'Iti Mapukpukaw' director Carl Joseph Papa gets emotional in film's LA screening

Carl Joseph Papa just landed in Los Angeles, endured a long more than 10-hour flight from the Philippines, and got his US Visa at the last minute. Unfazed by all the flight challenges, the charming, humble and boyish filmmaker was simply happy to be screening his animated movie to the audiences that gathered at the Neuhouse in Los Angeles.

Welcoming the crowd at his first screening in the City of Angels, Papa almost broke down as he became very emotional at the thought that his film, "Iti Mapukpukaw" ("The Missing") was chosen to be the official Philippine entry to the Oscars' best international feature film competition. It is the first time that an animated feature film from the Philippines has been chosen as an entry to the Academy Awards.

It also makes history as one of four films and the only animation in the group that is entered in the 81st Golden Globe Awards. It is the first time that the Philippines has a record of four films entered for the Golden Globes. Aside from Papa's "The Missing," the other films are Jun Robles Lana's "About Us But Not About Us," Petersen Vargas' "A Very Good Girl," and Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan's "Blue Room."

It will also make its international premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival which will be held from January 4-15, 2024.

The film has received critical acclaim already. Awards Daily wrote: "One of the few queer-themed submissions for the International Feature Oscar also happens to be one of the few animated films submitted. From the Philippines, Carl Joseph E. Papa's The Missing tells the story of Eric, a young animator with no mouth whose dark and repressed memories slowly return as does a pesky alien bent on taking him from this Earth. The clever narrative's mystery is slowly solved, and Eric must confront certain disturbing truths about his past.

"The Missing's protagonist, Eric (Carlo Aquino), is a sweet and shy young man who coyly crushes on his office-mate Carlo (Gio Gahol), who appears to return Eric's feelings. One day Eric receives a call from his adoring mother Rosalinda (Triangle of Sadness standout Dolly de Leon) about his uncle being missing. Eric, along with Carlo, discovers his uncle's decomposing body which catapults Eric on a personal as well as galactic journey toward past recollection and trauma realization that will forever change him.

"This is an animated film for adults and a very personal story for writer-director Papa who wrote the film to 'encourage others to speak up.'

"Papa is a software engineer turned filmmaker whose features include The Unforgetting and Manang Biring, the first Filipino animated film to be showcased in the biggest animation festival in the world the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2016. Papa's second animated feature, Paglisan, in 2018, followed the same route."

We sat down with Papa for an exclusive one-on-one in-person interview after he arrived in Los Angeles. We also participated in his Q&A before the LA screening of his movie and a global press conference. Below are excerpts from all those interviews.

Congratulations on your feature animated film representing the Philippines in the Best International Feature category of the 96th Academy Awards and also being submitted in the Best Non-English Language Film category of the 81st Golden Globe Awards! This is the first time that the Philippines will have an animated film from the Philippines in the Oscars and the Golden Globes. Can you please talk about how significant those two milestones are, especially for Philippine cinema and animation?

The Philippines rarely creates original content that is animated much more in feature form. Because it is a showcase of Filipino talents, we usually outsource production from other countries. It is about time we celebrate our talents. There are only 11 or 12 animated films in the Philippines, and I made three of those and this is one of them.

I know that you were in a tight race to get your US visa and then fly to Los Angeles. So here you are in Hollywood, and you made it just in time, for the screening of "The Missing" that launches the film's Oscars campaign. How do you feel about that right now?

Overwhelmed. I don't feel tired, but I feel excited about what is happening especially after seeing the crowd who is watching tonight's screening. I feel an overwhelming feeling of joy. I almost teared up.

This is your first time in Los Angeles and the US. What do you hope to achieve on your first trip to America?

I hope to get the message across to the Academy voters, the Critics Choice and the Golden Globes. This is the start.

The film is also going to the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Can you please tell me more about that?

I got the email notification a month ago, but we could not talk about it prior to December 5. It is included in a good category (Best International Feature Film) and most of the films are also entries to the Oscars. I feel good to be included in the list.

The film stars Dolly de Leon, the first Filipino actor to be nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Abigail in Ruben Ostlund's "Triangle of Sadness." And last year, Dolly also attended the Oscars for the first time. Did you and Dolly get to talk before you left about this LA trip and perhaps, she wished you good luck?

We talked but Dolly has been quite busy these past days. But we talk a lot about different stuff. I still have her Balanghai trophy from the Cinemalaya Film Festival. But we do talk a lot online. I was the one who kept updating her every single time she got a nomination in the US.

And how was it working with Dolly and what made you decide to get her for her first-ever animated role?

Dolly is an amazing actress. She can switch from being dramatic to being funny in a snap without overdoing it. She is one of the best working actresses in the thespian world and she is very warm to work with. I give her all the aces in the film. I am lucky to have her as a friend. It really feels good.

When did you first see Dolly de Leon in a performance? And how and why did you cast her for the role?

So, I first met her around 2021 after the screening of "Triangle of Sadness" in Cannes. And I first saw her work in Folklore actually. In her series, "The Kangks Show."

If you haven't seen "Folklore," the episode Dolly was in, it was amazing. And I knew from the get-go that I wanted to work with her and when "The Missing" was greenlit I had the chance to pitch to Dolly. I took the chance, and I wasn't quite sure if she would agree with the role, but then after the pitch she immediately said yes to us and ever since she has been my friend. I would talk to her about films, about food or about the Oscars and the Golden Globes and other awards. It was a great time working with her.

Variety chose "The Missing" as one of their top 25 films to watch in the Oscars' Best International Feature race. Critics are also discovering and raving about your film. They are pleasantly surprised to discover this gem from the Philippines. I know a friend who is an Oscars voter who was very impressed with "The Missing." Can you please comment on that?

That is really wow! When I read the Variety article, I was watching "Fallen Angels." I couldn't contain my excitement. I had to do internal screaming. I am so proud of the animation aspect of the film and being a Filipino film. We rarely get noticed so it means a lot to me.

Can you also please talk about how personal this story is for you?

This is based on what happened to me when I was young. It is a combination of my experience and the people I interviewed who wanted to reclaim what was taken from them and from me. That is why I made this film.

What are your future projects now?

I want to do a theater musical. That is one of the things on my bucket list. One of my actors Gio Dal is also a choreographer. So, we are brewing something.

As for films, Dolly de Leon knows about it. We are going to work together again.

What would be your dream project for Dolly?

I already sent Dolly the synopsis of the film that I want to make with her. It's going to be darker this time. The lightness may come in parts, but I think it's tackling a very dark topic again, it's going to be more of a challenge in terms of how we're going to pull it off. But Dolly is a star, and she can do everything. She can play Batman or Superman or whatever. She can make a superhero movie. That would be great.

How are you spending your time here in LA? Will you have free time to see family or friends?

I am here mostly to do campaign work for the film. Most of my family are in San Diego. I don't know if they will come over. But I am set on concentrating on the campaign and spreading the word on "The Missing."

You are a software engineer by profession. What made you shift to filmmaking?

I love films but, in my head, we don't earn a lot from filmmaking in the Philippines. I was studying to be a software engineer and in my third year of college, my father asked me to shift to filmmaking. I told him no since I said, I was almost done. So, when I got my first paycheck, I bought a camera.

You used rotoscope and traditional animation in this film. Can you please explain this process?

Rotoscope is where you shoot everything in live action and turn them into animation frame by frame. When you use a rotoscope, you somehow question whether something is happening in reality or in one's imagination. I used it to show the mental state of Erik where he questions whether things are real or not.

You have an amazing cast – Carlo Aquino, Gio Gahol and Dolly de Leon. How did you manage to have all of them in your film?

Honestly, I was also surprised to get them. I am working with Project 8 Films, and I told them that I wanted to work with this cast. They were able to assemble this cast. We pitched the film one by one to them. None of them read the script but all of them agreed to do the movie without reading the script.

I just told them why I wanted to make this film. Why it is important to me. I also drew them so they know how they will look like in the film. I made their eyes bigger.

How and why did you bring the sci-fi part of bringing aliens into the creative mix?

It is a personal story that I incorporated into my interviews with other people. In 2018, I read condolence messages to someone familiar to me. I haven't seen that person in a while. When I was young that person sexually abused me. I was angry that he died because there was nothing that I could do. I just look at him and he's dead. I wrote the story at first as a coping mechanism for me to heal. I made it to give people hope and give them the sense to reclaim their voices at least. I know now that I can speak about it and tell people what happened to me.

What is the symbolism of Eric losing his mouth, eyes, hand and genitals? Why is it important to incorporate this in the film?

I wanted to show that he lost his ability to talk, that it was taken away from him. When you go through this trauma, you are unable to be intimate with someone. That is why he lost his dick. He lost his hand because he cannot work anymore and it is checkered white and gray because to those who understand photo editing, that means something is absent. I wanted to incorporate that in the film to show that it also affects his work and his inability to work.  Because when you go through something as atrocious as that, there is a lot of stuff taken away from you. You don't feel complete anymore. That's why the symbolism is there in the film.

Was bringing it to an audience a healing process for you?

Yes, it helped with my trauma. Before, I couldn't talk about it. My dad didn't even know about it. He just learned about it when he watched it at the movie premiere. Now I can tell people about it. The problem is still there. But I am in a better place. In 2018, when I found out about his death, I questioned things like why I am gay. There are lots of questions in my mind. And up to now, I am still on that journey.

How was that working with Carlo Aquino and getting that performance from him? You just filmed this in four days.

On the first day of shooting, Carlo was not speaking to me. I guess he was internalizing or being in character. Later, he told me that he was nervous and that he was scared that he wouldn't give justice to the film. He showed me how he fidgeted to get it right. So, it helped also that my assistant director is his friend and also an actor. So, we both collaborated on set to bring that performance from Carlo.

So that crucial scene where he was in the backseat of the car and watching in 2D his young version and his uncle, I told him that I wanted him to be explosive without moving. So how do we do that? In the dressing room with the assistant director, we told him to just show his emotions with his eyes. And I told him, you have only one eye in this scene. So, he did this heavy breathing, and he clenched his jaw.

Your film has been entered for the Oscars as the Philippines' official entry. What did you think about that and when did you learn about it?

I was in the toilet doing no. 2. It was early in the morning, and I got a call from one of the producers. I had to stop what I was doing. I don't think that I am well known in the Philippines, so I was surprised that they chose me over more accomplished filmmakers. Really guys, I thought to myself. I was just shocked and in awe. But I am so thankful. It is a big step up for Philippine animation. We rarely make animated films. We only have 11-12 in the entire history of Philippine cinema. For this film to be selected, hopefully, it will inspire actively working filmmakers to be braver to make original films to be animated. And to touch international audiences, to be brave enough to bring this to us.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News