MANILA -- Actor Allen Dizon hopes to raise awareness about domestic violence though his film "Latay (Battered Husband)," which also stars Lovi Poe.
Dizon and the film's director Ralston Jover talked about the film in an interview on ANC's Rundown on Monday.
In the film, Dizon portrays a battered husband married to Poe's character.
"Hindi ito napag-uusapan. Usually mga battered wife lang ang nagkakaroon ng isyu pero ang battered men or battered husband, hindi sila masyado (napag-uusapan). Especially dito sa Pilipinas. Kumbaga parang nakakatawa kung ikaw battered husband ka ...Pero siguro isa na rin itong way na kung sakali man (magkaroon) ng law for the battered husband, kasi usually battered wife lang," Dizon said.
"At saka 'yung moral lesson dito, you don't have the right to hurt somebody, lalo na 'yung asawa mo o mahal mo sa buhay. Lahat puwede pag-usapan pero huwag dumating sa magsasakitan kayo, mag-aaway kayo, magkabugbugan. Lalo this time, after the pandemic, we are all survivors. Alam natin kung gaano kahirap ang buhay, kung gaano kasarap ang buhay. Siguro magmahalan na lang tayo," the actor added.
Dizon also shared his working experience with the Kapamilya actress.
"Of course, Lovi is very professional and Direk Ralston, we worked on how many movies na kaya I'm very comfortable with Direk Ralston. We shot the film here in Pampanga kaya medyo for me it's easy kasi I'm from Pampanga. But the whole cast and the crew medyo nahirapan sila dahil rough road 'yung place, kapag umulan medyo binabaha roon. So far smooth yung paggawa namin ng pelikulang 'Latay' we're happy at malapit na ang showing. Nakabalik na ang premiere night, maraming tao. Nakabalik na ang pelikula. Sana dire-diretso na, sana makabangon ang Philippine cinema," he said.
For his part, Jover also hopes that his film could empower battered husbands to speak out.
"Tanggap ba natin? Nahihiya pa ba tayo? Do we report this to authorities? And there are lawmakers mostly men who would dismiss this as a joke. 'Under ka kasi' or something like that. There's a lot of involvement and the arts can project this via creating good stories out of this issue," Ralston explained.
Ralston is also hoping that Filipinos will warmly receive their film which already made the rounds in the international circuit. Poe was named best actress for the film at the 10th International Film Festival Manhattan.
"Latay" which will open in cinemas nationwide on February 8, had its red carpet Philippine premiere on Sunday.
"Based on the premiere I guess they will be more engaged because the subject matter is very new. It's very unfamiliar to them... You have to open up and you just start asking yourself what can I do to address the issue or how am I involved as a family or as a person with this kind of new social issue," Jover said.
Related video: