PINIKAS: 'MADE BY, FOR, AND ABOUT VISMIN PEOPLE'

Romantic-drama shot in Southern Leyte to close Binisaya Film Fest

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

Engineer by day, filmmaker by night. Ontario, Canada-based Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Cris Fuego wanted to impart to his son and future grandchildren his hometown of Pintuyan, Southern Leyte through his debut feature film “Pinikas.”

“This movie is my love letter to home — a story that I can one day show the next generation of Fuegos how their dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa once lived in the Philippines, long before setting foot in Canada,” Fuego told The FREEMAN.

“Pinikas” will have its dual premiere at the Oroquieta Film Festival in Misamis Occidental on August 23, and at the Binisaya International Film Festival in Cebu City on Aug. 24 as its closing film at Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

Produced by ØHouse Co. and Sunny Toys Entertainment, the romantic drama and slice-of-life story stars Cebuana actress Angela Villarin as Maya, an islander in Pintuyan who falls in love with Nilo, a hardworking fisherman played by Jade Makawili.

But as the breadwinner of her family dealing with financial difficulties, Maya pursues a relationship with a foreigner named Luke (Kevin Reams). At a crossroads, she is placed in a situation where her heart, values, and dreams are put to the test.

Fuego cannot divulge why the film is titled “Pinikas,” which means split in Cebuano. He said, “It’s both literal and figurative. Viewers will have to discover the meaning for themselves.”

The concept grew from his thesis film during his studies at the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT), which he later expanded into a love triangle to “deepen the narrative.”

Fuego began his filmmaking while he was still based in China. Watching Will Smith’s “The Pursuit of Happyness” in Shanghai inspired him to pursue film as a passion hobby. After moving to Canada in 2007, he worked at a movie theater in Toronto for a few months, where free access to films sparked his interest in studying cinema.