Director Auraeus Solito is the official selection in the Cannes’ Directorial Fortnight this year. ‘Busong’ is described in the program as ‘the first Palawanon indigenous film.’

LOS ANGELES – “Naiyak ako nang mabasa ko sa Cannes website ito (I cried when I read this on the Cannes website): ‘the first Palawanon indigenous film,’” confessed director Auraeus Solito whose latest movie, “Busong,” is the official selection in this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

“Busong,” which stars Clifford Banagle, Alessandra de Rossi, Dax Alejandro, Bonivie Budao and Rodrigo Santikan, explores the Palawan concept of fate wherein nature reacts instantly to man’s disrespect.

Auraeus, who is well known for his award-winning films like “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” (“The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros”) and “Tuli” (“Circumcision”), revealed that “Busong,” which is about present Palawan, is a third of a trilogy he is planning on his beloved Palawan where he lived for several years and where he is from. The other two planned projects are Palawan in the past, “Delubyo (Deluge)” and Palawan in the future, “Sumbang (Origin).”

He explained, “‘Busong’ is about the indigenous Palawan’s concept of fate. It’s like instant karma, when you do something bad to nature and your fellow man it comes back to you right away. The inspiration is my mother who is from the Palawan tribe. She told me stories when I was a kid that nobody knew of. It was a world that was magical and pure. It was about her hometown of Puring at the end of Southern Palawan.”

The soft-spoken director cast Filipino-American actor, Clifford Banagle whom you may have seen as the boy toy of Sacha Baron Cohen in the movie, “Bruno.”

In “Busong,” Clifford portrays Aris, a half-indigenous Palawanon who was a failed Shaman’s apprentice and who returns to Palawan to look for his soul or self.

“Clifford’s need to know his Filipino roots was similar to my need to know my Palawan roots,” Auraeus pointed out. “His return to the Philippines after 23 years is a mirror of my return to my tribal land after 20 years. His acting was authentic and embodies the Palawan concept of the ‘manunga banar’ – the beautiful truths that make us human.”

As for casting Alessandra de Rossi, Auraeus revealed, “I have watched Alex’s performances since her debut in ‘Azucena’ by Carlitos Siguion Reyna. She has always been brilliant. At first, it was purely physical. I needed an actress who embodied the morena Filipina. As Punay, she mirrored Palawan itself. Working with her was fascinating! It was simply uncanny – how precise her acting was and how she somehow captured the essence of Punay, exactly the way I imagined it.”

Doing the film had its challenges as well, Auraeus told us. “The film explores Palawan’s landscape of forest, mountain and sea,” he said. “Nature is nature. You cannot control it. Filming in my homeland taught me to bow down to nature. When the waves were too strong, you cannot command it to stop. When the rain pours and you need the sun, you cannot change the scene. When it is too hot, you cannot direct the sun! I learned to adapt and bow down to what nature gave. In the end, nature gave us what each scene really needed. It’s as if it blessed us with what the scene should be. Palawan itself is the main character of this film and its nature is the co-director.”

He narrated how he found out about “Busong’s” selection at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year. “We sent the DVD of the first rough cut on a Monday,” he revealed. “And got the news by Thursday. I was expecting a possible selection or rejection weeks after. But that afternoon, my mom went to St. Jude chapel and prayed a novena. By evening, I suddenly received an email that my film was selected. The Artistic Director of the Fortnight eventually e-mailed me after I thanked him and he said, ‘I am so honored to have your unique and wonderful film. Everybody in the selection committee loved your ‘Busong.’ We saw it yesterday and sent the invitation 10 minutes after.’”

Auraeus described how he is preparing to go to the Cannes Film Festival. “It is my first time,” he said. “And it’s hard work. There are many technical requirements that we have to meet (French subtitling, HD transfers, final touches, etc). Especially that this film will be projected HD through a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) and we are working on limited funds.”

He is also wearing an Oliver Tolentino barong that Oliver is specifically designing for him. “Thanks to your husband, Ruben, he contacted Oliver to design my barong and Clifford’s for the world premiere. We shall use Palawan piña fabric woven by the Palawan tribe itself through the Rurungan sa Tubod Foundation.”

Auraeus, who credited his mom for inspiring him to do “Busong,” explained, “She told me the stories and myths of her homeland when I was a kid. I grew up imagining this world- of shamans and magic; of spells and golden sea turtles, of shape shifters and stick like demons. I am now happy that I have finally realized some of her images for ‘Busong.’ Also, the world premiere and first screening of the movie is on May 16 which is actually my mom’s birthday too.”

As for what is going through his mind right now, Auraeus became emotional. He said, “I am teary eyed for I love what the festival director Frederic Boyer said in his interview on the launch of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight: ‘I am thinking about a film we found from Southern Philippines, and that transcends the border between documentary and fiction. The film deals with animism and is very close to nature. It has been shot without any apparent wish to be selected in Cannes or to be picked by a co-producer.’

“At first, I didn’t quite get the last sentence, it sounded good but not sure of its context. So I asked my Swiss filmmaker friend Sylvie Cachin what he meant. She told me, ‘In one sentence: shot with purity; without aim to fit to the big occidental film programmer’s taste. Now we expect your film to be original!’”

He added, “I am now contented, for ‘Busong’ is just the beginning of introducing to the world the Palawan indigenous universe.”

Formerly a Manila journalist, Los Angeles-based Janet Susan R. Nepales is a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

E-mail the writer at jrnepales_624@yahoo.com for your comments or questions.