Working With Diverse Experiences - Hail Marie (2021) - January 2024

Flavor of the Month

Hail Marie (2021)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIXLFOIHycc

Hail Marie is a 13-minute dramedy about a newly immigrated Filipino family whose youngest son tries to win the respect of his parents by proving he can become more Western than his older, queen-like sister. The film features Darnelle David as the son, Joseph, Gabrielle Jacinto as the sister, Marie, Sigrid Pareja as the mother, and Jason Asuncion as the father.

In this episode, we talk to Arthur Rodger 'Harley' Maranan (Writer & Director), Darnelle David (Actor - Jason), Sigrid Pareja (Actor - Mom) and, Jason Asuncion (Actor - Dad)

00:00 Introductions

01:31 What is Hail Marie about?

09:41 Harley shares his experience as a Filipino-Canadian

13:18 Making a Filipino-Canadian film without a Filipino-Canadian crew

19:04 Lessons learned from Hail Marie

21:25 Cast talk about what they brought into Hail Marie

26:02 The team talk about the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon experience

31:24 Sigrid finding the casting call for the film

34:29 Jason’s improv skills

36:59 Darnelle’s experience as a new actor

39:45 Some never before heard stories on set

43:23 Sigrid and Darnelle reflect on their first experience as actors

45:25 Hail Marie’s festival run

46:02 Food for thought

52:40 How to connect with the Hail Marie team

61:17 Conclusion and credits

For more information about the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon, visit https://vaff.org/mamm/

Films Referenced in the Interview

Maria (2022)

Boundless (2022)

Right In Front of Me (2021)

Reverse (2022)

Director & Writer: Arthur Rodger 'Harley' Maranan, Ruel Maranan, Marisol Maranan

Producer: Ross Branch

First Assistant Director: Liliya Roys, Lesha Jay Vescio

Director of Photography: Austin Kwok

Production Designer: Samantha Lam

Costume Designer: Lesha Jay Vescio

Key Hair & Make-Up: Michelle Watson

Sound Mixer: Rayce Vaughan

Script Supervisor: Isabella Jaramillo

Starring:

Darnelle David as Joseph

Gabrielle Jacinto as Marie

Sigrid Pareja as Mom

Jason Asuncion as Dad

Rebekah Lazar as Joanna

First Assistant Camera: Zitong Gong, Jack Bailey

Second Assistant Camera: Kirc Cohen

Steadicam Operator: Jan Ubeda

BTS & Stills: Cameron McCutcheon

Gaffer: Sam Lin

Key Grip: Jack Bailey

Grip: Osmar Wong

Art Director: Roohi Kamal

Graphic Designer: Simar Kamal

Art Assistant: Cheyanne See, Jacob Totti

Food Stylist: Autumn Ivancic

Hair Stylist: Amanda Herrera, Ivett Duong

Editor: Ian Tan

Music: Arthur Rodger 'Harley' Maranan

Colorist: Cameron McCutcheon

Sound Design: Ivan Rodriguez

Executive Producer: Arthur Rodger 'Harley' Maranan, Austin Kwok, Roger Maranan, Katherine Ouellette, Ross Branch

Special thanks to

Vancouver Asian Film Festival

Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon

Panavision, Shiun Okada, Rowan Jang, Rebekah Lazar, Nessa Aref, Montana Rosalle, Chris Thomas, Authority Media, Darcy LaCouvee, Henry Corbet, Hadron Films, Keyon Slowly