MATAGAL KO NANG kakilala si Direk GB Sampedro, who directed my morning shows Homeboy and Boy & Kris. Mas lalo pang tumatag ang aming pagkakaibigan when we did the indie movie Astig. It was both our first – ito ang unang pelikulang dinirek ni GB and it was my first attempt in movie production with my good friend hotelier Boy So of La Carmela de Boracay.
Kahit parehong baguhan ay sinuwerte kami ni GB sa Astig dahil nanalo ito ng apat na awards including GB’s Best Director award from the 2009 Cinemalaya Film Festival. Nanalo rin ang Astig ng Special Mention Award when it competed at the New Currents Section of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea. It has toured Osaka, Japan; Geneva, Switzerland; Rome, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain.
GB graduated from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran with a degree in BS Accountancy. How he ended up as a director can only be explained by a series of fortunate events he can only describe as fate. Kuwento ni GB, “I was doing theater and pag-aartista na in That’s Entertainment back in college so I can earn extra income. Noong una, gusto ko lang gumawa ng iba kasi routinary na ang theater for me. Tapos noong nabigyan ako ng break, [I realized] p’wede pala, kaya ko pala. I was given this task of writing and directing for a theater group in 1996 at the age of 20. It was my first directorial job with pay. I fell in love with the work.”
Umalis siya sa That’s dahil pakiramdam niya, acting was not for him. He has always preferred being behind the scenes. Noong 1998, siya ay naging assistant director ng mga commercials, concerts, music videos at TV specials. But it was in late 2002 when he officially took over the reins of director in corporate events and the following year, he was into music videos and concerts.
He directed the first major concerts — all sold out — of Sarah Geronimo, Toni Gonzaga, Rachelle Ann Go, Mark Bautista, Vice Ganda and Kyla. He won the Best Concert Stage Director award in 2006 for his Sarah Geronimo… The Other Side stint. His recent big projects are the 23rd Awit Awards, Erik Santos’ The Power of One and Mutya ng Pilipinas TV Special. He will be directing the Metro Manila Film Festival Parade of Stars and Awards’ Night.
Hindi raw magsasawa si GB sa pagdidirek. “I will be a director until I retire,” sabi niya. “I see to it that every project, natututukan ko. I make it my ‘dream project’. Opportunity knocks only once kasi, so you make every project your dream project. ‘Ika nga, try to make your last show your best show. Sa akin kasi walang perfect para sa ‘yo. You make it perfect for you. You top that last project you did. You improve din kasi that way,” he shares.0916
Kaibigan, usap tayo muli!
Points of Boy
by Boy Abunda
