AFTER WINNING Best Director in the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival for ?Banal,? GMA 7 reporter Cesar Apolinario took a two-year break before returning with, not just one, but two digital movies??Estasyon? and ?Puntod.?

After ?Banal,? Apolinario said, he had ?several? offers. ?I was asked to do a love story, but I didn?t like the script.? He was also offered a gay-themed film. But it was clear to him that he would make another movie because I want to [and] not because I had to do a follow-up.?

Since his job as reporter has always been his priority, he didn?t have time to work on a mainstream project, so he was also sure he?d rather go independent.

In January 2008, he laid the groundwork for ?Estasyon.? He related: ?Two years ago, I did a story (for the GMA 7 news program ?24 Oras?) on a teenaged boy who walked from Laguna to Quiapo for three days to join the annual procession and touch the image of the Nazarene. He was just 16. I fell in love with that story.?

On the eve of his first shooting day, his producer backed out. ?Call it a leap of faith, but I still decided to start filming,? Apolinario recounted.

Armed with his Panasonic HPX-500 camera, he and his ragtag cast and crew trooped to Quiapo, just like the teener in his film.

?I wanted to do a documentary. It took me three months to decide to shoot it as a feature film,? he admitted. ?I also ended up producing it myself. Most of my savings went into this project!?

The subject matter was ?very personal,? Apolinatio said. ?From ages 10 to 16, I spent Holy Week walking from Novaliches to a grotto in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.? It was his yearly panata (devotion).

When he became a TV reporter, he took it upon himself to cover the Quiapo festivities. ?I?ve been doing it for 10 years now. I told myself that I?d make a film about Quiapo someday.?

Apolinario was not out to focus on poverty. ?I just wanted to tell a boy?s story. I was fortunate to have interviewed him and his mother in Laguna.?

He finds it serendipitous that his lead stars, Klaudia Koronel and Mon Confiado?previously known for sexy flicks? have agreed to do a ?religious? film. ?They were real pros, but they did not collect talent fees.?

?Estasyon? had a week-long run at Robinsons Galleria?s IndieSine this month.

Apolinario?s ?Puntod,? which tackles education and child labor, is produced by fellow reporter Arlyn de la Cruz.

?I enjoy making movies,? he said. ?I just hope more people get to watch indie films.?