(First of two parts)

MANILA, Philippines—That a 26-year-old film is being feted now is a miracle in itself, says Ricky Lee, scriptwriter of “Himala,” declared Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time in an online poll conducted by the Cable News Network (CNN).

On Nov. 22, the Titus Brandsma Media Center honored the late National Artist Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala” with a special screening and awarding ceremony. The gathering allowed cast and crew—including producer Imee Marcos, actors Spanky Manikan, Ama Quiambao and Vangie Labalan, production designer Raquel Villavicencio, production assistant Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, production manager Trina Dayrit and scriptwriter Lee—to reminisce about making the the movie.

Marcos, who produced “Himala” for the government’s Experimental Cinema of the Philippines in 1982, said she was instantly drawn to Lee’s script.

“The topic was close to my heart,” she noted. “I took up theology in Princeton. Plus, it was shot entirely in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. It’s a very modern take on Philippine religiosity—it dares to question beliefs.”

Lee recalled that Marcos, daughter of late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, “never meddled” in the production. “She just gave me a short note on existentialism.”

“There were a lot of issues surrounding the film,” Marcos related. “Some people didn’t agree with casting a controversial star like Nora Aunor as a faith healer.” And some government people were against hiring activists like Bernal, Lee, and crowd director Joel Lamangan in a government-funded film.

Lamangan recalled that he was always anxious because there were a lot of soldiers on the set. “But Ishma was very protective of us,” said Lamangan who also played a priest in the film.

ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio, who worked as executive producer, described the shoot as a “breeze,” in spite of the fact that a full-blown typhoon completely destroyed the set. “We rebuilt it, for another P200,000,” recalled Villavicencio.

From an original budget of P2.5 million, expenses shot up to P2.7 million, said Dayrit. She pointed out, however, that the film could’ve cost P4 million if the freebies were factored in. “Since we were working with the government, we got some things for free, like buses, trucks, even plane trips.”

Marcos recalled that a huge bulk of the film’s budget went to Aunor’s talent fee. “About a million,” Lee estimated. But it never went to her pocket, Marcos said. “It was used to settle her tax dues.”

Radio, theater actors

To scrimp, Marcos thought of hiring radio and theater actors whose talent fees were not as high as Aunor’s. “A lot of character actors got their first break in this film,” said Lee.

“I came from radio. I didn’t know what motivation and blocking were,” Labalan said.

“I was paid P10,000 which was big that time,” Quiambao volunteered. In contrast, Marfil as production assistant got P5,000 for the three-month shoot.

The production design team had a budget of P300,000. “We had to buy 10,000 candles, 5,000 rosaries, 500 statues,” Villavicencio said.

The Virgin Mary figure at the film’s finale was custom-made by a Paete sculptor, said Villavicencio. “The Virgin’s hands were in the same position as Nora’s when she died in the end.”

Neither Bernal nor Aunor gave Santos major headaches, contrary to their reputations. “Nora was cooperative. Ishma didn’t throw his usual tantrums. Now, that was miraculous,” Santos said in jest.

But, like in all Bernal movies, there was also a little drama on the set.

Aunor met a car accident causing production to shut down for a few days. “But we were so thankful to Nora because it permitted us to go home for a while,” Villavicencio said.

Appeasing the town

Marcos recalled that, at the end of most days, she would be on the phone, trying to appease Ilocandia’s barangay captains because Bernal had offended townsfolk with his patented colorful language.

“He would often get frustrated because the bit-players couldn’t follow instructions,” Santos recalled.

“The extras only got P15, if their faces were shown onscreen. If not, only P7.50,” Dayrit said.

Manikan still believes “Himala” featured the best bit-players in Pinoy cinema.

“There were 3,000 people in the film’s climax,” Marfil said.

“We had a 10-camera set-up,” Lamangan added. “We could only do the stampede scene once because the set would get destroyed and we didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Planning spelled the difference. “We got it in one take,” Lamangan said.

He also remembered hopping from barangay to barangay in search of real sick people to play Aunor’s patients. “Ishma wanted bit-players with ‘visual’ diseases. Bawal ang hika. Dapat goiter at cerebral palsy.”

Conclusion tomorrow. Meanwhile, “Himala” will be screened today, 4 p.m., at Cinema One.