PLONING

Ploning is a 2008 Philippine romantic family drama film based on a popular Cuyonon song of the same title about a girl's hidden feelings in a man's point of view. It starred veteran actress Judy Ann Santos and was directed by Dante Nico Garcia, who won a directing award in Singapore through the film. The filming was done in the municipality of Cuyo in Palawan, which is, incidentally, the director's hometown. The film is the official entry of the Philippines for Best Foreign Language Film of the 81st Academy Awards.

The Story

The story of Ploning begins when a mysterious Taiwanese fisherman, Muo Sei, lands in the otherwise sleepytown of Cuyo, Palawan. When he arrives, he immediately looks for someone named "Ploning". In the town, Ploning is known as a hardworking and thoughtful woman who, despite her age and beauty, decided not to marry. It is later revealed that she had once loved a man named Tomas fourteen years ago. This man, however, left her for a better career in Manila and she was left heartbroken, waiting for him to return.

Despite this setback, life still goes on for Ploning. She continued her roles as a dutiful daughter to the town patriarch Susing, a committed supporter to the grieving Intang, an honorary sister to her extended family, Nieves and Toting, a wise ally to simpleton Alma, a supporter to the broken-hearted Siloy, and a co-mother to the half-paralyzed Juaning. She was so successful in caring for the town that noone seemed to notice the absence of rain.

One day, she decides to care for a boy name Digo, son of the bed-ridden Juaning and brother to the strict Veiling. Throughout their lifetime, their lives together would be perfect as Ploning seems to have forgotten about Tomas. This, however, is shattered when she suddenly decides to leave to look for Tomas in Manila. Digo, overcome by grief, seeks help in the town guest, the nurse Celeste, who, coincidentally, also had a lover named Tomas back in her hometown, Manila. Due to her deep devotion, Ploning rejects the notion that this Tomas and her Tomas is the same person and continues to plan to leave. On the day of the town fiesta, rain finally arrives, and with this celebration comes Ploning's disappearance while a secret finally emerges. That secret is that Mou Sei is the small child called Digo.

The Production

The filming of Ploning was entirely done on the municipality of Cuyo in Palawan. It was directed by Dante Nico Garcia, who incidentally, is a native of the town. According to him, the film is based on his childhood memories of the town. When he wrote the screenplay for the film with Benjamin Lingan, he decided to use his native tongue, Cuyonon.[3] He had stated that the inspiration for the character Judy Ann Santos played in the film is based on a Cuyonon folk song about a girl's hidden feelings, originally sung by a male but was first recorded by a female. This led him to think of a story of a woman singing the song while remembering her lover.Shooting of the film was done in various locales of the town. This includes the pier, the waiting place of Ploning; and Intigan beach. The basketball court, meanwhile, provided for a setting for the first meeting between Digo and Celeste, while Emilod was the location for the esposada (bridal shower), which took three nights to shoot. A cemetery was purposely built for the film and the locals decided to preserve it as a tourist attraction. The film was produced by Panoramamanila Pictures Co.,[5] which, despite its fledgeling status, tried its best to authenticate the production of the film. Cashew nut brittle, the town's delicacy, as well as the harvesting of salt in an asinan was showcased in the film. An Ati-atihan-like festival was also featured as the town fiesta, usually celebrated on August 27.

The Cast

The cast of Ploning is played by veteran actors as well as newcomers to show business. Veteran actress Judy Ann Santos got the title role. Compared to her other roles, which are very dramatic (particularly that of Mara in Mara Clara),her character in the film is seen as mellow and reserved. Numerous comediannes are also cast in the film, such as Gina Pareño (as Intang), Eugene Domingo (as Juaning), Ces Quesada (as Nieves), and Tessie Tomas (as Seling), whose dramatic performances seems weird in contrast to Santos'. The role of Celeste is supposed to have been given to Iza Calzado but Mylene Dizon took the role instead when scheduling conflicts between the film and Joaquin Bordado were not resolved.Other cast members include newcomers Lukas Agustin (as Siloy), Ogoy Agustin (as Veiling), Cedric Amit (as Digo), and Bodjong Fernandez (as Mou Sei) as well as established actors Ketchup Eusebio (as Badocdoc), Ronnie Lazaro (as Old Veiling), Jojit Lorenzo (as Basit), Tony Mabesa (as Susing), Spanky Manikan (as Tsuy), Crispin Piñeda (as Toting), Meryl Soriano (as Alma), Beth Tamayo (as Divina), and Joel Torre (as Mayor Siloy).