Queer joy on full display in cinemalaya entry "Rookie." The coming-of-age film follows the story of rookie volleyball player ace who falls for volleyball star player Jana. The sports romance film explores how their feelings for each other developed during a volleyball camp,
Joining us now in the studio is Director Samantha Lee.
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00:31 Queer Joy on full display in Cinemalaya entry Rookie, the coming-of-age film
00:38 follows the story of rookie volleyball player Ace who falls for volleyball star player Janna.
00:43 The sports romance films explores how their feelings for each other develop during a volleyball camp.
00:49 Well, joining us now in the studio, we do have, you know, Director Samantha Lee who's been here several times.
00:55 It's always wonderful speaking with you. I mean, this is such an exciting film.
00:59 I mean, of course, me being an athlete, you know, it's like, yes, you know, finally I can see, you know, a sports story.
01:05 But regarding this piece, what was it about the story or the script that you found most interesting?
01:14 Well, I think for me personally, I was the captain of my high school basketball team.
01:20 And growing up, I've always wanted to see girls playing sports in TV and in movies and things like that.
01:27 So when I got the script, it echoed so much of my experiences as a student athlete and it was hard to say no to it.
01:35 Wonderful. So the story of Rookie, tell us a little bit more about it in detail.
01:41 So Rookie is about this tall, awkward teenager named Ace who is really, really good at playing basketball.
01:49 But the high school that she transfers to doesn't have a basketball team because the nuns think that basketball makes you gay,
01:58 which closely resembles a lot of my life. We've heard that.
02:03 Yeah. OK, so and then so what do they discover about each other or, you know, through the film?
02:10 I think it's a lot of for Ace, you know, Janna's skill and dedication to the sport of volleyball is something that attracts her initially.
02:22 And for Janna, I think Ace just reminds her to have fun in the sport, which is like highly competitive.
02:29 And yeah, it seems like it was a wonderful time shooting this film. I mean, maybe challenging as well.
02:35 The challenges. But tell me about, I mean, the characters. How did you choose the cast?
02:42 So we put out a casting call on social media because it was important for us to be able to cast real volleyball players.
02:49 So everyone on the cast, aside from I, are real volleyball players.
02:55 OK, so you have Elisa and Todd.
02:58 We have cameos by Elisa Valdez, Todd's Carlos and Ara Galang and BJ Pascual.
03:05 What was that like? I mean, to shoot professional basketball, I mean, volleyball players.
03:09 I mean, did you say that you have to get the shot? I mean, this is the.
03:13 No, I'm a really, really big Elisa Valdez fans. I was so nervous on the day that she had to come in.
03:19 But it was good because I just said, OK, just pretend the team you're talking to is your actual team.
03:24 And then she came up with a script and then we tweaked it a little bit. And then that's what we ended up.
03:29 I mean, it looks like they had lots of fun. I mean, I can also I see them on social media and they're like, oh, you have to watch Rookie.
03:37 No, it's important for me as a director in general to create an environment that's a lot of fun,
03:43 especially with this cast, because they're all like really young girls.
03:46 So the experience, I feel like mimic a real volleyball summer camp for them.
03:51 But I mean, aside from the fun and the volleyball summer camp, there were challenges.
03:56 Tell me about the challenges that you had to go through in terms of filming a sports film.
04:02 Yeah. So we had to shoot a sports film in nine days, which is kind of insane.
04:08 I now understand why there aren't a lot of Filipino sports films.
04:12 But I think the pressure came from the fact that volleyball is one of the nation's most beloved sports.
04:19 And it was a lot of pressure to try to get it right.
04:22 That's right. I mean, because people would watch and people, you know, can understand the sports.
04:26 And of course, they love the cast that you have to put out.
04:30 And of course, I got a veteran actress is also part of this film and she plays the role of a coach.
04:37 Yes. But very pivotal or very personal to you.
04:42 Yeah. Of all the characters, Miss Agathe's role is the one that's most personal because she is based on my grade school basketball coach.
04:51 So I always say like this, without this coach, I wouldn't be who I am today.
04:57 So and speaking of who you are today, I mean, you have, you know, done several films, you know, for for, you know, individuals such as yourself to be able to relate.
05:09 You have films like Baka Bukas, you know, Billy and Emma and Sleeping With Me.
05:16 Sleep With Me. Sleep With Me. And of course, this seems to be your advocacy.
05:21 I mean, to always bring out films.
05:24 So, you know, younger people such as yourself, you're saying, you know, I miss my my adolescent life.
05:30 If only I had something like this. Yeah.
05:33 So I always say that my films are the films that I needed to see when I was a lot younger so that I'd be more comfortable with possibly coming out sooner.
05:43 And, you know, I'm starting to see the fruits of my labor.
05:47 Like I have tons of people who've watched my past films and then they'll send me photos with their girlfriends and like directly that because of your film.
05:55 So it's always nice to receive messages.
05:58 I mean, you continue to inspire so many people. You keep breaking, you know, the stereotypes when it comes to, you know, these films.
06:06 And we wish you all the best to invite your fans, your millions of fans now and viewers to come and enjoy Rookie with you.
06:14 Yeah. I'm inviting everyone to please watch Rookies in Cinemalaya.
06:19 Our first screening is on August 5 and we go all the way to August 13.
06:24 Please check our different social media channels at Give Me Sam and Project 8 Projects for the complete schedule.
06:31 There you go. And I'm sure we're going to have you back on the sofa once again for your next upcoming film.
06:37 You know, we always have fun having you. All the best to you, Direk. Thank you.
