“Darna” directors proud to say: “Nakakahiya kasi ang gagaling namin pala!”
It’s “mission accomplished” for the three directors of ABS-CBN’s “Darna,” and they are all happy with the outcome.
This is based on their answers from when FreebieMNL asked them about their assessment on the outcome of “Darna” during the show’s recent finale press conference.
“Darna” ends after a six-month run today, February 10, 2023.
Benedict Mique, who is also a film writer and director, proudly claims without batting an eyelash: “Nakakahiya kasi ang gagaling namin pala!” This, according to him, comes from all the attention and viewership that the show has reached.
He elaborates, “Kahit saan ka magtanong na parte ng bansa, nagpunta ako ng America, Canada, pinapanuod nila yung ‘Darna.’ Sorry ha, nakakahiya, di ba, ang galing natin! Salamat sa inyo na nag-promote nito.”
But Mique also acknowledges those who criticized the show throughout its run.
He continues, “Salamat sa lahat ng pumasin, bash, ganito, because you helped us improve and the industry needs that. Hindi naman pwede, boring ang buhay kung puro, ‘Ang galing nito, ganyan.’ We needed that push from all of you guys for saying both positive and negative [comments], because doon natin napatunayan na hanggang huli, we have billions of views on TikTok and it represented so much, hindi lang sa industry ha. Binuhay nito yung industry.
“Sabi ng ABS, ‘Gagawa kami ng mahal, ng mahirap, pero susugal kami.’ Ang gagaling oh, ang gagaling naming lahat! Thank you!”
Darna directors challenged by doing a fantaserye
Director Avel Sunpongco, who helms the main unit of the show, is aware that “Darna” will always be compared to other fantasy projects—especially now that Marvel and DC movies are easily accessible.
He says, “Yung access kasi natin sa Marvel, sa DC, isang pindot na lang siya. So yun yung unang iniisip namin noong nag-uumpisa yung ‘Darna.’”
But what is important is that they were able to deliver the message they wanted the audience to get. He continues, “From our creative team, pati mga directors, si Direk Chito (Rono) of course, importante yung communication, importante yung planning para makasabay, para maibigay at mai-kuwento ng base sa expectations din ng manunuod.”
As for director Darnel Villaflor, he started as a loyal viewer of the show before joining its production.
He narrates, “Initially, nanunuod ako ng ‘Darna’ lagi, as in nasusubaybayan ko siya. I never thought I’d be part of it. Siguro, sabi nga kanina, baka iniadya na makapasok ako sa programa and hindi ko pinangarap na mapasama sa grupo kasi alam ko na ang fantaserye, napakahirap po talaga gumawa ng fantaserye especially these times, ang daming references na mga foreign projects.”
Seeing the show’s journey, he can say that the passion of the whole team serves as the key to the success of “Darna.”
He continues, “Kumbaga dati kasi, walang social media na every single clip na lumabas sa ere, nakakapag-react ang mga viewers natin. So, it’s really a difficult time to air a fantaserye at this point in television. Pero feeling ko, napanuod ko siya mula simula hanggang sa mapasama na ako sa grupo, naramdaman mo yung passion, nandun yung wanting na message na mag-empower, magbigay ng magandang mensahe sa pamilya especially yung mga individual characters, pag-angat sa kababaihan na kaya rin nila talagang mag-lead ng isang grupo, maging inspirasyon for everybody. So that alone, napakasaya ko na naging parte ako ng ‘Darna.’”
“Darna” is headlined by Jane de Leon, Janella Salvador, Zaijian Jaranilla, and Joshua Garcia. Its finale comes after a six-month run on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.
Banner Image Dani Sison
