann Recto featuring shirtless male dancers. (“Paying tribute ‘yung film namin sa OG cruising area,” Dennis Corteza of the production team said to explain the venue of the premiere.) Carl Chavez’s Lunchbox company handled the promo.
From concept presentation to local distribution, “Some Nights…” took almost six years.
Along the way producer Alemberg “Alem” Ang, creative producer Jade Castro (writer and director of “Endo” and “Zombadings”) and their team worked hard to bring “Some Nights…” to life.
One of the first big breaks happened back in late 2019 when the film won the main prize at Southeast Asia Fiction (SEAFIC) Awards in Bangkok, Thailand. The recognition came as a big surprise to Alem who had produced the Urian Best Picture “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa,” among many other celebrated Filipino and Asian films.
For the next few years, Alem and his team would find international partners. The result became a multi-cultural collaboration between three countries, specifically the Philippines’ Daluyong Studios (Alem’s own production outfit) and Mark Victor and Paul Soriano of Black Cap; Italian producer Stefano Centini; and Singapore’s Si En Tan of Momo Film Co; and Anthony Chen of Giraffe Pictures.
“Some Nights…” definitely got big backing. Filipino director Paul Soriano’s Black Cap has built a portfolio of notable motion pictures that have been celebrated in international and local film festivals, the latest of which was “Magellan” starring Gael Garcia Bernal and directed by Lav Diaz.
Anthony Chen, meanwhile, won the Camera d’Or (Best First Feature Film) at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival for his directorial debut “Ilo Ilo” which starred Angeli Bayani. His company Giraffe Pictures marked its 10th anniversary this year.
As to why Paul, Anthony, Stefano and En supported “Some Nights…” Alem could only surmise that they liked the story and their pitch. “I would also like to believe that they would also like to work with us,” Alem added.
Familiarity with Alem’s previous works, as well as Petersen’s filmography was definitely key, said Stefano Cenitini of Volos Films. “I was introduced to this project by one of its producers, Alemberg Ang, with whom I collaborated with before. In addition, the director’s previous work had received an important award in Italy and I thought this was the right project to start collaborating with him. Early on, I was intrigued by the script and its capacity to depict Manila and its bustling nights full of lust and life,” Stefano explained.
“Discussing with the other producer Tan Si-En, we decided to work with a Singaporean director of photography, Russell Morton, for his ability to use the camera and the colors to tell a story, and I was quite impressed with the result. I hope the Filipinos would also feel the same,” Stefano elaborated.
International co-productions allow not only funding for making and completing a movie, but, more importantly, these facilitate a creative exchange among nations. Aside from Russell Morton, who served as the cinematographer, “Some Nights…” was edited by Singaporean Daniel Hui. For Alem, this multi-cultural alliance presents exciting possibilities. “This is the wave of the future,” he said.
To illustrate further, he cited the case of Carlo Manatad who edited the Indonesian film “Autobiography” which premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and the Malaysian film “Tiger Stripes” which won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Cannes’ Critics Week. Alem said enthusiastically, “Can you imagine that? A Filipino edited two of the latest, most important Southeast Asian films! So, the more we work with the best filmmakers in the world, the more we can show the talent of Filipino filmmakers. Together, we can come up with great content.”
