Photo: Vic Sotto

Director Michael Tuviera’s drama entry, “The Kingdom,” in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), is not a period piece nor anything historical.

The film weaves the story of present time royal family, like the one in Thailand where “The Kingdom “was inspired from.

“Our peg was the royal family of Thailand,” said director Michael Tuviera.

“They were not colonized but they still have their royal family. When you go to Thailand, it’s current and modern when it comes to storytelling.”

“I actually envy you,” added direk Mike. “I wish I could watch the film with fresh eyes at walang kaalam-alam. But aside from the MTRCB who gave ‘The Kingdom’ a PG classification, we all have yet to see the film in full.”

The entire cast and production crew of “The Kingdom” are proud about the film.

“We are so proud of this film,” Mike said. “However much you might have liked the trailer of The Kingdom, that is only 30 percent of the film.

“So, the actual meat of the film, the 70 percent, is not seen in the trailer. That is more complicated especially the third act, that is heavy. There were influences from other countries.

Leah’s Tidbits
By Leah C. Salterio

Director Michael Tuviera’s drama entry, “The Kingdom,” in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), is not a period piece nor anything historical.

The film weaves the story of present time royal family, like the one in Thailand where “The Kingdom “was inspired from.

“Our peg was the royal family of Thailand,” said director Michael Tuviera.

“They were not colonized but they still have their royal family. When you go to Thailand, it’s current and modern when it comes to storytelling.”

“I actually envy you,” added direk Mike. “I wish I could watch the film with fresh eyes at walang kaalam-alam. But aside from the MTRCB who gave ‘The Kingdom’ a PG classification, we all have yet to see the film in full.”

The entire cast and production crew of “The Kingdom” are proud about the film.

“We are so proud of this film,” Mike said. “However much you might have liked the trailer of The Kingdom, that is only 30 percent of the film.

“So, the actual meat of the film, the 70 percent, is not seen in the trailer. That is more complicated especially the third act, that is heavy. There were influences from other countries.

“The first time I found out about the whole story, I called up my friends and family and told them about the concept of the film we were making,” disclosed Sid Lucero, who plays Magat Bagwis.

“Growing up, I’ve always loved the alternate world of ours,” insisted Sid. “To impersonate an alternate world around it, it just tells us filmmakers that here in the Philippines, we are beginning to move out of that box.”

Cristine Reyes, who plays Dayang Matimyas, insisted we would have embraced our own culture from the start without the influence of others.

“This film mirrors the current situation of today’s Filipinos,” Cristine said. “We will get to see that there are many people who are brought largely by power.”

“The story itself is all there is when artists make films,” said Piolo who plays Sulo, an outcast. “With The Kingdom, you will go home thinking what could have happened with the lives of Filipinos then if we were not conquered and we were given a chance.”

“I think it’s important for us moviegoers to see something that will make us feel the what-ifs in our lives. The alternate universe, if we were not conquered, these are the things which we can really watch.”

Supervising producer Jojo Oconer insisted the production of “The Kingdom” was guided by actual data when they started filming The Kingdom in Intramuros.

“This film also shows our glorious past, which Dr. Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio laid down for us,” said Oconer.

When “The Kingdom” was first unveiled as one of the ten official entries for the 50th anniversary of this year’s MMFF, interest about the film largely grew.

Playing special roles are Iza Calzado, Cedrick Juan and Eula Valdez as the queen who passed on earlier.

“The Kingdom” is presented by MQuest Ventures, APT Entertainment and MZet TV Productions.