On July 13, director GB Sampedro clarified that his Vivamax movie Purificacion would not put the Catholic church in a negative light.
During the media conference for Purificacion, Sampedro maintained that the priest character in the dark-sexy-thriller was strictly fictional.
“Hindi naman siguro kasi una, fictional siya and then pangalawa, may mga twist naman ‘yung mga istorya na kumbaga, hindi naman ito makakasama sa simbahan ‘yung tema natin.”
He then cited news reports from the past that had similarities with his upcoming Vivamax movie.
“Well, lahat naman may posibilidad, ayaw ko namang sabihin na–kasi may mga news din naman na lumabas dati na about sa mga kontrobersya sa simbahan, so pwedeng oo, pwedeng hindi. ‘Yung iba may napatunayan, so maaring siguro nangyayari ‘yung kontrobersiya sa simbahan.”
Sampedro also explained that he didn’t ‘zero-in’ any particular religion with the priest character, portrayed by Josef Elizalde.
“‘Yung ibang mga eksena siyempre ano yan– mga alam ko na from before, and then minsan, nagtatanong tanong din ako pero I made sure na ‘yung character dito ng pari is not a particular na church. So parang hindi ako nag-zero in sa isang particular na church. Talagang fictional ‘yung character niya. Para iwas sa kontrobersiya and trouble with the church–with the Catholic Church.”
He then stated that he was aware of the sensitivities of content related to churches.
“Pagdating sa mga ganyan, mga sensitibong mga ano, nagkukuha ako ng ano, advices sa labas. So iba-ibang church nga ‘yung pinagtanungan ko eh, para at least alam ko kung ano ‘yung igagalaw ko, at alam ko tama pa rin ‘yung execusion.”
As for the storyline of Purification, Sampedro attributed his church upbringing as the inspiration behind the dark-sexy-thriller.
“Dahil siguro laking simbahan ako so parang na-inspire lang ako na gawan ko kaya ng istorya na medyo dark naman. Dark na istorya, tungkol sa simbahan, tungkol sa church, and then kinausap ko ‘yung writer ko and then nag-brainstorm kami tungkol sa kwento ng Purificacion, and then ‘yan nabuo ang Purificacion, so ‘yun lang ganon lang ka-simple ‘yung nagsimula ‘yun.
“I wanted to do something dark din, so naghanap ako ng tema na kung ano medyo maganda for a chance na tema. Dahil nga medyo laking simbahan ako, sabi ko try ko kaya na simbahan naman ang tema.”
Purification stars Cara Gonzales and Josef Elizalde. The supporting cast includes Ava Mendez, Quinn Carillo, Stephanie Raz, and Kat Dovey. The sexy thriller directed by GB Sampedro premieres on August 5, 2022, via Vivamax.
