MANILA, Philippines?Comedienne Tessie Tomas, who plays the role of a pawnshop owner in the Cinemalaya film fest entry ?Sanglaan,? says she?s thankful she never had to trade any of her jewelry for money.

?I love jewelry. I?m grateful that I never had to resort to pawning any of them. But I?ve always been curious about this kind of business. I even wanted to go to a subasta (auction),? Tessie tells Inquirer Entertainment.

In ?Sanglaan,? by first-time full-length director Milo Sogueco, Tessie plays Olivia, a religious businesswoman whose pawnshop is in danger of closing down.

The actress says she finds the script, by Sogueco and Gay Ace Domingo, very well-written. ?It reflects the poverty in our country. It shows how most Filipinos struggle to make ends meet,? she explains.

This is Tessie?s eighth indie movie since 2008. She was last seen in Milo Alta-Paz?s ?Padre de Pamilya? as a corrupt town mayor.

Tessie describes Sogueco as ?somebody who knows what he wants and how to achieve it. He?s consistent with his treatment, probably because he helped write the script.? Sogueco and Domingo co-wrote ?Sanglaan? with Audie Gonzalez and Jerome Lorico.

Tessie worked on the film for six days. ?Seventy percent of my scenes are in a sanglaan vault where it?s very humid. It was really tough,? she says. ?The set location (Pritil, Tondo) is also very crowded and noisy ? ?

Claustrophobic

?Sanglaan? also tells the story of Amy (Ina Feleo), the jewelry appraiser who is hopelessly in love with a high school crush. Kanor (Jess Evardone) is the pawnshop?s security guard who faithfully takes care of his ailing wife (Flor Salanga). Henry (Neil Ryan Sese) is the loan shark who won?t take ?no? for an answer. David (Joem Bascon) is a seaman looking for an opportunity to make money in the pawnshop.

In real life, Sogueco?s mother actually ran a pawnshop for 40 years. ?This exposed me to the commerce of the sanglaan. When Gay came to me with a concept for a story, I readily filled in all the gaps,? says Sogueco. ?When we went into production, it was then that I realized why nobody has done a movie about it.?

Sogueco continues: ?Nothing really happens inside a pawnshop. It?s claustrophobic. It?s like living behind bars. After my mom left the pawnshop, she said she felt so free. That?s how the viewers will feel after watching the movie. It will liberate them from pain, from their past.?

?Sanglaan? is one of 10 full-length films featured in the 5th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival from July 17-26 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.