Hopes & dreams for Philippine cinema

Connie Macatuno wears many hats—as TV and movie director, screenwriter, and creative designer for I Am Lokal, a clothing brand that aims to highlight Philippine weaves and fabrics, mixing upcycled materials.

- MONS ROMULO

The films Direk Connie has helmed include Rome & Juliet (2006), Glorious (2018), Malaya (2020), The Broken Marriage Vow (2022), and Guilty Pleasure (2024), her latest film.

Direk Connie has a degree in Broadcast Communication from UP Diliman and has always had a love for film.

“I like making people look beautiful onscreen. I remember in Grade 3, I had a rich classmate who owned a Vivitar 110 instamatic camera. My core memory is taking pictures of her with the wind blowing her hair. And she looked absolutely beautiful! She liked it so much she bought me several rolls of film to take photos of her, to my delight. That core memory stayed with me, looking for the most beautiful angle I can connect with in a person and tell that story in a shot. The works of Wong Kar Wai, John Woo, Edgar Wright, to name a few, resonate with me,” shares Direk Connie.

She grew up in the era of canned American TV series in the ‘80s, which eventually led to renting Betamax and VHS tapes like Breakfast Club and 16 Candles. Her love for watching films on the big screen almost every week happened when she was able to afford it in her 20s.

How did she finally get into filmmaking? She tells us, “I aspired to make films since 2000 while working as a TV director at ABS-CBN. But this did not materialize until I got a P700,000 grant from Cinema One Originals in 2006. I wrote, directed and produced my first full-length feature film, Rome & Juliet, starring Mylene Dizon and Andrea del Rosario. Rome & Juliet is about two straight women falling in love with each other. I also got to win my first Best Screenplay Urian award for this film.”

Five years from now, Direk Connie still sees herself making more authentic stories about women while elevating Philippine local weaves and craftsmanship before the world. Read on as she shares with us her 11 aspirations for Philippine cinema.