CESAR MONTANO, award-winning actor-director and TV host, recently went to the United States for a series of meetings with casting directors. “I’m doing a follow-up on several projects that I’m eyeing,” Cesar told the Inquirer in a recent media gathering.

“There’s one film that I really hope to be part of,” he added, “but I’m not allowed to talk about it yet. All I can say is that like ‘The Great Raid,’ it will be shot in Australia.”

“The Great Raid” was a 2005 Hollywood film based on real events during World War II. Cesar played Capt. Juan Pajota, a Filipino guerrilla who took part in the January 1945 liberation of a POW camp in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. It was directed by John Dahl and featured foreign actors Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes, James Franco and Connie Nielsen.

As a director and producer, Cesar said he hopes to entice the global film market with a new pet project, “Eskaya: The Quick Brown Fox.” Part of his grand plan is to cast A-list Hollywood actors. “Somebody like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt,” he declared. “I also wish to talk with Manny Paquiao because I want him for the lead role. I’m now polishing certain details in the script. Sixty percent of the movie will be in English.”

In 2004, Cesar’s first film production venture, “Panaghoy sa Suba,” won 16 awards, including Best Picture and Best Director honors at the International Festival of Independent Films in Brussels, Belgium.

“My goal is for ‘Eskaya’ to compete for an Oscar award,” Cesar said.

He explained that the film’s title is about the ancient Filipino writing system called Eskaya, which is similar to the more popular Alibata. Cesar learned about it while communing with the members of the Eskaya tribe, a cultural minority in Bohol, his hometown.

In Cesar’s story line, a rich and highly successful American gets implicated in a crime. His only chance to prove his innocence is to find the only witness to the crime. He chases after this witness in the forest of Bohol and stumbles upon the Eskaya tribe.

Interesting story

Cesar believes it’s an interesting story. “It will send a message to the world that Filipinos are not illiterate, that in ancient times our ancestors had a very effective way of communicating with each other.”

Cesar, 46, is also busy with the Bohol Film Development Organization (Bufido), which he helped form with veteran filmmaker Maryo J. delos Reyes. The group is hosting “Sine Direk,” a film festival co-produced by APT Entertainment, in July.

Six films, all megged by members of the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI), will be screened in various venues in Bohol. “It excites me to see these notable directors are making good movies and competing against each other,” said Cesar, who is Bufido’s vice president. “The ultimate goal is to invite other countries to join.”

Four years ago, Cesar put up the Panaghoy Children Foundation Inc. (www.panaghoy.org) whose aim is to help underprivileged kids in Bohol through education. Since then, the group has launched feeding programs, as well as medical and dental missions in various provinces in Bohol.

“Recently, I brought several artists there to teach children how to draw,” Cesar said. “To celebrate Earth Day, we taught people how to plant trees. We oriented them on climate change, global warming and the effects of irresponsible garbage disposal.”