The themes of grief and healing, loss and survival, are at the heart of the Japan-set Filipino film “Kono Basho,” one of the full-length entries in the ongoing 20th edition of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
In the feature film debut of director-writer Jaime Pacena II, Filipina anthropologist Ella (Gabby Padilla) finds herself reuniting with her estranged half-sister, the arts student Reina (played by Japanese actress Arisa Nakano), at their father’s funeral in Rikuzentakata, a tsunami-stricken city in Japan. As they deal with inheritance and other complexities following the passing of a loved one, the siblings are forced to face old wounds, fractured ties and unspoken pains.
“Kono Basho” brings together Filipino and Japanese crew and cast, including Arisa who last starred in “Perfect Days,” a 2024 Oscar-nominated film for Best International Feature.
“It was a great experience (working with Arisa) although we just met a few days before the shooting,” Gabby spoke of her Japanese co-star to The STAR.
“It was so easy to connect with her, hindi mahirap i-imagine na magkapatid kami and she’s such a generous actor so it was really a good experience.”
“Magaling po siya. I’m so excited for you to see her (in this film). Sobrang husay niya,” she further said.
With her new film shot entirely in Japan, Gabby also related, “Kakaiba yung experience na ‘to because mixed yung crew and yung cast. Nakakatuwa kasi kahit na hindi kami nagkaka-intindihan all the time, we were able to build like a community and connect with each other because we all really loved the material and we wanted to do our best. So ayun, nakabuo kami ng family.”
“Kono Basho” marks the return of Gabby to Cinemalaya after last year’s “Gitling,” for which she got a Gawad Urian acting nomination. “Parehas silang (both films are) special for me for different reasons but it’s always nice to come home to Cinemalaya because it feels like a reunion with friends… and of course, people in the industry.”
The movie, she could say, struck close to home. Upon reading the script, she admitted that the story immediately resonated and stayed with her because “may sister din ako and the film is about two sisters going through the loss of their father together.”
“That’s something that I experienced with my own sister,” she revealed.
Exploring grief in “Kono Basho” proved to be the most challenging part during the filming process.
“Yung nature po kasi nung film, it’s about grief so it’s really difficult as someone who has dealt with it in her personal life,” further shared the actress, who also lost her own father, two years ago.
“Mahirap lang because I had to revisit my own feelings na baka hindi pa na-process. So, I had to draw from that so that was the challenge.”
Nevertheless, it added more nuance and authenticity to her portrayal.
“Personally, I think it helped in giving me a perspective of what Ella must have been going through and I guess, it also helped give it depth,” she said, further reflecting on the central theme, “I think with grief, it really changes a person and ‘pag nawalan ka, you kind of live your life through that lens so I think having gone through that really helped.”
She also believes the whole movie can be a form of catharsis for the audience as it was for her.
“Hindi naman linear yung feelings or even on days na feeling okay ka, all of a sudden hindi pala. I feel like this film also helped me process my own feelings about loss so kaya siya naging fulfilling,” she admitted.
Sharing more about what the film teaches about grief and healing, she ruminated, “I think what this film can teach you about grief is that sometimes when you feel like you’re alone in the darkness, stumbling, there’s someone else in the darkness stumbling as well. And when you hold on to that person and when you connect with them, you have hope and you find healing together.”
Meanwhile, according to the director’s notes, “Kono Basho” or “This Place (Displace)” is inspired by Pacena’s decade-long experience as a vistual artist and curator in Japan, and is the result of his “research and immersion” in Rikuzentakata, which was devastated by the March 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Given this context, Gabby said that making “Kono Basho” made her fall more in love with Japan.
“This film introduced me to the side of (the country) that we don’t usually see. Because when we talk about Japan, usually we talk about Tokyo and Osaka. Those are wonderful places as well pero iba din yung heart ng isang lugar that has been through traumatic loss as well,” she reflected.
“So, we really fell in love with Rikuzentakata, its community and the Filipino community who have been there and who have survived the disaster.”
Arisa, as the arts student Reina, is still shocked by the loss.
The film features Rikuzentakata, a tsunami-stricken city in Japan.
Ella and Arisa in a dream sequence that marks a turn in their relationship.
Gabby, as Ella, breaks down as the reality of her father’s death sinks in.
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