Hi, I'm Neo Bryce, I wrote and directed Condolence!

The Story

'Condolence' was written as an emotional response for the death of a relative. Death was really at the forefront of my mind at the time and I had so many questions surrounding the customs, such as the excessive gambling and drinking during wakes. And I also connected that to this internal struggle that I was experiencing, being in the midst of this funeral rites and yet not feeling an ounce of sadness or mourning for this relative that died.

Development

In 2019, Ngilngig Fantastic Film Festival called for stories to develop for their Ngilngig Film Camp. And at the time, Ngilngig had this reputation for selecting more horror-type, more morbid stories. I already had this story outlined in my head and I thought I would just enter it, not thinking it would get it. Because the story is very personal, the only thing I could think of that would categorize it as "Ngilngig" is the death aspect of it. But I was surprised to see that it got in.

So I developed it in the film camp. I think I wrote the bulk of the script for one night, all on my phone. The story was very theatrical and I really leaned into it being a mumble-core meets death sort of thing. It was also encouraged by our mentors.

And so I went on with the filmmaker development program. I went to every workshop that we got as part of it. And it was enlightening. It really felt good to be amongst like-minded people and storytellers.

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Making the Film

So for the film, I fully funded it on my own. I got my cousin to drive us from Davao to Carmen, which is the location of the funeral home. We shot it for three days (all night shoots so, very taxing). We got permission to shoot thankfully with the caveat that we don't disturb the ongoing wakes and that we clean up after ourselves.

Honestly, the whole thing was a blur, and I really feel to this day that we had rushed it and hadn't planned enough for it, sadly. Although I'm satisfied by it, I also feel like I could have done more and would like to another crack at it someday.

But speaking on the experience, it was still a good time. The actors and I already had an understanding of the type of story we were trying to tell so it was easy to direct them. The crew, although small and sometimes rotating, were also fantastic.

Acting

This was the first film where I actually cast actors that aren't from my friend circle. I was nervous but I put up a casting call, sent invites, and did the whole process for this film. Which was helpful because it really gave me the experience needed to cast my future films. Gab and Loisa were just fantastic actors and creatives. They were on it the entire time.

For this film, we had an extended rehearsal period and it really gave us prior knowledge on how to tell the story through acting. Even before we got on set, I was already buzzing to shoot.

This was the first film where I actually cast actors that aren't from my friend circle. I was nervous but I put up a casting call, sent invites, and did the whole process for this film. Which was helpful because it really gave me the experience needed to cast my future films. Gab and Loisa were just fantastic actors and creatives. They were on it the entire time.

And then when we eventually got to shooting it was brilliant. The actors they all just brought their A-game. And I just thought they were brilliant and such champs, despite them probably smoking so many packs of cigarettes by the end of that film.

I will forever cherish my time with them.

Release

The film premiered in Ngilngig and it came and went. And I don't know if it was memorable enough for the people that watched it. But it was for the people who made it. It went to multiple festivals and avenues, and honestly, I'm thankful for that. I hope that it still captured some people's imagination and also made them reconsider who the people around them and themselves look at life, death, coffee, and a little bit of cigarette smoking.

Currently, you can stream the film on big twist's Youtube Channel