Chanel Latorre. (Photo courtesy of 'Babagwa' director Jason Paul Laxamana)
With around 30 Filipino films being screened in theaters this month alone, it’s not uncommon to see actors appearing in more than one movie. Among them are Eugene Domingo, Angel Aquino, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Cherie Gil, Irma Adlawan, Mon Confiado, Arnold Reyes and Nico Antonio.
But indie actress Chanel Latorre tops them all as she is in the cast of five, count ‘em, five films with September playdates. Yes, Chanel is in the big screen for almost the entire month starting with Christopher Ad Castillo’s “The Diplomat Hotel”, which opened last September 4.
Even while that film was still in theaters, Chanel was back in the box office with the opening of Joel Lamangan’s “Lihis” and Mel Chionglo’s “Lauriana” last September 11 for the Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival All-Masters Edition.
Chanel with Karl Medina in a scene from 'The Guerilla is a Poet'.
Seven days later, the CineFilipino Film Festival opened and Chanel is again featured in Sari and Kiri Dalena’s Joma Sison biopic, “The Guerrilla is a Poet”. On the same day, Jason Paul Laxamana’s well-received Cinemalaya feature, “Babagwa (The Spider’s Lair)”, where she also plays a pivotal role, also began its theatrical run. Both films are still showing in theaters.
Granted that Chanel appeared in all these films in a supporting capacity, her roles remain integral to their respective plot. Her indelible performances, particularly in “Babagwa” where she has a passionate sex scene with Alex Medina in her full frontal glory, as well as in “The Guerrilla Is A Poet” as an NPA rebel have made her an actress to reckon with.
Not that the 24-year old with the distinctive ingénue features is new in the business. Chanel has been a sought-after talent in the indie scene since 2009 and has even headlined the international production “Wan Chai Baby” where she played a domestic helper who eventually turned to prostitution.
But acting wasn’t originally what Chanel wanted to do. “My parents wanted me to become a doctor so that was what was instilled in my head growing up. I was painfully shy and being the obedient daughter that I was, I took up nursing for pre-med and then went to med school soon after,” she recalled in a recent interview with InterAksyon.
Chanel eventually quit med school and ventured into writing, nursing, business and ultimately filmmaking where she first met director Jowee Morel.
“He just looked at me one day and said ‘Bagay ka sa pelikula ko. Payag ka? Turuan kita umarte!’ I was kind of hesitant at first because I didn’t know how to act but then I was also curious so I said yes,” she recalled.
The film Chanel said yes turned out to be the 2009 Cinemalaya NETPAC finalist “Latak”. But even though the film fared well in the festival and Chanel received favorable feedback from her performance, she admitted that she still wasn’t fully committed to acting. She didn’t want to do just sexy films so she decided to continue her regular work and only appeared in films sparingly.
It wasn’t until Brillante Mendoza cast her in “Captive” in 2011 that Chanel decided to commit to her craft and drop everything else.
Chanel with Alex Medina during a script reading for their intimate scene. (Photo courtesy of 'Babagwa' director Jason Paul Laxamana)
When asked about doing sexy roles such as the one that raised a lot of eyebrows in “Babagwa”, Chanel admitted that she never wanted to be typecast to playing such characters. She, however, views everything she does on the screen as art.
“I believe that only people put malice in nudity but art views it as beauty. In art, there is nothing more beautiful than the human form,” she pointed out. “But yes, I study scripts and the filmmakers who I work with first and then I ask myself: Am I going to be telling the story or situation well or real if I do this? Is this the only option? Did I ever do this role before? Is this going to impart a lesson or benefit that will have a positive impact to the viewer?”
She describes Neri, her character in “Babagwa” as “crass, sexual and dim-witted”.
“Playing her required a whole lot of mental and emotional preparation plus baby voice practice,” she said laughing.
In stark contrast, she said her character Teresa in “The Guerrilla Is A Poet” is “intelligent and strong”
“Playing Teresa required a lot of research. I didn’t want to fail history and the women leaders who I was representing. It was also very hard physically considering the terrain and situation where we shot the movie. Every before and after takes, I prayed hard for our safety. If in ‘Babagwa’, I risked my dignity playing Neri, In ‘Guerrilla’, I risked my life playing Teresa,” she said, only half-joking.
The two films allowed her to act alongside brothers Alex and Karl Medina. Chanel said she has worked with Ping Medina as well. Asked if she has a particular favorite among the talented sons of acclaimed character actor Pen Medina, she declined to name one.
“Ping, I guess, is the very refined one. Karl is relaxed and laid back. Alex is the crazy one. They’re all very talented and intelligent but I’m much closer to Alex and Karl,” she noted.
Now that she’s fully smitten with the acting bug, Chanel is looking forward to more out-of-the-box projects where she can play challenging but not necessarily daring roles.
“I like learning new things and surprising myself. For instance, a role that requires singing in a musical, speaking in a different language or dialect, dancing ballet or playing an expert or a star in a particular field. I try to add twists to the character I am playing so that they would be unique with an element of surprise. Bottom line, I don’t want to be plain, cliché or boring,” she concluded.
Actress Chanel Latorre shines in five films showing this September
Source: InterAksyon.com (September 22, 2013 at 10:17AM)
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