Brief Q & A with TM Malones, Director of SALVI: ANG PAGPADAYON

The Ilonggo Film SALVI: ANG PAGPADAYON is showing this week on SM City Cinemas, not only in our cinema here in Iloilo city, but in 45 branches of SM Cinema across the country as well. This is a movie shot with Ilonggo actors and actresses, shot in various locations in Iloilo City, its production crew are Ilonggo, and the director is Ilonggo as well, TM Malones. I have recently caught up with the director TM Malones, who has been quite busy with the premiere and the screening of the movie this week, to shoot in some few interview questions so that we may get a glimpse of what to expect from this Ilonggo movie and a glimpse of what inspires Mr. Malones’ style and work. [hit the jump to check out the interview]

1. How did you come to be a filmmaker? I was groomed to be a businessman just like my parents. I studied Marketing at Central Philippine University in Iloilo and took my Masters in Business Administration at Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Makati City. I even ventured into direct selling when I was in college. When I finished college, I went to Manila and tried to explore what would really make me happy and what area I would excel. My sister bought a digital camera but nobody was really using it. I was playing around with the camera and became very interested with Photography. I enrolled for short courses to learn the basics and it eventually became my passion and my bread and butter. After almost 8 years of being a professional photographer, I realized I wanted to learn new skills. In 2010, I attended Film Workshops in Manila and it dawned on me that I do have a passion for filmmaking. I then enrolled for a one year filmmaking program at International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) in Cebu. I finished IAFT with Don Encinareal Technical Excellence Award, Academic Excellence Award and Best Thesis on my film "Salvi".

2. What is the inspiration for SALVI? I got the inspiration from some of the post-apocalyptic films like The Road, Book of Eli and I am Legend. I was fascinated by the texture and color of those films.

3. How did you arrive to the idea of making a movie such as SALVI? Our world has been dealing with issues on over population, bad governance and poor health. I had this idea on creating a film that would depict these issues.

4. Do you intend to expand the world of SALVI? Like a sequel? or a spinoff? Back in 2008, the original idea of Salvi is a trilogy film. "Salvi:Ang Pagpadayon" is an open-ended film. A sequel or a spin-off would be a great idea.5. What other movie genres would you like to delve into in future projects? I would like to try different genres like action, science fiction, comedy and horror.

6. Who are your favorite film directors and favorite films that influence you greatly? Top of the list is Christopher Nolan. I like how he treated the “revival” films. My all-time favorite film that influenced how I create my films is Blade Runner by Ridley Scott.

Apart from the fact that it is a pure Ilonggo work of art, SALVI, which is a post-apocalyptic movie, is also a movie that tackles a genre not usually being made by Ilonggo films; it is not even tackled much by Philippine moviemakers in general. The futuristic post-apocalyptic genre can often even be considered science fiction. It is such a bold step for local cinema. Hopefully this will be the start of the blooming of the Ilonggo filmmaking scene. We can hope and probably expect that this will not be the first time we see an Ilonggo movie generating such a buzz and creating such reputation for the Iloilo Arts Scene.

SALVI: ANG PAGPADAYON opens this week in SM CITY ILOILO CINEMAS.