Watch List: a truly international film with a universal message about love for family
Opening in theaters across the nation on February
19, 2020, is Watch List, a film
starring Alessandra de Rossi as a mother who will do anything to protect her
family. Directed by American-Indian filmmaker Ben Rekhi from a screenplay he
co-wrote with Rona Lean Sales, Watch List
tells the story of a woman whose husband is killed and must now take on the
role of family breadwinner and protector.” Ben declares, “It’s a very human
story. At its most basic, it’s about the lengths to which a mother will go to
protect her children.”
The deeply moving film is the result of the
partnership of top-caliber artists from the Philippines and from abroad.
Watch List stars a formidable all-Filipino cast composed of
Alessandra de Rossi, Jake Macapagal, Art Acuña, Lou Veloso, Jess Mendoza, and
Angeli Bayani with Micko Laurente and Timothy Mabalot.
The Hollywood-based director reveals he cast actors
that not only fit their roles but could also carry the depth of emotion. He was
very impressed with everyone and singled out Alessandra, Jake, Art and Micko.
“I was very fortunate,” he says of his cast. “Alessandra’s talent is something
I’ve never seen before. Jake, who is very well known in Hollywood for his work
in Metro Manila, brought a level of
intensity that is going to surprise people. Art Acuña is also a force of
nature. One of the breakout performances is Micko Laurente who plays
Alessandra’s teenage son. I think he’s just going to absolutely break people’s
hearts.”
Ben’s collaborators in the project include executive
producer Anjay Nagpal, who served as co-executive producer of Joker, international cinematographer
Daniella Nowitz, and award-winning Filipino production designer Ericson
Navarro.
Watch List has made the rounds of many international film
festivals, namely the Deauville American Film Festival, Seattle International
Film Festival, Bahamas International Film Festival, International Film Festival
of India, Nashville Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival. It recently
won the Most Disturbing Fiction Film Award at the 2020 Tournai Ramdam Festival
in Belgium.
At these screenings, viewers were so affected and
roused to tears. Ben relates his experience with a Filipina who watched at the
world premiere at the Seattle Film Festival. Ben says, “She stood up after the
screening and started crying. She said, ‘I grew up in these neighborhoods, and
I’ve never seen them portrayed like this before. It’s so real.’”
Ben is dedicating Watch List to the Filipinos in front and behind-the-scenes who
helped him make the film. He says, “As an outsider, I worked very, very hard to
tell an authentic and truthful story. It is my deepest hope that this story
resonates with the Filipinos who were so gracious to us.”
Photos above are taken from the press conference of Watch List last February 13, 2020.
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