photo by Mell T. Navarro
By Dheza Marie Aguilar, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Posted at 02/26/2011 12:47 PM | Updated as of 03/01/2011 10:47 AM
NETHERLANDS – Pieter van Overbeeke initially thought that Palme d'Or Best Director Brillante Mendoza was talking in jest when he said that he needed a white guy to play in his upcoming movie.
But two months after they met at the showing of his films in Amsterdam, Overbeeke, popularly known as “Pedro” in the Filipino community in Holland, flew to Manila to shoot for "Prey".
"Prey" is a French/Filipino produced film based on the life of Gracia Burnham, one of the survivors in the Dos Palmas kidnapping in 2001, and the kidnapping situation in Mindanao.
Overbeeke found it a challenge to work with such a large group of actors especially because it was his first movie stint. He was cast as one of the foreigners beheaded during the kidnapping. Since most of the scenes were shot in the jungle, Overbeeke also had his share of encounters with Mother Nature.
"The challenging part for me was that I was afraid that I will speak Tagalog and that I will mix up Tagalog and English. The challenging part actually is the whole thing, working with all those people, running while being shot at and (running) through the mud. My legs are full of scars but having all those great actors around you really helps,” he said.
He was also introduced to Mendoza’s directing style, where actors only get their lines a few minutes before the actual take. Actors were also advised to try to stay in character even if the camera was off. But according to him, internalizing his character has helped him a lot in portraying the victim.
“I think it’s very difficult but somehow it went smoothly. That’s just memorizing who I am and with the help of colleague actors who are in the same situation, we just somehow managed to do it,” he explained.
He also admired how Mendoza handled the whole shooting.
“He is so natural. He wants you to be natural. He doesn’t want you to be maarte if you don’t need to. The funny thing is, his movies, the takes are almost [done] chronologically so you're feeling the adventure and the story day by day but you don’t know what will happen the next day, nobody knows. And that’s really amazing.”
Two-time Cannes Best Actress Isabelle Huppert played the role of a hostage tourist. Huppert and Mendoza met during the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where her admiration for his film "Kinatay" made her agree to do the film.
“She is so great and cool and so professional. She was treated as a VIP but she was so down to earth,” Overbeeke said.
Career in the Philippines
The Tagalog-speaking Overbeeke said that he welcomes opportunities to enter the Philippine showbiz industry as a character actor.
“If ever I will have the chance, I would love to do it again, do more of it. In Tagalog, kahit mestiso, kahit bading, pwede na 'yan,” said Overbeeke.
His acting potentials were recognized by his co-actors especially by actress Maria Isabel Lopez, who played a journalist captured together with the 31 other victims.
“One thing about Director Brillante is that he has a way of making his actors act in a normal way, in a natural way. Si Pedro is very promising kasi not to mention the good looks, he speaks the language. I think this movie will open new doors and will be a vehicle for him as a character actor in the country,” said Lopez.
Lopez added that among the foreign actors in the film, Overbeeke was the one closest to the Filipino actors because there was no language barrier and the Dutchman is very much Pinoy at heart.
Meanwhile, Overbeeke does not think that "Prey" will be shown in the main theaters in the Philippines because of the nudity and violent contents of the film. But he hopes it will make it to the next Cannes Film Festival. He also hopes that the church and the state will be more objective about the ratings that they give to films.
“I think, with due respect to these people, the strength of the church is a bit too much, the influence on the daily life. Here in Holland, being the most liberated country in Europe at least, whenever there’s a nude scene in the movie, it should be there. It's part of life. We all originated from nude people, that’s why we're born right, so whatever needs to be there is there. So sana it's going to change na lang in the future.”
Currently, "Prey" is being edited in France and expected to be released worldwide starting this year. For Filipinos who will not be able to catch it on the big screen, Overbeeke is inviting them to buy the DVD copy.
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