Dominic Roco and Annicka Dolonius in a scene from 'Ang Nawawala'.
Ever since “Ang Nawawala” premiered at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in 2012 where it won Best Original Score and the coveted Audience Choice award, Marie Jamora’s feature film debut has gained a steady following that continues to grow through sheer word of mouth.
It is one of the distinguished films in its illustrious Cinemalaya batch that also includes Jun Robles Lana’s “Bwakaw”, Mes de Guzman’s “Diablo”, Vincent Sandoval’s “Aparisyon”, Law Fajardo’s “Posas”, Lem Lorca’s “Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino”, Manny Palo’s “Sta. Niña”, Paul Sta. Ana’s “Oros”, Gino M. Santos’ “The Animals”, and Loy Arcenas’ “Requieme”, which went on to earn several nominations in the Gawad Urian awards of 2013.
“Ang Nawawala” eventually enjoyed its very own theatrical release later that year and went on to grace several international film festivals where it caught the fancy of Hollywood actress Sean Young who attended the film’s screening at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah.
A family drama set against the backdrop of the thriving alternative local music scene, “Ang Nawawala” is also the only Cinemalaya film in its batch to release its own official soundtrack in both digital and limited vinyl formats.
Now the film is finally making its home video debut with a handsomely packaged two-disc DVD set that will be available starting November 30, the birth anniversary of national hero Andres Bonifacio. The significance of this day is not lost on the filmmaker.
“I wanted it to be available on Bonifacio Day, as our lead character is named Gibson Bonifacio,” Jamora said in explaining why she and producers Bernard Dacanay and John Sy decided to choose this particular day to release the DVD.
Although very much aware that online piracy has pretty much caused the decline of the DVD platform in recent years, she believes that the film’s fans will be delighted to learn that the “Ang Nawawala” DVD set will have over four hours of bonus material that they could not get on torrent sites, which rarely include extras, or anywhere else in the internet.
“I know that our country is infamous for piracy and torrenting,” she adds. “That is why we have spent the last three months here in Los Angeles creating over four hours of bonus material on Disc 2, so that the people who support the film by buying the DVD will be rewarded with everything that they would normally not get online.”
These extras on the second disc consist of 45 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, several behind-the-scenes featurettes, its award-winning musical score by Diego Mapa, Mikey Amistoso and Jazz Nicolas, production design and more. There are also cast auditions, script table reading, music videos and galleries that include artwork for the film and a photo diary of lead star Dominic Roco.
Jamora said the first disc is quite the collector’s item in itself as it contains the Director’s Cut of the film (116 minutes) with remastered color correction by director of photography Ming Kai Leung. Those who saw the film in Cinemalaya and in theaters have not seen it in this further improved form.
It also includes three commentary tracks from the director as well as several members of her cast and crew as moderated by Dacanay and co-writer Ramon de Veyra.
The two-disc DVD set of 'Ang Nawawala' is quite possibly the most feature-laden video release in the history of Philippine cinema.
“It was fun coordinating with the crew and actors in Manila for the commentary tracks. For them to reminisce about the film two years later was cool because it brought a certain objectivity to their experiences. It also helped that I was half a world away so that they would say stuff that they probably would normally not say if I was in the room,” Jamora recalled.
For his part, De Veyra noted that while he’s not sure if “Ang Nawawala” is the most feature-laden DVD in Philippine cinema history, he could not think of any other Filpino film that had so many extras as their film.
“We did this because we love bonus stuff,” De Veyra exclaimed.
To describe the “Ang Nawawala” DVD as a labor of love would be a gross understatement as Jamora is quick to acknowledge that the two-disc set would not at all have been possible if not for the involvement of several people.
The young director, who is currently based in the US, is quick to give a lot of credit to her creative partner Jason McLagan who she said co-edited the special features and is responsible for some of the magic fans will see on the DVD.
“Jason was a jack of all trades. From designing the outside cover for the DVD, finding our amazing manufacturer in Redondo Beach, doing all the sound mixing for the special features to even directing the stop-motion parts of the DVD Teaser Video, he made that all possible. We are so lucky to have him,” she pointed out.
Since the DVD has initially pressed a limited number of copies, Jamora is urging fans to reserve their copy now. At P899 per copy, the filmmaker declares it as “a total bang for the buck”.
“We are currently working out our deal with retailers but right now the only way you can get the DVD is through us,” she said.
To facilitate orders, a Facebook page has been put up for the “Ang Nawawala” DVD. Walk-in customers will also be entertained on weekdays during office hours at Brainchild Offices Unit 503, The Annex Building, 24 General Araneta cor. General Atienza St., Brgy. San Antonio in Pasig City.
Loaded ‘Ang Nawawala’ DVD to be released on Bonifacio Day
Source: InterAksyon.com (November 28, 2014 at 08:05PM)
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