Directory Loy Arcenas Of The Acclaimed 'Nino' Directs His Second Movie, 'Requieme'

DIRECTOR LOY Arcenas was a stage production designer in the U.S. for such plays as “High Society” and “Night of the Iguana”, then he came home and directed plays like “Golden Child” and the Tagalog adaptation of “Three Sisters” which we saw at the CCP starring the late director Mario O’Hara. Last year, he went into film writing and directing in Cinemalaya’s “Nino”, which won several awards, including best supporting actress and actor awards for Shamaine Centenera and Art Acuna. It also won the Cinemalaya Special Jury Prize and the best film award in the New Currents section at Busan International Filmfest.

He’s now back in Cinemalaya with “Requieme”, which he says is a very black comedy of three stories rolled into one. He wrote the story and acclaimed playwright Rody Vera wrote the screenplay. The first story is about Swanie (Shamaine), the barangay chairman of Sta. Maria whose distant relative gets involved in a sensational murder case. The second story is about Joanna (Anthony Falcon), Swanie’s estranged son who’s a crossdresser. He’s helping a neighbor get a proper burial. Then there’s a dead OFW whose body is being flown in also for burial. Amidst these wakes and funerals, family secrets, gossip and weird social events surface to comment on dying the Pinoy way, something like “Dead Na si Lolo”. Also in the cast are Rez Cortez, Paul Jake Paule, Garry Lim, Lou Veloso, and many more.