A Fanclubx.com Exclusive

Pre Sundance Interview with

Interview by: Luis Pedron of Fanclubx.com

Luis:  How does it feel to be in Sundance for the second time? What does Sundance mean to you?  

Auraeus Solito: Sundance for me is a dream. It is a dream that has come true. And to be invited twice in a row is like a recurring beautiful dream. To be recognized in Sundance twice for my first two dramatic feature films is like a gentle pat in the back to an indie filmmaker.

Luis:  Your film is entitled Tuli, what is your film about and how relevant is it to the Philippine society today and in the international context as well?

Auraeus Solito:  Tuli with the accent in TU literally means ‘circumcision’, when the accent is in LI means circumcised. This double meaning is so much similar to the film’s context. The brilliant 1st screenplay by Jimmy Flores which won the Viva films’ screenwriting competition, explores the conflict of ancient Filipino traditions to the Indigenized modern Christian rituals. Set in lush provinces of the Philippines during the Holy week, it is about a circumciser and his daughter… and how a traumatic event in her childhood sets a series of events that make her rebel against this conservative society. She falls in love with her childhood female best friend and asks the only man that her father didn’t circumcised to impregnate her. It is a Rite-of-Passage Film.

Luis:  Did you show Philippine ethnicity a lot in this film? I know you are into ethnic rituals.....What does Tuli mean and how it relate to your film? Where did you shoot your film and why did you select your location?

Auraeus Solito:  One of my greatest fulfillments in this film is having a very indigenous Palawano motif. Slowly injecting in a semi-mainstream set-up what I have learned in Palawan. We shot the film in Jala-Jala , Rizal, an hour away from Manila.

Luis:  In the international arena, who do you think is the target audience of your film?  

Auraeus Solito: People who are interested with other people’s cultures… who are open to possibilities.

Luis: As your sophomore film, how does this compare (filmmaking experience) to your directorial debut, the equally successful Sundance alum The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros?

Auraeus Solito: Since I was in semi-mainstream set-up with Digital Viva, and a professional cast, composed of the new Viva contract stars (Desiree del Valle, Carlo Aquino and Vanna Garcia)… It is my “rite of passage” in the mainstream, having a big crew and all the equipment I need… even though we shot digitally, the whole set-up felt like a big 35 mm film project. I learned a lot from this experience. I was also fascinated with my actors who were very good since they started as childstars and appeared in teeny boppers… but they were pros, they listen to your direction and deliver quite quickly. I was amazed, specially that I was used to non professional actors in “Maximo”. In my 1^st two films, one can see two totally different styles. As a filmmaker, one must explore all possibilities and genres, experiment on them, and always betray one’s self (as one Okinawan master filmmaker told me) by doing something unexpected in one’s next film.

Luis:  I always ask you about casting,  how did you go about forming your ensemble cast and what were the factors why you chose your leads... I heard that there are several sexy kissing and love making scenes in the film... can you describe how you shot these scenes?

Auraeus Solito: This film served as the launching of the 3 Viva stars to adult roles. I also had a brilliant supporting cast; Bembol Roco, as the circumciser father- It was a dream come true directing a Lino Brocka discovery, we had many chats about his life working with the great Lino Brocka; Amable Quiambao, who plays the shaman grandmother- I have also always dreamt of working with her specially after seeing her in the great Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala” and the equally great Peque Gallaga’s “Virgin Forest” (one of my favorite films of all time). We always catch each other during my Theater days, since I also watch her plays, and she has also expressed her interest in working with me in the Theater then, but never had quite the opportunity. Tuli finally realized that.; then there is Eugene Domingo who plays the classic martyr mother. –during our Theater University days, Eugene was in Dulaang UP (The University Theater group) while I was in my own experimental theater group , UP TROPA. She was doing very serious roles, so its really funny that she ended up as a comedienne in television. We never had the opportunity to work together , so this film is like her comeback to serious roles. But it was really fun working with her, cause in between takes she would make the funniest punchlines that really made everyone laugh, and made the filming quite easy. In fact, I want to cast her in all my future films since she really makes me laugh so much. And there were also other theater favorites in cameo roles like Madelaine Nicolas, Lui Manansala and the late Elmo Redrico.

There was nothing explicit in the love scenes in my film. I grew up with great bold or erotic films, and they were really explicit. I approached the eroticism in this film in a very poetic way contrasting the bold genre; and it was ironic that I got an X rating! The actors must have been so good!

Luis:  What do you suggest to the filmmakers and audience who are coming to Sundance for the first time? Do you have any tips for them...

Auraeus Solito: Sundance can be overwhelming. I remember last year, in the Director’s brunch seeing Robert Redford in front of me… for the 1^st time in my life, I experienced the meaning of Starstruck. Looking to my left, I see Gwyneth Paltrow, then  to the right table is Sally Fields. One time, I even met Michelle Yeoh, on my way to the washroom… then walking in Park City, I met one of my favorite filmmakers , Wim Wenders . I really enjoyed Sundance. And the programmers are brilliant people. I really enjoyed talking to them, their passion for film is so strong and pure. And the audience is very appreciative, by the  3^rd time my film was screend, I would meet people in the street and in restaurants who would approach me and tell me how they liked  my film (even up to the airport:). Sundance is an amazing festival. My advice? Just enjoy it. Watch films as much as you can and amidst the celebrity, the natural landscape of Park City is actually beautiful and breathtaking. I think that’s one of the things that the press do not write about, Sundance is so much about celebrity and films…. But the Landscape is one of the best I have seen in the world.

Luis:  What is next for Aureaus Solito? You know you will have to travel a lot again this year for the Worldwide festival run of Tuli, how are you preparing yourself for this....?

Auraeus Solito: The Good news is my 3^rd film is a finalist and got funding for the 3^rd Cinemalaya Independent film festival (which funded “Maximo”). PISAY will be my 3^rd film, about my high school alma-mater Philippine Science High School during the 80s. We were actually the first batch that graduated in a free government, in 1986 during the People power revolution which ousted the dictatorship. For a change Filipino students will be portrayed as brilliant and sensitive, and not the usual Pinoy “high school”genre where students are portrayed as stupid and apathetic. – This early TULI is invited to 6 more festivals; aside from Sundance , we got in the BERLINALE again, and in the section I have always wished to be in, the avant-grade section of the International Forum of New Cinema; It will also be the  Opening film at the ImagineNative FilmFestival in Toronto, a very dear festival to me since it’s a fest for Indigenous filmmakers; also got invites to festivals in London, Torino, San Francisco, Hong Kong and LA. But a filmmaker is here to make films. I might cut my traveling down and focus more on filmmaking this year, which I was made for.

Luis: Wow, thank you so much Aureaus and see you on January 19, 2007 at  Park City, UTAH for Sundance Film Festival 2007 for the screening of your film "TULI." Congrats and Maraming Salamat (Thank you very much!)

Auraeus Solito Director of "TULI"

TULI Philippines, 2006, 107 Minutes, color Director: Auraeus Solito Screenwriter: Jimmy Flores       A group of young Pilipino boys gathers at the creek. Through the lush forest, sun dapples the ground and water. A kind of ritual begins to transpire. The boys, one by one, are circumcised in a requisite rite of passage. A young girl, Daisy, is also there and becomes her father's stoic assistant in the act. Life in the remote Pilipino village seems simple and innocent. But as the children grow up, the plot becomes more complicated. Cut to Daisy, a beautiful young woman. She is dissatisfied with her life, and her father is continually drunk and increasingly abusive. An arranged marriage seems her only way out, but she has her eye on a different life. She is already falling in love with her female childhood friend--a relationship that threatens to tear the village apart. As he did so well in The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Auraeus Solito again offers a glimpse into another culture; this time, it's not the grey city but the lush greens and rich hues of earth and sky. His story transpires in a magical, rustic style, where Old World spiritualism commingles with colorful Christian rituals. In Tuli, Solito transforms Daisy's male-dominated existence into a place where new ideas can thrive and prosper.— John Cooper Screenwriter : Jimmy Flores Executive Producer : Vincent del Rosario, Jr. Cinematographers : Nap Jamir, Matk Gary, Regiben Romana Editors : JD Domingo, Clang Sisson Music : Pepe Smith, Shant Verdun Production Manager : Endi "Hai" Balbuena Cast : Desiree del Valle, Carlo Aquino, Vanna Garcia, Bembol Rocco, Amable Quiambao, Eugene Domingo   Screening Times Friday , Jan 19 12:00 PM Egyptian Theatre, Park City TULII19ED Saturday , Jan 20 11:30 AM Library Center Theatre TULII20LD Wednesday , Jan 24 8:30 PM Holiday Village Cinema II TULII242N Saturday , Jan 27 3:30 PM Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, SLC TULII27GA   Director(s) Bios Auraeus Solito Auraeus Solito's first feature film, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, screened at Sundance in 2006 and went on to win 14 international awards, including 3 awards at the Berlin Intenational Film Festival. It is also nominated for best foreign film at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards and is the Philippine entry for the 2007 Oscars. Tuli is Solito's second feature; it won awards for best picture and best director at the CineManila Film Festival. Solito traces his roots to the indigenous Palaw'an islanders of South Palawan, Philippines.