Local stars honored to play men and women in uniform

An action-drama about policemen and firemen may be an ordinary plot for a film, although it doesn't always get the green light from both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

- By LEAH C. SALTERIO

The emotionally-charged feature film, "Beyond the Call of Duty," pays tribute to the extraordinary courage of the men and women in uniform. With director Jose "JR" Olinares at the helm, the film is rooted in real-life stories and inspired by true events.

"This (film) has been one year and two months in the making to date," said direk JR, who is so thankful to his actors for not accepting other projects and kept their schedules open to finish the film.

The actors had tapings for other projects, but the cast loves the storyline and they want to play policemen and firemen in the film.

Lead cast are Martin Escudero, Devon Seron, Maxine Trinidad, Paolo Gumabao and Martin del Rosario, with Christian Singson, Jeffrey Santos, Mark Neumann, Alex Medina, Simon Ibarra, Teejay Marquez and Migs Almendras.

Supporting cast are Ramon Christopher Gutierrez, Valerie Concepcion, Lovely Rivero, Bella Thompson, Dindo Arroyo, Lance Lucido, Cyrus Imperial and Rob Sy.

Direk JR thanks the government agencies for assisting him in the story of "Beyond the Call of Duty," with the screenplay written by Eldrin Veloso.

The biggest challenge for direk JR is coordinating with the PNP to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between PinoyFlix and the PNP. Also with our partners like BFP and Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).

"If that was not approved, we will not have a movie," said the director. "My other challenge is the Eddie Garcia law which strictly mandates only 16 hours for the shooting of artists and production crew."