Bilyarista

Source: IFFI

‘Bilyarista’

Bilyarista, a contemporary drama set among the seedy pool halls of the Philippines, has its world premiere this week at the International Film Festival of India.

Written and directed by Phil Giordano, the film’s story follows a young girl living in the slums of Manila who dreams of becoming a billiards world champion. Forced to become the breadwinner for her family after her father’s violent death, she plays for money in underground games while her manipulative uncle gets rich from gambling and pressures her to deliver the results that he wants. When she goes behind his back to qualify for the national championships, the girl attempts to break her uncle’s potentially deadly grip - for her own sake and that of her younger sister.

“The film is both a contemporary slice of Philippines life and a coming-of-age story that took me seven years to bring to the screen”, Giordano said.

Loosely based on real events, the feature also screens in the accompanying rights market that is part of Waves Film Bazaar.

The Philippines has produced numerous cue sports champions and could potentially have had many more were it not for the pressures of violence, abuse and illegal gambling that are rarely far from the scene.

Giordano’s research into the sport led him to meet Chezka Centeno, a world champion who defied the odds on the way up and managed to surround herself with a protective and supportive team. “She told me after playing in the hot sticky heat with warped tables in back-alley pool halls that the air-conditioned World Championships was nothing and that no tournament could compare to being under the pressure and nerves of playing in a money game,” said Giordano. “When I heard that, I fully understood why Filipinos are the best in the world and that I had to share this story.”

Filipino star John Arcilla was instrumental in helping Bilyarista get into production. Arcilla, who won the best actor at Venice in 2021 for his role in Erik Matti’s On the Job 2: The Missing 8, deferred part of his fee for Bilyarista and persuaded private investors to back the film.

“I was willing to come on board this way because I really believe in Phil’s vision,” Arcilla told Screen.

While Arcilla portrays the manipulative uncle in Bilyarista, the female lead is played by Loisa Ardilio, who emerged from Pinoy Big Brother: All In in 2014 and has since appeared in Mikhail Red’s Friendly Fire.

The film also features appearances by Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante, who has more than 80 international cue sports titles, including the 2010 World Nine-ball Championship, and is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.

The film is produced by Gale Osorio and Hong Kong-based Shreyom Ghosh.

A graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, who created and directed Hooq comedy-drama series Bhak in 2019, Ghosh is doing the rounds of international project markets with The Vampires Of Sheng Shui, an upcoming horror-comedy about an Indian-origin vegan man who is slowly becoming a bloodthirsty vampire.

 

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