Fil-Italian filmmaker wears many hats, believes in Filipino talent

Ruben Maria Soriquez is producer, writer, director and lead actor of 'Of Sinners and Saints'.

Ruben Maria Soriquez, a bald Italian filmmaker of almost 43 years, wears many hats. His Internet Movie Database entry lists his numerous credits as director, writer, editor, actor, producer, composer, cinematographer, and five other assignations including “self”.

He is also half-Filipino who, like his Italian father, chose a Filipina for a wife. Last year, he decided to base his operations in his mother’s homeland. He just wrapped “Of Sinners and Saints”, his first Filipino-made film, over the weekend.

“This is my first movie in the Philippines. I used to direct and produce films in Italy,” said Soriquez, who has made 13 short films and documentaries and three feature films in Italy since 2007. He studied filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in 2006 and earned his diploma from the University of Bologna Colli School of Theatre.

His third feature, “La Corona Spezzata”, which he describes as “a mafia movie”, is due for release in October in Italy.

So why the Philippines?

“I like the country. I have many family members here. I feel I can produce movies from here that are interesting to the European market. And, of course, it is way cheaper to produce movies here,” he noted.

Last year, he put up the production company See Thru Pictures in Manila. For his first project, he wanted to cast Lovi Poe opposite a Hollywood actor. However, scheduling problems eventually forced him to put the project in the backburner.

This summer, he finally went ahead and made “Of Sinners and Saints” – with himself as producer, writer, director, and lead actor.

Yes, Soriquez stars in the film as Father Leonardo, an Italian missionary priest from Rome who arrives in the slum community of Payatas to teach catechism to children and counsel battered women.

However, he is forced to confront his recent past when an ex-girlfriend, Merlinda, turns out to be among the victims of domestic violence in the community.

Ruben Maria Soriquez and Chanel Latorre in a scene from 'Of Sinners and Saints'.

As a tourist in the Philippines seven years ago, he had a romantic liaison with Merlinda (Chanel Latorre) before he entered the priesthood. She is now the wife of a brute (Polo Ravales) and the mother of a 6-year-old boy, who has gone missing, a victim of human trafficking.

His efforts to help in her search for the boy puts Father Leonardo in grave danger and forces him to reexamine his priestly vow of celibacy.

The story seems set on familiar indie ground. “This is indie, yes,” Soriquez acknowledges, “but the look will not be indie at all. The cinematography will be mainstream.”

He plans to market the film in Europe and enter it in major film festivals. He is confident of its quality, especially because he was able to elicit superb performances from his co-actors, who gamely plodded through numerous rehearsals and takes to satisfy their director’s meticulous eye for detail.

“I believe that the Philippines has great actors. And some of them are in this film,” Soriquez said, referring to not just Latorre and Ravales but also to Raymond Bagatsing, Richard Quan, Sue Prado, and Kiko Matos.

“I also like the crew here. They’re very humble. They work long hours, and they don’t complain.”

Fil-Italian filmmaker wears many hats, believes in Filipino talent

Source: InterAksyon.com (July 29, 2014 at 10:32PM)

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