Indie film “The Special Gift,” about a gifted child longing for the affection of his father, proved itself quite engaging.
We saw the film at a special screening recently and many of those in the audience were awed by the performance of the cast.
Of course, the veterans involved, including Soliman Cruz, Mike Lloren, Malou Canzana, Migui Moreno, Ella Sheen, BJ Forbes, and Romina Cauilan, delivered as expected.
However, the newbies including lead star Franchesco Maafi and Angelo Gomez, surprisingly made their mark in the film as well, holding their own performing alongside some of the industry’s best.
In an interview, Angelo shared his experience working with Soliman.
“I learned a lot from him,” he said. “Natutunan kong maging disiplinado kapag nasa harap ng camera. Natutunan kong magseryoso. Tinuruan niya ako to stay ‘in character’ kapag hindi pa tapos ‘yung shoot.”
He is now hoping to do more films.
“Nakakatuwa lang kasi talaga to exercise creativity and artistry so, I hope I get the chance to do this again,” he said.
As to specific roles, he said, “Kahit ano. There is no small nor big roles. Kahit ano yun, may purpose.”
Franchesco, on his part, expressed excitement as to how people reacted to the film.
“Ang saya po makita at marinig yung magandang reaction nila sa aming performance at saka sa story,” he said.
He added, “Sana mapanood din ito ng maraming pang kids like me kasi na-tackle din po dito ang bullying, which is something na sana matigil na po.”
Film director Lawrence Roxas said, “Our main idea in creating films is to inspire. ‘The Special Gift’ is an advocacy film meant to highlight the situation of parents of children on the spectrum.”
Written by Erick Castro with co-producers William Tan, Alfred Ong, Shayee Ong, and Jamin Lim, “The Special Gift,” as produced by Roy Gomez of RC Gomez Entertainment Productions, will hit theaters soon.
