Actor Raymond Bagatsing can very well relate to Filipino-American filmmaker Benito Bautista, director of his latest independent film “Boundary,” big winner in the Netpac [Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema] competition at the recent Cinemalaya fest.
Like Bautista, Bagatsing has just returned to the country after living in the United States for a while, and is thus seeing the Philippines with new eyes.
“Direk keenly observed what was happening on the streets, imbibing the atmosphere and the city vibe,” Bagatsing said of the director. He himself sought to capture that on-screen. “Even though I’m from here, I had to look at the country as an outsider as well.”
For his role as a mysterious taxi passenger in “Boundary,” Bagatsing tapped into his past. He admits that coming from a political clan helped. “I had to exude quiet authority, the aura of a leader who is both kind-hearted and cold-blooded.”
In this indie film, Bagatsing worked in a cramped cab with Ronnie Lazaro, who played the conflicted cabbie. “Ronnie is a generous coactor,” Bagatsing relates. “He’s a lot like me, though we have different work styles.”
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