Valuable lessons from Arjo Atayde’s Cannes experience

Arjo Atayde

Atayde as Anton dela Rosa
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Scene from “Cattleya Killer”
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Arjo Atayde
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The second season of the psychological thriller “Cattleya Killer,” which is currently streaming on Prime Video, is already in the offing, while the action flick “Topakk” will make the rounds of international film festivals before it gets its local premiere.

This was according to actor Arjo Atayde, who plays the lead in both films and whose family-owned production outfit, Nathan Studios, bankrolled the projects.

In this exclusive interview with Inquirer Entertainment, Arjo also talked about his highly publicized upcoming wedding with TV host and social media star Maine Mendoza.

“Yes, we are expected to do another series,” said Arjo of “Cattleya Killer,” which is the first-ever Filipino series to be screened at the 2022 MIPCOM Cannes, a global market for entertainment content held annually in France.

Scene from “Cattleya Killer”

“Based on how it was explained to me by Sir Dodo (Dayao, writer), he already has a continuation to the story. Yes, there are a lot of questions left unanswered in the first season. The story is twisted, but subliminally, it discusses mental health,” Arjo explained.

“Cattleya Killer,” with Dan Villagas at the helm, follows the intriguing investigation of a slew of murders by a copycat of an infamous serial killer who terrorized Manila two decades ago. Anton dela Rosa, the son of the cop who cracked this legendary case, becomes the prime suspect when past traumas and long-buried secrets are brought to light. Arjo said he and the other Philippine delegates returned from France with valuable lessons from the experience. “It’s a must for an actor when given the opportunity to go there for a film. The only way to do that is to get into genre films, which are highly accepted in foreign countries. That’s another thing I learned and one thing we should push for—creating films in the horror, thriller and action genres.”He continued: “Another lesson is on how other countries design their film industries. They put up a hub that can generate these kinds of films—generate in the sense that they are given help to get to wherever they want to go in any part of the globe. This is not to bad mouth anyone—I don’t mean any disrespect to those in the rom-com genre—but there are other directors from other genres who are hoping to be given the same opportunity to tell stories. That is definitely one important lesson, to create a hub that could help all filmmakers, particularly the independent ones.”

‘Push for Filipino content’

Meanwhile, Richard Somes’ “Topakk” was screened last month at the Fantastic Pavilion of the Cannes Marché du Film, also in France. “I didn’t expect it to get into Cannes. It was such a random day in the office when it was mentioned to me. Also, when we got there, we didn’t foresee that people would actually receive it in a good way,” said Arjo when asked to recall the time ‘Topak” competed with 11 other international films at the Fantastic Pavillion.

Arjo said he and the team’s mission when they visited Cannes was clear: to push for Filipino content. “We were lucky to have gotten deals that I still can’t announce at the moment; some of these will be happening for the first time,” he said. “I feel very lucky to be part of these upcoming announcements just for ‘Topakk.’ While I wish for it to be shown here this year, it will still have to go through several festivals before this can happen.”

Further discussing his work with Dan for “Cattleya Killer,” Arjo said: “Direk Dan is a very smart director. He knows what he wants. His vision is very clear. This is the first time that I actually experienced receiving very specific details about a character, like his Zodiac sign, his birthday, and even where he went to school or why he is coping with deep emotional and psychological trauma. He already laid out the story, including the character’s personality, as well as the explanation as to why the character feels pain, anger or happiness in specific situations.” After “absorbing” everything he needed in order to become Anton, Arjo said all he had to do was “to be Anton.” He explained: “I didn’t really study the character, because that’s Direk Dan’s task. I simply absorbed it. Of course, sometimes, you find yourself lacking. As the captain of the ship, he would tell me what he thinks about the scene we just made. I follow him accordingly.”

Atayde as Anton dela Rosa

Following instincts

Arjo added: “I also follow my instincts, so it’s all a proper balance of the vision of the director and how I feel as the character. It’s very collaborative. I felt so tired mentally. I would notice this when I got home. To be honest, it’s all worth the ride, not only because of the outcome but also because of the discipline that was instilled in us actors while at work.”Inquirer Entertainment then pointed out that both film projects tackle mental health issues, with “Topakk” discussing posttraumatic stress disorder in the military. To us, it was obvious that Arjo wanted to send a message that was related to how people should be dealing with such a serious matter.

“I just want to point out that there’s a certain number of people who still don’t believe in this. I think they should. Every person is born in different circumstances, so ‘to each his own,’ and to accept and move forward is definitely what all of us should just keep doing,” he stressed.

“Cattleya Killer” is a six-part series by ABS-CBN International Production and Nathan Studios. It also features Zsa Zsa Padilla, Jake Cuenca, Jane Oineza, Ria Atayde, Ricky Davao, Nonie Buencamino and Christopher de Leon. INQ

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