AbeNida: Insanity and Art

From the get go, we know Allen Dizon’s character Abe is totally insane. He is sweating, he has a sharp glare, and an unkempt hair. He is holding on to a block of wood like he is holding on to the memory of Nida, a woman who exists in different aspects of his reality.

The small village of woodcarvers situated at the foot of the mountain served as the backdrop for the story of AbeNida, which not only shows us how one’s brokenness can create the most beautiful art, but also how extremely difficult it is for mental illness to be manageable when you are not just poor, but also far away from any hospital.

Allen plays his character Abe with reckless abandon. He mutters to himself, socks annoying neighbor Orly (Leandor Baldemor) in the face, chisels away at the wood overnight, and intoxicate himself with Katrina Halili’s character. Halili herself can totally match Dizon’s energy, playing both Nida and Cecile, which is no wonder she won her Best Supporting Actress Award for the movie at the prestigious Emirates Film Festival in Dubai. Dizon won Best Actor.

Dizon, who plays Dr. Carlos in the long-running GMA TV series Abot Kamay na Pangarap, braved scratches, bruises, and the scorching sun while shooting for this BG Productions International movie. During the talkback at AbeNida‘s Philippine film premiere last August 10, facilitated by line producer Dennis Evangelista at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Dizon even joked about his frontal nudity’s prosthetic usage.

TM Malones, who received accolades in the past for his gritty cinematography, perfectly illustrates Abe’s fractured mind with his hallucinatory chiaroscuro.

Louie Ignacio, the film’s director, shared that it took him a decade to make the film to find the perfect actor, ultimately deciding that nobody else but Dizon could give justice to Abe.

Miss Baby Go, the producer, announced that BG Productions International will once again be active in producing independent films that mirror the human condition and will be sent to the international film festival circuit.

This is not Go and Ignacio’s first rodeo together as producer and director. Their award-winning films together in the past include Area, School Service, Child Haus and Laut.

You may visit BG Production International‘s official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063999032400