MANILA, Philippines - Chris Martinez, who used to direct theatrical plays and TV commercials, has made a crossover to the big screen.

?It?s an eventuality,? says the writer and director of the award-winning film ?100.?

?Everything I did was in preparation for this ... from play writing to directing and then to screenplay writing (?Bridal Shower,? ?Sukob? and ?Caregiver?).?

?100,? Martinez?s debut movie, bagged five awards?Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Mylene Dizon), Best Supporting Actress (Eugene Domingo) and Audience Choice ?in this year?s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. It also won the audience prize, dubbed the KNN Award, in the 13th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea. The trophy came with a $20,000 cash prize.

The film is about an exacting woman with terminal illness who tries to accomplish a list of 100 things to do before she dies?from the simple to the complicated, from the mundane to the extraordinary. Martinez visited the Inquirer offices in Makati City recently to attend a special screening of ?100.? He gamely answered questions from curious PDI employees.

What?s your own ?list? like?
Wala pa naman akong list
(laughter).

How did you come up with the story?
I guess this is my way of loosening up about mortality. The idea first came up when I attended the necrological service for UP Professor Ogie Juliano. All of us who had worked with him in theater went to his wake and gave him a tribute. There was singing and dancing. But after the service, lahat kami nag-iyakan, yakapan. It was as if the event was not just about him, but also about us, his friends.
When I got home, I couldn?t sleep. I thought, paano kung ako kaya ?yun? I didn?t know then if the movie would be experimental or narrative ... I just developed it for Cinemalaya.

What?s the most interesting reaction you got for the film?
In Pusan, the Koreans were really crying inside the theater ... Tickets were sold out a minute after they were released.

You picked the actors yourself?
Mylene, Eugene and Tessie (Tomas) were our first choices. We couldn?t think of anyone better to play Joyce than Mylene...

Si Tessie muntik nang magback-out because of the skinny-dipping scene. I made her drink a lot of red wine...

This movie is similar to a Hollywood release, ?The Bucket List.?
When we submitted this to Cinemalaya, ?Bucket List? hasn?t come out yet. We haven?t heard about it yet. Kinabahan ako when it was shown here before the opening of Cinemalaya. I watched it and said to myself, ?Mas maganda naman ang sa amin...? I think the list is the only thing that?s similar. ?100? is very Filipino in its nuances.

Do you think those who suffer from cancer would want to watch this film?
I think so. When I did the script, I had an oncologist, Dr. Dennis Sacdalan, to guide me. I consulted him every step of the way. He said we should present to patients a new way of looking at their condition. We have to reassure them that they are loved para hindi sila matakot.

How long did you work on ?100??
The filming started in March and ended in late May. We spent three days in Hong Kong. The editing took three weeks to a month. Super galing ng editor ko. His name is Ike Veneracion. I just told him that the point-of-view has to be Joyce?s. This explains why the phasing in the beginning is very rapid. This means, kaya pa ni Joyce. Then it slows down...

?100,? produced by Straightshooters Media Inc. and released by Star Cinema, will be shown in local theaters starting Dec. 3.

E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph