Enrique Gil: Free to fly

Actor Enrique Gil may not have enough time to miss Hope Soberano (she has dropped “Liza” as her showbiz name) these days. Soberano still lives in Los Angeles, California, and is busy auditioning for roles, according to her Filipino manager, singer and actor James Reid.

Gil, on the other hand, remains in the Philippines and now acts as both an actor and a producer of the films he appears in. He did this with “I Am Not Big Bird,” for example, which he submitted to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last year but was not accepted. So he released the film in theaters in February this year and on Netflix in May.

The film was released in theaters on February 14, Valentine's Day, which this year also happened to fall on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Catholics. And there was nothing religious about I'm Not Big Bird.

The film actually came out at the same time as Soberano's first Hollywood film, Lisa Frankenstein. Although the film had “Lisa” in the title, it did not refer to Soberano's character, but to that of Kathryn Newton, who portrayed a young woman who liked to visit old cemeteries and fell in love with a dead man who showed up at her house as a zombie. Soberano's character lives in the same house, as she is a stepsister of the character Lisa.

At least one Philippine website reported that Gil's film did better at the local box office than Soberano's. No one claimed that both films were hits anywhere.

I Am Not Big Bird may have broken even, so Gil is working on another acting and producing project and this time he is luckier as the project has been accepted as an entry for this year's MMFF. The acceptance was made based on the script submitted. Four scripts from other companies were also accepted for this year's MMFF on the same basis.

Gil's entry is titled Strange Frequencies. It appears to be a horror film, although Gil prefers to describe it as “a film that deals with the supernatural.”

Strange Frequencies is set to break new ground, using what Gil calls an “innovative found footage style.” The film is largely being shot as a livestream in a haunted hospital in Taiwan.

“When they presented the concept, I was immediately convinced by the whole thing,” Gil said enthusiastically in a media interview.

The film was shot in the abandoned, infamous Xinglin Hospital in Taiwan, which was built in 1975 but whose administration and staff allegedly became negligent, leading to shameful deaths among patients. The place was allegedly haunted by ghosts and was therefore abandoned along with the equipment and paraphernalia of the deceased patients.

In a bold move, Gil's production forwent a traditional film crew and instead relied on GoPros and CCTV cameras, handheld by the actors themselves and used according to the director's instructions.

“We're going to shoot the whole film by ourselves with GoPros. And we're going to set up some security cameras,” Gil explained. This hands-on approach required the actors, including Gil, to take on multiple roles.

“It's a different experience. You're not just acting, you're also taking footage of everything,” he added, emphasizing the immersive and raw nature of the project. Gil has actually named his film company Immerse Entertainment.

He revealed that he has had a passion for the horror genre since his childhood.

“When I was little, Halloween was my favorite holiday. My father bought things from the USA and decorated the whole house. It was the scariest house in our village,” he remembers.

The actor sees his work as a producer as an opportunity to make a greater contribution to the film industry.

“I think it's part of growing up and a new chapter in my story. Something I can also give back to the industry,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Gil finds the experience of being a producer rewarding.

“I enjoy it a lot, but it's also very stressful. So, I'm just learning. But I'm not alone. I also have a team. The partners I sign at Immerse,” he said, hinting at his collaborative approach.

Gil isn't giving up on Strange Frequencies yet. He and his team at Immerse are already presenting two new projects to streaming giant Netflix.

He wants to explore genres that excite him, such as horror, action and comedy.

“I want to focus on things I've never done before. Things that really excite me at the moment and aren't too mainstream,” he stressed.

With “Strange Frequencies,” Gil hopes to open Filipino viewers’ eyes to the supernatural.

“I just want to be open. I believe that these things exist. We are all energies here. Even God is spirit. I want people to be aware of that and be respectful of it. And they will learn a lot when they see our film,” he intoned.

Strange Frequencies also stars Jane de Leon, Alexa Miro, MJ Lastimosa, Rob Gomez, Raf Pineda and YouTuber Zarckaroo. Directed by Kerwin Go.

So how can Gil indulge in his longing for Soberano, who has practically never mentioned being Gil's girlfriend since the day she left for Hollywood to try her luck as a big star? When she came here in February to promote Lisa Frankinstein and a digital bank she was contracted to promote, it was only Gil who insisted to the media that the two were still a couple.

Even Reid, Soberano's local agent, remained silent about the still-burning romance between Soberano and Gil.

There is now an actor couple who also want to become film producers: Jennylyn Mercado and her husband Dennis Trillo.

They have actually started a company called Brightburn Productions. Mercado revealed in a media roundtable that their goal is to apply what they have learned in over 20 years of acting and develop projects that they can be truly proud of.

“We already know how many things work in the industry because we've been in it for so long. So we said, 'Why don't we produce ourselves?' That's one of the passions I share with Dennis,” she explained.

“We want to make sure that we work with good scriptwriters and production people, that the release of a particular project is well executed and is done through a platform that we can rely on. Although we cannot talk about the first project yet, we can say with certainty that GMA 7, our home network, fully supports it. We are really happy about it,” Mercado said.

Regarding GMA 7, Mercado also pointed out that Aguila Entertainment is still negotiating certain details of her network contract and thus she is a freelancer. The actress also denied rumors that she received an offer to transfer to rival company ABS-CBN or that her management company offered her their services before renegotiating with GMA 7. “What I know is that the negotiations have always been with GMA 7 from the beginning. I am loyal to my home network. There are just certain things in the contract that are still being discussed,” she stressed.