Sylvia Sanchez, Ruby Ruiz thankful to be part of Cannes Directors' Fortnight

MANILA -- Filipino filmmakers and actresses Sylvia Sanchez, Shaina Magdayao, and Ruby Ruiz expressed their gratefulness to be part of the prestigious Cannes Directors' Fortnight. 

The Directors' Fortnight is an independent sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival dedicated “to showcasing the most singular forms of contemporary cinema.” 

For the 10th year of the program, Filipino filmmakers paired with directors from Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and India to make a piece shot in the town of Dapitan. 

“It was a great experience with everyone where we stayed on this beautiful place in Dapitan, to share our sensibilities and differences on how we see cinema. What we learned is we need collaboration which is the main goal of the program. It was a real pleasure to share our cinema to the world,” Arvin Belarmino who directed “Silig” with  Lomorpich Rithy or YoKi from Cambodia said. 

“It was a fun experience, even if we talk about grief we put flavors of humor as well to catch the emotion of the story,” he added. 

Sanchez, who starred in “Silig”, said she had previously attend the Cannes Film Festival as a producer, she admitted she was overwhelmed to step on the stage of prestigious event as an actress for the first time.

“I am overwhelmed and shaken. This is my first time as an actress and third time in Cannes. As an actor you have to trust the director, stay focused, embrace my character, and own my character. I am proud to say I am proud to say I have good directors. We had fun. Thank you Cannes Festival,” Sanchez, who starred in Belarmino’s short film “Silig,” said. 

Ruiz, who top billed in Eve Baswel (Philippines) and Gogularaajan Rajendran’s (Malaysia)  “Walay Balay” or “Stange Home” meanwhile shared she learned invaluable lessons from the one-of-a-kind collaborative experience. 

“I love the way they collaborated. It truly helped me as an actor. It would be more focused on the emotion, one would be technical. And vice-versa. I really enjoyed. I never thought it would be that meaningful and enjoyable for me doing this film with Shaina and two directors. It is the first time I experienced something like this, a collaboration of two directors. It felt so good because I saw the interchange of cultures and countries. It felt so fulfilling,” Ruiz said.

Magdayao who was likewise was in “Wala Balay,” or "Strange Home" on the other hand, expressed pride in representing the country.

“We don’t call it a project or film, we call it an experience. As an older sister, I am very proud and honored to witness them collaborate. I think they really brought out the best in each other. On behalf of everyone, I want to thank Cannes Directors Fortnight for allowing us to represent our country, film, and culture. Our film was a little bit on the heavy side but it was very fun experience. That is the strength of Filipinos, we manage to smile despite everything happening in the country,” she explained. 

Bianca Balbuena who produced “Walay Balay” with husband Brad Liew, congratulated the filmmakers. 

“I wanted to say something during the Q&A but my tears won’t stop and my voice cracked. Whyyyy. Congratulations to out fabulous directors, collaborators, and executive producers,” she wrote on her Instagram account.