THE PREPARATIONS:

After writing the screenplay, there were a few critical decisions I had to make. First question was-- How and should I try to raise funds from investors to shoot this film? or Do I believe in the project enough to fund it on my own with my own savings and credit cards? My answer was yes to both. I set up a timeline of two years up to 2004 to get investors in, and if nothing happens, I decided to take the project in my own hands, and fund it myself.

Not having any background in producing and fund raising back then, I just couldn’t get the project off the ground, so as most filmmakers did before me, I decided to use my savings and my credit cards  to fund. A good thing that came out of this process was the long, detailed  5 years of pre-production phase. I knew back then,  at least if I start preparation early, I will be ready to go when and if ever funds come in. I was able to get my DP friend Francisco Valdez, to agree to do the Cinematography work for the film. My mom, Nina Balasta who travels back and forth from Manila to NY was very moved with what I was doing and she agreed to give her all to help me produce this film if no funds comes in.  So the three of us formed the core of the production crew.

WRITING THE SCREENPLAY:

I wrote a draft of the screenplay for THE MOUNTAIN THIEF in the spring of 2002. The story is inspired by people living in dumpsite towns and their ability to endure the most horrific living conditions they live in. The script is about the different realities of the characters living in Little Hope, a fictional town that I based on the garbage-collecting town of Payatas.

To effectively show the different realities of the characters, I put in scenes showing only parts of the truth or parts of an event, only to reveal the entire truth on the later pages. While writing, I referenced the works of the great non-linear filmmakers before me; like Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Meirelles’ City Of God, Tarantino’s Reservoir Dog and Pulp Fiction and Innaritu’s Amores Perros  among others.

PRE-PRODUCTION:

We live in a time where technology can make things happen for you if you really want something done. First with storyboards, unable to draw well, I bought the Storyboard Artist software and it helped me a lot in visualizing the entire film--- from scenes 1 to 124, every cut and shot is in storyboard and can be played in quicktime (I will post here later). Francisco and I worked, discussed all the transitional and difficult scenes and by the end of  2005, we were ready to go with the storyboards.  

With my mom in Manila, she was able to get connected to the dumpsite town in Payatas and the Operation Group involved in managing the dumpsite. This connections were very critical in location scouting and pre-production, using the internet we communicated by e-mail, text and IM to meet all the production needs of the film while I’m in NY. I continue to work as an Occupational Therapist working double time, 10-12 hour work days to save money for the shoot and do pre-production work at night usually until dawn and entire weekends.

In December 2004, I went to Manila and instituted the acting workshop and started hiring key crew members. A few more trips to Manila leading up to my February 2007 trip and I assembled my key crew- Line Producer, AD, Soundman, AC, Gaffer and a Production-Community coordinator which is very critical to this kind of work.

PRE-PRODUCTION:

In February 2007, I quit my job, gave up my apartment in the Village and went to Manila so I can prepare for the shoot, full time. Everyday up to the day of the shoot, I held acting workshops,rehearsals,auditions, location scouting, crewing, production planning and budgeting.

I had a very good AD and line producer and my producer- mother really delivered on all the aspects of producing. The Cinematographer went to Manila in March 2007 and was the final piece of the puzzle. As outside of e mails and long distance calls,

he was finally able to personally talk to his Camera Department Crew and do pre-production work in person.

I also was able to do casting and auditions for all the parts and by April 2007 the cast was well rehearsed and ready. We were able to put together a full production crew of 40 and the scavenger-actor participated in the Art Department duties of the film. A decision I made based on my discussion  with them on how they can contribute in providing the authenticity needed for the film---they all want to play a big part in telling this story.

PRODUCTION:

A typical day shoot started with a call time of 4 AM, right before   dawn, as the camera crew sets up and I work with the AD, continuity director and the actors. At the same time, alternating responsibilities were provided to the Art Department and wardrobe.  A night shoot starts later in the day as we stay on until 2 AM for the night scenes.

The most challenging part of the shoot is the environment. Just imagine, 12-14 stories of trash piled up in front of you and  in most times under you as well, and navigating all of this with all the production equipment. The stench was initially a challenge, but after the first day of shoot, we all got used to it and it was not even  a factor after the first day.

It was a very exciting time for me as I witness how everything came together very well---the shoot, the performances and the collaboration. The scavenger-actors blended in very well with the professional crew and they acted like seasoned professionals. As all production goes through we ran across some problems as well, mostly in the area of security---but all were minor as we functioned like a well oiled machine.

The most exciting part of the process is seeing the actors’  ability to act well and put life into the characters. The shoot went on from April 8 to April 29, with scheduled day breaks and I must say, the years of preparation paid off, and when we wrapped, these were very exciting times for all of us.

EDITING THE FILM:

I had an editor and an assistant editor (Clarence and Rona, above) who worked with me during the shoot. The assistant editor was critical because I used a digital recorder (the entire shoot was tapeless), and Rona downloaded the files from the disk and made a takes in order sequence which I reviewed in between short breaks in the day.

Clarence, worked with me during and after the shoot to get to a rough assembly and cut. I stayed in Manila for 3 more months after the shoot to work on this. We mostly edited in Starbucks with our laptop and external drive plugged in, as we had no AC in the editing room and my mom has a huge labrador who wouldn’t  let Clarence have his peace.

When I came back to NY, I knew I have a good rough cut, but I feel it needs more work, so I took a month break and then continued to edit it  for about 7 more months,  holding private screenings to friends as I make cuts. The film continued to get better but was still not close to a fine cut, and in one of my test screening, a filmmaker suggested that I hire another editor, to give me a fresh perspective. It is then that I hired Francis and he gave me a very good new cut. I feel confident about these latest cuts which was all based on our early works and  I continue to work on editing the  film as I feel I’m  very close to my final cut.  I hope to lock the picture in September 2008. 

IFP and POST PRODUCTION:

The biggest boost for the project was when the film got selected to the prestigious 2008 IFP Narrative Rough Cut Lab. It was such a huge honor for me and the film, being part of the program and being alongside talented filmmakers. The very valuable feedback that I got from the workshops is very instrumental in helping me shape the film. I would never have gotten access to the professionals  to give me feedbacks and it was at the perfect time as well---after editing for so long, I needed feedbacks  from top notch professionals to show me where the film was at that point. And I will be forever indebted and whatever happens to the film, I will be eternally grateful to everyone at IFP for their support and  for believing in me.

I continue to edit and do the final test screenings towards a picture lock. Michael, the film composer had started doing the score on the film. Part of the IFP lab  program is being a part of the IFP Film week in September 2008 and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to position the film in the industry.

PERSONAL GOAL:

A very personal goal for this project is to see the film directly impact the lives of the scavengers acting in this film, similar to what the film Born Into Brothels accomplished with its participants. I intend to set up a fund to provide them with schooling and learn new skills in order to expand their options beyond the desperate and violent culture of scavenging for trash. In the end, I became friends with all of the workshop participants and I am more determined to touch their lives once again.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES:

Mount Hope Acting Workshop

In December 2004, I went back to the Philippines and started a free acting workshop called MOUNT HOPE for some of the residents/scavengers of the garbage-collecting town and the surrounding economically depressed area of Payatas in the Philippines. My burning passion is to make a difference in their lives; I believe that I can best do this through the medium of film and I always planned on casting scavengers for two of my feature films. 

THE PROCESS:

I used to teach at a University before I migrated to the US and that helped a lot in setting up this acting workshop. In setting up the workshop, I hired acting coaches, prepared the classrooms--- had it all painted white as I want all the classes videotaped so I can view it well when I go back to NY and give them feedbacks on the classes.  I also offered free meals, transportation and food packages (rice, sardines, coffee, soup) as I know the scavengers live day by day, and every little thing helps.

The process was a long, trial and error process. At first, it was hard to get scavengers in to attend, just because they never expect anyone will hire them as actors, they all thought it was a scam.  At that time also, we didn’t have any contacts in the community and it was really hard to break in the very secluded town. Whenever I had a lead for a scavenger who’s interested, I literally had to chase them down, running with a camera on one hand, and offer to interview them and audition to be part of the workshops. I had to see them in camera and see some potential at least before I can invite them in.

THE PROCESS:

On some occasions, I had to pay cash and pull them out of work in the dumpsite just to interview them, as I was getting desperate to get participants as my time in the Philippines was limited. I understood that scavenging and picking trash is their only chance for survival. The workshop went on for months and auditions continued when I’m back in the US, conducted by the workshop coordinator and videotapes were sent to me.

Another challenge is, sometimes we’ll get very talented participants, but family  or  survival problems come up and we had to start over and find new participants. Illiteracy was another challenge, we had some very great participants, but they had a hard time keeping up because without knowing how to read, it was hard to stay in, I adjusted the curriculum but to most it was also too embarrassing for them and they had to quit.

The workshop went on for a few months, once a week sessions, but with some breaks as I was running out of funds myself here in the US.

CASTING:

A couple of years pass and the workshops continued, with some breaks when my funds are low in the US.  There were a few batches of participants. Including audition participants and workshop participants, there were close to 200 participants in this entire process. I made a couple of trips back as the production date of THE MOUNTAIN THIEF gets closer. In February of 2007, 3 months before production, I went to the Philippines and held acting workshops, auditions and casting on a daily basis.  This time I gave them stipends, a little more than their entire day’s earnings plus a transportation allowance and food packages, as there was no way they will put food on the table, if they stopped working in the dumpsites in order to attend the workshop full time.

It is then that I found my cast for THE MOUNTAIN THIEF. I held an audition process from the graduates, and their performances in the film will show you the fruits of this long and ardous process and their talents as I always believed they have.

Casting Ingo, the blind child was also a big challenge, we located two blind children living in the dumpsite community but they were both very shy and unable to act. On one of my trips back, 7 months before shooting, one of the scavenger participants told me that his neighbor is visually impaired. I immediately held an interview, and the moment I saw Richard, I knew right away that I had my Ingo (blind child character).

Doing this workshop gave all of us such a great sense of joy and fulfillment, and I’ve gained new friends and a better understanding and appreciation of my life as well as the scavengers’ struggles for survival. My passion to help them became ever more stronger.

I’ll post more pictures and video of the workshops later to share to all.