Flotsam, a
film by Jay Abello is showing November 4 in cinemas nationwide. I was lucky to
be invited to part of the press con where the stars of the movie where
presented and a jamming session was also held to the delight of the media and
guest.
FLOTSAM THE
MOVIE: 1 SURF TOWN. 8 LOVE STORIES. 10 ORIGINAL SONGS.
Solenn
Heussaff and Rocco Nacino’s rom-com in surf town, La Union
With charm,
wit, and clever twists, not to mention a terrific pair of leads, Flotsam is
this year’s maindie love anthology—8 (interweaving) love stories, offering
something relatable for everyone.
One
Post-surf, Beach Jam Session..........................
A film named
after a quaint artist beach hotel in San Juan, La Union, the story unfolds when
a work-obsessed overachiever Kai (Solenn Heussaff) arrives in an Elysian Surf
Town to run away from a volatile relationship. Kai hides at Flotsam where she
meets Tisoy (Rocco Nacino), a very mysterious local bartender who became her
summer fling and perfect antidote to restiveness. It contains about a dozen
more characters who are in love – that’s however an approximate figure because
some of them fall out of love while others double up or change partners. Each
interleaving with the other in a grid of foreshadowing and disquiet.
The poetic
keynote to the film comes from one of the child actors’ examination about that
‘goddamn love’ the adults are talking about, to which Tisoy explained, “Ang
love, walang libro diyan… Kailangan subukan.”
With Flotsam,
filmmaker and writer Jay Abello establishes himself as one of the most exciting
and distinctive directors around. His new film contains sweeping visual style,
while the dialogues deliver a jolt to your consciousness. While most of its
mainstream counterparts would go for just gloss and shine, Abello gunned for
simple and heartwarming attack.
In a
charming, little place located in San Juan, La Union, emerging musicians and
music legends alike gather to play their original compositions. Flotsam and
Jetsam Artist Beach Hotel’s Kubo Jam Session became their common ground to
showcase their talent and musicality. One of their regular guests is the famed
guitarist of the band Eraserheads and composer of electronic music, Surfernando
Marcus Adoro.
In 2008,
after the Eraserheads parted ways, Adoro released the debut album of his band,
called Markus Highway, gaining critical acclaim. A fine artist, his works were
also featured in art exhibitions in Singapore. He has since moved on and is now
having one’s home in the surfingtown of La Union.
Today, Surfernando
Marcus Adoro again wows by crafting distinctive songs for the maindie movie
Flotsam, directed by Jay Abello, and stars Solenn Heussaff and Rocco Nacino. As
a matter of fact, he contributed three out of ten original songs used in the
film. His sound, according to him, is a character – just him and a guitar to a
‘big full band with horns section and all.’ Adoro’s original surfer track
‘Dubi’ was recorded live on set backed by the magnificent horn section of Brass
Pas Pas Pas Pas in a Mark Laccay & Papa Francis De Veyra studio session for
Flotsam the Movie.
Director Jay
Abello admits that writing in music within the film was crucial because music
is the soul of the film and is a big part of the whole Flotsam experience. Way
before filming, there was already an original soundtrack, courtesy of
Surfernando Marcus Adoro.
Artists Mia
Sebastian, Kiddo Cosio, and Joncy Sumulong are ‘the musical brains’ of Flotsam
wrote most of the original compositions, such as “Change of Heart”, “Our Love”, “Small Town
Roads”, “Sliding”, “Colonial Mentality,” and “Don’t Tell Me Someday.” They form
the Flotsam Folk Yeah! Family Band.
The cast also
lends their musical talents to further complement the funksexy deephouse
grooves and alternative music of the film. Kjwan’s vocalist, Marc Abaya, is not
just an intense actor but a real musician as well. Solenn Heussaff first
indicated she has a set of nice pipes when she recorded the song “Seagulls”
live in just one take, providing a striking reminder, that actually she’s
really good and ultra-talented. Carla Humphries and Franco Daza not just only
performed but owned the songs, using their characters to interpret the music
and making it a very wonderful jamming session to watch on screen.
The uber
romantic movie Flotsam has an equally uber passionate soundtrack to match,
collecting sassy and empowering tunes. The film itself is its music. And, the
music is the film.
1 surftown. 8
love stories. 10 original compositions. Which one is yours?
#FlotsamTheMovie
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