We Drank Our Tears series continues

The Abadilla family poses for a photo during the We Drank Our Tears premiere last Wednesday at the Regal Cinema Saipan Megaplex. 
(KIMBERLY A. BAUTISTA)

Mount Carmel School and TRIBE Marianas hosted a successful premiere of the continuation of the We Drank Our Tears series at the Regal Theaters in San Jose.

The first installment, which focused on Francisco Babauta’s story during World War II on Saipan, debuted back in October 2017, as hosted by MCS principal Galvin Deleon Guerrero. He originally intended for the short film to screen at the annual Guam Film Festival but, due to its success, Deleon Guerrero and his team decided to produce two more installments, which premiered last Wednesday.

The first series premiere was held at the American Memorial Park Theater, free of charge, but the premiere on Wednesday was held at the Regal Cinema Saipan Megaplex for $10 a ticket.

The tickets to the premiere were sold out within minutes and over 150 people came to see the film.

Last Wednesday, the two installments focused on the tales of Benjamin Abadilla and Rafael Mafnas as written in We Drank Our Tears. During the premiere, family members of Abadilla and Mafnas were present to see the stories of their loved one come to life.

According to Abadilla’s daughter, Judy Abadilla Santos, it was amazing to witness her father’s story come to life on the big screen. Santos said she was shocked and touched when Deleon Guerrero reached out to her and her family and asked them to participate in the premiere.

Abadilla’s story was actually set in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded. The short film produced by MCS was inspired by Abadilla’s story but was set in the Marianas.

Benjamin Abadilla’s story features Dylan Santos as Benjamin, Aysia Adele Duenas Santos as his mother, Martha, Kalea Borja as his aunt, Mariana, and Jeremiah Diaz as his father, Ramon. The cast also includes Mark Toves as the older Benjamin, Joaquin C. Duenas as the older Ramon, and Joyce C. Santos as an older version of Benjamin’s sister.

Rafael Mafnas’ story features Derrick Atalig as Rafael, Matt Moran as his friend Juan, Seok Jun Run as Takeda, a Japanese soldier, Eric Kiser as Mike, an American soldier, and Rodrigo Castro as the older Rafael.

According to Deleon Guerrero, the two new installments will be entered in this year’s Guam Film Festival in October.

Both films shared a crew, with Quincy Chinen as the unit production manager, Kelvin Cepeda as the first assistant director, Reica Ramirez as script supervisor, Victoria Deleon Guerrero and Joani Paraiso as production designers, and Alvin Palacios as lead cameraman. The crew also included Aldwin Batusin and Ivy Leong assisting with production design, Kyle Bautista operating the boom microphone, and Maverick Irang serving as the crew grip.