The status of “Status: Rejected”
On Nov. 18, the Cinemalaya film “Status: Rejected” by Vahn Leinard Pascual will open to a wide release in Philippine theaters. It will also be the second film from this year’s Cinemalaya that’s making an early theatrical release, aside from Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan’s “2 Valid IDs,” which has already crossed the hundred million mark at the box office.
But will the other Cinemalaya fan favorite, “Status: Rejected,” find itself with similar success?
A wunderkind in his own right
Pascual, a 26-year-old filmmaker fresh out of college, was already a sort of wunderkind when he was still studying film at the De La Salle – College of St. Benilde. Before college, he already produced a short film, “Isa Akong Batang Nakakulong,” that had participated in various film festivals.
While at school, he continued directing and producing other short films, which got him featured in various publications as a filmmaker to watch out for.
During the pandemic, he was actually enrolled in one of my online classes. I found him to be quiet and withdrawn; an effect that the toll the pandemic had wrought on him, he tells me now, while I’m interviewing him a week before the release of his first full-length feature.
He was not in a good place at that time, but he found himself again when face-to-face classes had returned.
Inspired by a personal experience
Pascual was known for exploring queer stories in his short films, so when I asked him why his first full-length feature was about a senior citizen—Biring (Ruby Ruiz), whose dreams about reuniting with her son in the United States feel like an impossibility after her fourth US visa rejection and finds love through the internet—his answer revealed a lot more than expected.
“Super surreal ‘yong na-feel ko,” he says with a chuckle. He shares that he never expected that this would be the film that would be his feature-length debut as a director, especially since his work is rooted in queer cinema.
But he adds, “‘Status: Rejected’ is a very personal film for me kasi it’s inspired by my lola. Ilang beses na siya na-reject sa US visa tapos lagi ko siyang kasama sa US interviews. Gusto niya sumunod sa father ko.”
This film is one of the three concepts he pitched to Cinemalaya, with the other one being a full-length version of his thesis film, “My Dearest Darling,” and the third film being a story of a trans woman.
To his surprise, it was “Status: Rejected” that made it to the top 30.
But when he looked back at his short films recently, he realized that the stories about older people have always been there. He relates it to his closeness with his grandmother. “You can see this in ‘My Dearest Darling,’” he explains. “It was my thesis film, and it is about a senior queer person who reconnects with his ex-lover, who has passed away.”
He also recalls another film he made—“Mundong Walang Katiyakan”—about a senior queer couple who must face the horrors of Alzheimer’s.
From short films to full-lengths
While a few filmmakers make their directorial debut straight out of college, many first join productions as assistants or apprentices to cinematographers or editors. They work their way to the top. But a select few have the capabilities to transition from short films to full-lengths straight out of college.
And with Pascual’s body of work over the years, it was no surprise for anyone that he’d cross that threshold with ease.
Except it wasn’t. Moving from writing short films to a full-length feature, Pascual felt overwhelmed. He knew he needed to tap another writer during the Cinemalaya scriptwriting lab—which they held for all the filmmakers accepted into the festival—to help him expand the film’s narrative, fill out its world, and add narrative beats to reach the full-length runtime.
“Super fun and super overwhelming”
It is unusual for an independent film to get a theatrical screening so quickly after its festival debut. Usually, the film makes a tour of various international film festivals before moving to a theatrical release because it might affect its eligibility to compete in some film festivals.
Even with the wide Philippine release of “Status: Rejected” next week, it already received a slot at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival in Indonesia. But the push for an early theatrical release came from the movie’s producers, Black Cap and Clever Minds, and Micah Tadena. They saw the reaction of the audience and felt they needed to capitalize on it, so they quickly put together the distribution plan.
“Actually, na-drain ako,” Pascual shares after asking what happens next for him. “After Cinemalaya, na-burnout ako, but it was super fun and super overwhelming. After the screenings, we got a lot of good feedback about the movie.”
The audience is waiting
Of the many praises that Pascual got for the film, one that stuck with him is how a family of four approached him after one of the screenings, telling him they had watched the film three times. That feedback is mounting a kind of pressure for Pascual, who is worried about what movie he’ll make after this. He feels like he has to match or exceed people’s expectations.
Before this film, Pascual was an active participant in the short film industry among students and young filmmakers. He would take the role of production designer for other directors, and it is still something he wants to do.
But now that he’s finished a full-length film, he’s afraid that “nahihiya na rin lumapit sa akin ang mga tao.” He believes this may be a downside to having directed his first feature so early, as it may have affected his relationship with that circle. It is something he still wants to do because he really loves the form and the people working in that field.
As of the moment, he is currently a fellow of the Ricky Lee Scriptwriting Workshop batch 31—working on the full-length version of “My Dearest Darling.” He is focusing on that and on promoting “Status: Rejected” in its international festival run.
He may not be thinking about the next film yet, but his audience is waiting.
