Interview by Samantha Lee and Agot Isidro
Editor’s note: Samantha Lee is video editor at CNN Philippines Life.
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Agot Isidro does not take her luck and fortune lightly. In a social media post promoting three of her films, the actress wrote those words to describe how fortunate she was to be in the three major projects — all of which premiered last week.
The first is Lav Diaz’s Locarno-bound latest, a three-and-a-half-hour opus that follows a policeman fixated on solving a cold case. For Cinemalaya 2023, she stars alongside Dolly de Leon and Bituin Escalante in Dustin Celestino’s “Ang Duyan ng Magiting.” An early festival favorite, the film tells stories about life and violence in the Philippines through the interwoven narratives of regular people.
Her second Cinemalaya film this year is the queer volleyball romance “Rookie,” a coming-of-age opus anchored on a premise of all-girls school woes. In the film, Isidro plays Coach Jules, the person who encourages protagonist Ace to try out for the volleyball team in the first place. It’s a role the veteran actress herself has declared she “begged” for.
READ: Alyssa Valdez & the domination of Philippine volleyball
The film is the latest addition to director Samantha Lee’s universe of films that put the experiences of women and queer folk front and center. Her last project was the girls love drama series “Sleep With Me,” a romance starring Janine Gutierrez and Lovi Poe.
Below, Isidro and Lee discuss “Rookie” and the prestige of Cinemalaya, the continued struggle to produce queer projects on a mainstream scale, and the Philippine film industry. — CNN PHILIPPINES LIFE STAFF
‘7’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:9a8f5afe-a789-4057-998f-d8e5a28bc09d’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘In “Rookie,” Isidro plays Coach Jules, the person who encourages protagonist Ace to try out for the volleyball team in the first place. Photo
Samantha Lee: There was one tweet of yours that got one million views. You posted [about] “Rookie” and then someone said that “you being in a queer film is a likely place for you to be.” I’m just curious about your reaction to that — what career decisions you’ve done to lead people to think that.
Agot Isidro: That took me by surprise. I didn’t know I had that effect on the community. I’m a big supporter. Everyone knows that. I played a lesbian in one film, “Changing Partners.” But I never got that intense reaction from “Changing Partners” as with “Rookie.” So I guess there’s a market for MILF lesbians.
Samantha Lee: The most in-demand “Rookie” photocard is your photocard.
Agot Isidro: Oo nga eh. I’m surprised actually, but pleasantly surprised. It’s fun na parang I’m included. Masaya yung feeling na ganon. I welcome it so much.
Samantha Lee: If we were going to do a deeper exploration on why [your] tweet kind of blew up, I feel like for me personally, we’re so used to actresses over the years kind of giving the bare minimum response to playing or being part of queer projects. To kind of read someone saying “I really wanted to be part of this project” without hesitation, without fear, without worrying about her career — that for me was the refreshing angle.
Agot Isidro: And I did, diba? I mean, we talked about this. You ask for it and then meron problema sa schedule. And then, you know, there was no feedback for a while, so I was like “Parang I’m going to lose this project. No, I want to do this project.” So I sent you a message and said, okay, let me fix this. And then it happened. So, yeah, I mean, why not?
Samantha Lee: But also why?
Agot Isidro: I wanted to work with you — that was one. I wanted to be part of another project. And being in a volleyball [film] na medyo meron coming-of-age and gender awakening, it’s fun. And I like also working with young actors because it’s always a learning experience with them. And it’s a Cinemalaya film.
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