GMA 7 reporter Cesar Apolinario admits, his journalism enriches his filmmaking, and vice versa.

Like his first two movies, ?Banal? and ?Estasyon,? Apolinario?s third indie film ?Puntod? was inspired by his experiences in the field.

?Puntod,? which runs from January 13 to 19 at the IndieSine of Robinsons Galleria, is loosely based on a real-life story, he noted.

?I did a 16-minute documentary for the (GMA 7 show) ?Reporters? Notebook? on kids, who dive for scrap and garbage in the sea,? he related. ?I met a 10-year-old deaf-mute girl, who earned P30 a day.?

?Puntod? is her story?focusing on her quest to raise money to keep her mother?s rented grave in the cemetery.

?As she struggles to earn the rent money, she meets the many faces of a corrupt and debilitating system,? Apolinario explained.

Biggest challenge in making ?Puntod? was working with the child actors, led by ?Stairway to Heaven? discovery Barbie Forteza as the deaf-mute heroine.

The shooting was in Tondo, near Manila Bay where sight of the garbage was overwhelming and the stench was just as awful.

Commitment

Apolinario was floored by his cast?s commitment. ?They showed true professionalism, even the young ones,? he said.

Barbie went to the school for the deaf and mute for two weeks; sexy star Sheree caught dengue during the shoot and was in the hospital for a week; Mark Gil, Sheree, Pekto, Arnold Reyes and the kids ?delivered well.?

Getting it right on the first take was vital, considering the limited time and budget. ?We had to complete the shoot in six days. Everyone seemed to believe in the project?most especially our executive producer (fellow reporter) Arlyn de la Cruz. She even acted in the film. That boosted my morale,? Apolinario recalled.

In making ?Puntod,? he said, he wanted to tackle the seemingly unbreakable ?cycle of poverty? in our country. ?I believe corruption is the reason behind the sad state of our economy. I speak here not as a media man but as a filmmaker.?

Still, Apolinario is keenly aware of the synergistic relationship between his two jobs.

?Journalism allows me to serve the public with no pretensions. But art is my passion,? he said.