CPDRC inmates get first peek of ‘Dance of the Steel Bars’

For two hours at dusk, the quadrangle in the Cebu provincial jail was an open-air movie house.

Inmates laughed, hooted but mostly watched in silence.

The film “Dance of the Steel Bars” was screened for the first time before an audience of 1,600 inmates whose lives and You Tube fame in choreographed dance inspired the movie that will open in commercial theaters on June 12.

Detainees clad in orange uniforms sat on the rough concrete floor.

They laughed when local hearthrob Dingdong Dantes, who plays the role of Mando, a convicted murderer, found himself the target of flirtation of a transsexual inmate, Alona, played by Joey Paras whose gay speak and gestures were the movie’s comic relief.

Inmates also laughed whenever they recognized themselves as extras in the movie.

Many of the movie scenes were shot in the CPDRC in 2010, during the term of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who has a cameo role as herself.

“We decided to have the special screening here in CPDRC (Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center) because we wanted to let them feel and see themselves in the movie,” the film’s director, Cesar Apolinario, said.

There were scenes of brawls in the jail, extortion, and inmates with knives and sharp, lethal objects.

A “bartolina” scene, which had Dantes and two other inmates, including Hollywood actor Patrick Bergin, thrown into a small, windowless isolation cell was watched mostly in silence.

Invitations for the special screening were earlier sent to Governor Garcia and her brother former Capitol consultant Byron Garcia who initaited choregoraphed dancing for inmates as part of their rehabilitation, but they were not around.

“Dance of the Steel Bars” is directed by GMA-7 news reporter Cesar Apolinario and Marnie Manicad and co-produced by GMA Films with Dubai-based production company, Portfolio Films.

Earlier in the day, the film’s actors and crew went to the Capitol and paid a courtesy call on Cebu Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale.

They then went to CPDRC with Dantes joining the inmates in dancing to the tune of Korean pop sensation PSY’s latest single, “Gentleman”.

The cast and crew that included Filipino actors Ricky Davao, Mon Confiado and Thou Reyes, and Cebuano talents, spent a week shooting the film inside the jail facility.

Prison realities

Inspired by actual events, Dantes plays the character of Mando, a convicted murderer who meets Frank Parish, a retired American philanthropist, in prison.

It’s a a drama thriller, but the movie has its comedic flavor. Joey Paras’ character Allona, is a a transsexual who tries to contribute to prison reforms by teaching his fellow inmates dance exercises.

Together, the three get involved in a tricky struggle between the positive changes initiated by the prison warden portrayed by veteran character actor Ricky Davao and the corrupt system that weighs down the inmates’ chance to become better individuals.

“It is a movie about hope, redemption, second chance, and showing of Filipino talents,” said Stu Higton, creative producer of Portfolio Films.

“Everyone should be proud of this. Seeing the talents of these people inside the bars is really inspiring.”