MANILA, Philippines?First-time director Ralston Jover was nowhere in sight when his name was called at the Cinemalaya premiere of ?Baseco Bakal Boys,? which is inspired by an ?I-Witness? documentary. He said he chose to shun the spotlight: ?I hide all the time, especially since this is my first directorial effort. I?m not sure if people will like it.?

Jover wrote the screenplays of socially relevant films like ?Kubrador,? ?Manoro,? ?Foster Child? and ?Tirador.? After receiving Cinemalaya?s Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac) award, he feels vindicated.

Visual medium

From the start, the production was beset with difficult challenges: crewmen resigning, lack of financing, tedious script revisions, major props stolen the night before shooting, etc.! He confesses, ?Before, the challenge for me was only in the writing. Then, I had to tell the story using the visual medium, where the level of difficulty was so much more!?

The cast, led by Gina Pareño, included real-life metal divers like Meljun Guinto from Baseco. Jover recalls, ?Meljun wasn?t afraid to act with Gina. He doesn?t know how to read and write, so we just fed him his lines?and he delivered like a pro!?

In Baseco, the loss of life is a regular occurrence. We see children suffering from inhumane conditions as they dive underwater to retrieve scrap metal for survival. The film?s producers are tapping the private sector to help provide scholarships for these divers. Jover proudly shares: ?By the end of the shooting, most of them went back to school.?

The reluctant director beams, ?This is our advocacy. Our hardships have been validated by the movie?s positive feedback. The Bakal Boys are going places?and the film has been invited to festivals in Pusan, Vancouver and Thessaloniki.?