'The Loved One' director would rather make you 'feel' than preach

There would have been a time when Irene Villamor was not a filmmaker known for directing relatable stories of love in its many forms, but as a documentarist doing investigative journalism or lifestyle features focused on culture and heritage.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

That shift in direction happened in college, when Villamor initially planned to take broadcast journalism at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Because it was a quota course with limited slots, she took film instead, thinking she would have better chances of entering UP and later shift to her preferred program after a semester.

But learning about film history, being exposed to world cinema, and enjoying the culture of being a film student convinced her to no longer switch.

“UP Film Center is where I would watch movies. Sometimes, admission would be free. Other times, I would reserve my lunch money of 80 or 100 pesos just to watch movies there,” she told The FREEMAN, recalling that she wasn’t allowed to go to cinemas during her high school years as she was instructed to avoid hanging out with friends outside school and focus on her studies instead.

It was at the UP Film Center where she discovered her favorite Julia Roberts film, “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” which deepened her love for cinema.

“My love for that movie was so passionate. I watch it every year, and it still makes me cry to this day,” she said.

This shift from journalism to film wasn’t abrupt. Growing up with an Ilocana mother who encouraged her to read books and a Cebuano father who allowed her to watch movies on TV late at night, Villamor has always been fascinated with stories.

“When you are a kid from the province where cellphone signals are almost nonexistent, your imagination goes wild. I would read comics, gossip magazines, and watch on our black and white TV. Somehow, I cherish those memories, and those were the seeds of me as a person who loves stories that grew into something else later on.”

Growing up in Zambales, she would often visit Cebu to see relatives in Mandaue City. After her father passed away when she was nine, she moved to Cagayan de Oro to live with relatives, as her mom worked overseas.