“Biljarista”, a billiard drama starring the winner of the Venice Film Festival for Best Actor. John Arcilla The film, which features legendary pool players Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, will have its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (MFFI) in Goa.
The film, directed by Phil Giordano, tells the story of Aya (Lois Andalio), a young girl from the slums of Manila who dreams of becoming a world billiards champion, but is manipulated by her hustler uncle Itoy, played by Arcilla, into playing dangerous underground gambling games after her father is murdered.
Giordano, an Italian-American director who previously directed Arcilla in the short film Supot (2016), was drawn to the project nearly a decade ago after encountering the underground swimming pool culture of the Philippines while street casting for that earlier work.
“I was doing a street casting for actors, and one of the kids we cast couldn’t read or write and was homeless at the time,” Giordano says. “I saw him walk into the pool hall, he's about 12 years old, but he was fantastic. He beat this guy like a 40-year-old guy, and he had this expensive pool cue. And I was just fascinated by this world that exists.”
This fascination led Giordano to discover that the Philippines had produced more world pool champions than any other country, and Reyes was widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. “There's a whole culture where, because of the climate, the tables, the humidity, the air and the pressure, it's no coincidence that all the best players in the world come from here,” he says.
Arcilla, who won the Volpi Cup for acting at the 2021 Venice Film Festival for At Work: The Lost Eight, describes how he approached the morally complex character.
“Even until the last minute, he doesn’t feel any guilt,” Arcilla says of his character. “My interpretation should have been that he wasn't really to blame for this. He always thought he was helping his niece. It's my right for him to be unfair to this niece because I run a business.”
The actor draws on universal experience to inhabit the role. “We all have experiences as humans where we don't always feel positive about things. Sometimes we get angry about something, something that pisses us off,” he explains.
Giordano emphasizes his immersive research approach. “I like meeting a lot of people and asking a lot, learning about people’s lives and hearing their stories,” he says. “When I was doing the research, I started meeting these characters, like the manager, and seeing how the ecosystem worked and all the details of gambling and all that, rather than judging the characters and learning how the hierarchy and everything else actually worked.”
The filming featured an international crew including New York-based cinematographer Adam McDaid, whose credits include HBO's A Single Drunk Woman and Netflix's It's Trash, as well as cinematographer Aaron Brown, who has worked on Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 2 Smile and Past Lives. Filipino editor Lawrence Ang, who directed the Sundance Special Jury Prize-winning film Leonora Never Dies, handled post-production.
The film is produced by Gail Osorio and Shreyom Ghosh through Leesan OPC Productions Philippines in association with Terminal Six Post Philippines and Tasia Films Hong Kong. Ghosh, who lives in Hong Kong after receiving an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, explains his passion for the project.
“What I really like is the outside perspective in a place you're not from,” says Ghosh. “Phil, being an Italian-American director, lived in the Philippines for almost four years. He is familiar with the place, but he still brings a perspective that other Filipino directors don't bring.”
The appearance of pool legends Reyes and Bustamante adds authenticity to the film's world. “Being like them was everyone’s dream,” Giordano says. “When John and Loise are there, there are so many fans. And then when Efren and Django are there, there's a whole different breed of fan. It was very generous of them to join the film, and it meant the world.”
Arcilla notes the thematic significance of the cameos. “It highlights that your prodigies have other options. There are other options than just using them as pawns,” he says. “You don't even have to do what you do. There is a more respectable way, and it was highlighted by the presence of two great men.”
Ghosh emphasizes that the film is based on reality. “Because it's a coming-of-age sports drama that's about aspiration, when they find themselves in that position and break free of it, it makes it real,” he says. “When people see, 'Oh look, Efren is here,' that's what we're talking about. That's what we're going to give people hope.”
The film features an original song by Filipino-American rapper Alex Bruce, signed to Sony Music Philippines. Partnerships include ABS-CBN Entertainment and Sony Music. Color grading was completed at Company3, the location where The White Lotus, Deadpool and Wolverine and Paddington in Peru were filmed.
Following its world premiere at IFFI Goa, the film will be released at a festival, released in theaters and eventually distributed through streaming.
