'The Echo' premieres at GMall cinema on Sept. 29

Author: Sun.Star
Column: Davao, Entertainment

DAVAO artist William "Yam" Laranas' Hollywood directorial debut will have a special premiere screening at the Cinema 1 of Gaisano Mall of Davao on September 29 at 8 p.m.

The Echo is the very first Hollywood movie directed by a Dabawenyo. The special showing -- in cooperation with Viva Films -- will give honors to the young Davao-born Laranas for breaking the grounds in Hollywood to future homegrown moviemakers.

The Echo is based on Laranas' previous scary film, the award-winning Sigaw which starred Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin.

The Hollywood version is financed by Roy Lee, the producer behind the American remakes of hit Asian horror flicks like The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water, The Eye and Shutter, and the Oscar-winning actor-drama the Departed.

Fear and paranoia seep from every wall in this tense and creepy psychological thriller.

Jesse Bradford (Flags of Our Father, Swimfan) is Bobby Walker, fresh out of prison and living in his dead mother's apartment as a condition of his parole. Plagued by eerie echoes of the dead trapped in the building, Bobby's terror mounts as he begins to suspect his neigHBOrs had a sinister hand in his mother's death ... and could come for him next.

Iza Calzado reprised her original role as the tormented housewife who is the victim of domestic abuse.

The special Davao premiere is co-presented by Davao City National High School Alumni under Councilor Petere Lavina and the Davao City High School Batch 85 of which Yam is a member. Proceeds of the show will go to the Special Arts Program of City High.

Yam grew up in the cities of Davao and Tagum. He took his primary education at St. Mary's College in Tagum where his mother was then assigned at the Regional Hospital.

But he finished his grade school at Rizal Memorial Colleges in 1981 and secondary years at Davao City High School. He took up Medical Technology at the Immaculate Conception Colleges (now UIC) but dropped out after his second year to pursue his film schooling at the Mowelfund Film Institute.

In early 90s, he started as director and cinematographer for award-winning short films before he got his break from major film companies.

In 2001, Viva films tapped him to write and direct Balahibong Pusa, the launching film of Rica Peralejo. He made three other films with Viva -- Radyo (Epi Quizon and Ruffa Mae Quinto), Ikaw Lamang Hanggang Ngayon (Regine Velasquez and Richard Gomez) and Hibla (Rica Peralejo and Maui Taylor) -- before he moved to Regal Films to direct Sigaw.

Sigaw was hailed by international film critics and won honors in a number of international film festival before it caught the attention of Roy Lee.

Yam is also the first Filipino to direct a documentary with the National Geographic Network; his Asia's Titanic was released on the cable station last month.

He is currently directing Patient X, again starring Richard Gutierrez with Christine Reyes, for GMA and Viva Films.

Yam has also directed a number of commercials that featured big stars like Sharon Cuneta, Kris Aquino, Judy Ann Santos, Marian Rivera, Manny Pacquiao and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Sponsorship for the Davao premiere of The Echo is still open. For inquiry on sponsorship, please email gmallcinemas@yahoo.com .

Browse our website at gmallcinema.110mb.com for update. Search "The Echo premiere" on facebook.com

Regular showing of The Echo is on September 30 at Gaisano Mall Cinema.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on September 15, 2009.

Source: Sunstar Daily