It’s not as if rock music icon Ely Buendia does not have acting credits to his name. He appeared in Tony Reyes’ Run Barbi Run as early as 1995 with other members of the then fast-rising band Eraserheads.
He had roles (as himself) in Quark Henares’ Rakenrol, and as Rex in Wincy Ong’s horror flick San Lazaro, both in 2011; and as Pepe Smith’s son in Singing in Graveyards in 2016. He appeared in two of Lav Diaz’s films: as a musician and poet in Hiwagang Hapis in 2016, and as Django in Ang Hupa in 2019.
However, it is the first time where he plays a lead role — as Doring in this year’s Cinemalaya full-length film entry Padamlagan, directed by Ateneo de Naga University faculty member Jenn Romano.
Period film set in 1972
It was not an easy film to make. It is a period film, and is about a father’s desperate search for his son soon after the collapse of the Colgante Bridge in Naga City five days prior to the declaration of Martial Law, when Elean — whom we know as Ely of the Eraserheads — was but two years old.
It is, according to Jenn, also about a “community searching for its past.” That’s why the film has such a visual treatment, and has fictional and archival layers, she said.
“I’m 33 years old. I had not been born yet when Colgante Bridge collapsed,” Jenn said in Filipino. Interestingly, she noted, hardly any stories about it have trickled down to her generation. And she only found out about it while doing archival research for her graduate studies in film at UP Diliman.
But Jenn felt the need to keep remembering, and commemorating history, particularly regional or local history, and to untiringly seek the truth.
All-Bicolano cast
Jenn wanted an all-Bicolano cast.
Although Ely left Naga in 1977, he is “purong“ (pure) Bicolano. He was born Ely Eleandre to Bicolano parents Eli Buendia and Lisette Basino (from Caramoan), and was raised in Naga. He lived in the city until he was seven years old.
“Naga was a huge part of my childhood,” he shared with Rappler. “I remember a lot: the fiestas, the family gatherings, the buildings, and of course, the people and the overall very religious atmosphere.”
“I felt a lot closer to my Bicolano heritage,” Ely said, but hastened to add, “Which isn’t to say this was a story purely for Bicolanos. Although circumstances of the loss of a loved one might differ, there are universal emotions that I drew from, based on what I experienced personally. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it was cathartic.”
People who worked with Ely in this project were all praises for him. Prior to the Cinemalaya awards night, Ely’s acting coach, Manila-based Mindanaoan filmmaker Ryanne Murcia was rooting for a Best Actor award for Ely.
Coaching Ely Buendia
“Every acting workshop I conduct is tailor fit to the actor I work with,” Ryanne stated.
“Ely is a performer and thus understands performance and the artistry that comes with it. However, it is his first time to play a lead role in a feature film, so the workshop entailed screen acting techniques that equipped him for the camera,” she added.
The focus of the workshop, she said, “was active empathy, the overarching principle of the workshop where we revisit not memories, but emotions brought to us by human experience. In an environment that encourages honesty, we journey through the different layers of emotions, to discover and rediscover one’s truth and humanity.”
Seasoned actress Sue Prado, who depicted the role of Nora, the sister of Ely’s character in the movie, had nothing but praises for the OPM legend.
Sue recalled the first scene they shot, when Doring had been looking for his missing son — to no avail — and the siblings engage in a confrontation.
“Naiyak ako pagkatapos ng eksenang ‘yon! (I cried after that scene),” she said.
Sue described the Eraserheads vocalist-frontman as “sensitive” and “very observant.” And how she was depending on his cues and reacting to what he was “throwing” her way.
“I am so proud of Ely’s performance” Ryanne said. “He brought the character of Doring to life with compassion, honesty, and reverence — a clear indication of his depth, strength, and command as an actor.”
“It was a very difficult and personal journey, especially for Ely. But his generosity of heart, his openness, and humility, enriched the whole process of not only the workshop, but also the filming of Padamlagan,” Ryanne added.
“It was such a joy to work with Ely Buendia,” she said. “I did not expect how candid he [would be] as a person. I wish to see him more in films [in the future].”
Ely, from the get-go, was really up for it.
“Even if I was offered a supporting role I would still say yes, to be able to contribute to a regional historical drama. It was just too good to pass up,” Ely said.
His parting shot? “I’m game for Padamlagan 2!”
Leanne as Amihan
The Cinemalaya also saw Leanne Mamonong deliver a surprise debut performance in Open Endings, where the Leanne and Naara duo vocalist depicted the role of one of the four queer women in the film.
Director Nigel Santos admitted that Leanne deliberately wasn’t given a scene singing, and neither did production use any of her songs for the film so that viewers would see her as Mihan (the nickname of her character Amihan) and not as Leanne the musician.
The film wound up winning the Best Ensemble Performance during the Cinemalaya Awards, which Leanne relished with fellow lead stars Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Janella Salvador, and Klea Pineda.
“Na-enjoy ko s’ya (I enjoyed doing the film). I hope more acting projects come in,” Leanne told Rappler. “[I’d] been praying for this kind of opportunity. [I am] super blessed with this project, [especially with] all the reviews and reactions we got from the public. Hindi ko inakala (I didn’t expect it).”
The family that sings
Born Rose Caroline Mamonong to American mestiza Rhona Barb, and Rufino “Bong” Mamonong III in 1995, and the eldest among three siblings, Leanne spent pretty much of her childhood south of Manila: living in Bacoor, Cavite, and studying at Elizabeth Seton School in Las Piñas.
Her father is a former seminarian and a devotee of St. Anne. And her birthday falls close to the feast day of the saint, thus the name Leanne.
“We’re very musically inclined. From an early age, I could sing,” Leanne revealed. And so can her younger siblings Nina and Fonzy.
Although her father was into sales at Unilab for 33 years, he had “always loved singing; also tried to write music, but never really pursued [it].” Her mom, on the other hand, worked in a bank “but she can also sing” and would even “join open mics.”
Move to Iloilo
The family moved to Iloilo City when Leanne was in Grade 3. She transferred to Assumption Iloilo and stayed there until the end of high school.
Leanne said she was “a shy kid” who “didn’t really go out there to perform.”
“I think I got exposed to music and performing when I was in Assumption Iloilo,” she shared. “They really pushed me. I did responsorial psalm every mass. [I joined] singing contests in and outside the school.”
The songs she rendered were not only pop, but classical and even kundiman (traditional Filipino ballads).
“When I was in high school, we [did] theater festivals for English and Filipino:” Florante at Laura, Noli Me Tangere, and El Filibusterismo, Leanne recalled.
“That’s what pushed me to take theater in college,” she shared.
“I’ve always loved it [in Iloilo. It’s] always been home to me. The years I spent there were the most normal years in my life. [I] loved our little routines: being picked up in school, picking up our mom in the office. I liked going to Assumption. If it weren’t for my teachers there, I wouldn’t be this confident. I wish I could go back, ‘pag nag-retire (when I retire),” she said wistfully.
Although she could have studied at the Ateneo de Manila University, she enrolled in Bachelor of Communications, major in Performing Arts at Assumption College in San Lorenzo Village, Makati, where she also met her future music partner Naara. Cinemalaya’s 2024 Best Actress Gaby Padilla (for Kono Basho), who’s also from Iloilo, was two batches ahead of her, and was her roommate.
Leanne took subjects in solfeggio and movement, watched plays at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde; and ballet at Ballet Philippines at CCP and Ballet Manila at the Aliw Theater.
She also had formal training in acting under mentor and Juilliard School alumna Ana Valdes Lim. Back then, Leanne depicted the roles of Juliet and Hamlet (“They wanted to try a woman for Hamlet”), among other roles in Shakespearean plays that they mounted.
To this day, Lim still gives her pieces of advice. “She’d always be so kind to give me very deep and profound advice; technical ones,” she said. For instance, now that she’s acting for the camera, it’s important that her eyes are seen, and that her forehead is not wrinkled.
Kissing scene
Leanne found it challenging to shoot a crucial beach scene in Open Endings, the sapphic film shot in just 10 days in Quezon City, Marikina, and Calatagan, Batangas.
“Emotionally very demanding — I had to appear distraught in the scene. Everything was serious and quiet.” But the song choices of the guests in the adjoining beach resort doing karaoke were novelty songs like “Mr. Suave” and “Ang Kawawang Cowboy.”
“Ang hirap pala. Nakakawala ng emotions. Umatras ang luha ko (It was tough. That made it emotionally distracting. It was hard to cry),” she quipped.
Then there’s also a kissing scene in the car, where Leanne accidentally stepped on the gas.
“That was really funny! [It was] a challenging day,” Leanne recalled.
She was particularly nervous in the scenes with Jasmine “where she was gonna make me maid of honor,” plus another scene with both Jasmine and veteran actress Jackie Lou Blanco, who was once a singer, too, but Leanne didn’t know then.
Leanne reflects that Open Endings was an appropriate break from the music scene, which she has been a part of for almost a decade.
She shared that she also grew up listening to Eraserheads’ song Magasin, Alapaap and With a Smile, and remembers having watched Ely — who is friends with her duo partner Naara — perform live at a New Year’s countdown at Resorts World.
In 2018, the duo Leanne and Naara did their own cover for the Pop Machine tribute album for the Eraserheads. “They gave us a list of songs,” Leanne recalled. “We did Alapaap. We gained new fans because of it.”
And it won’t be surprising if Leanne’s film debut gained her more fans, too. – Rappler.com
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