UP thespians present ‘Skitzophrenia’

THE Amateur Creative Thespians of the University of the Philippines Cebu (ACT-UP) hosted a film presentation titled “Skitzophrenia: A Dose of ACT-UP” at Handuraw Pizza in Lahug, Cebu City.

UP students, University of San Carlos film students and other film enthusiasts were present during the event last March 2.

The seven short films written and directed by ACT-UP members and titled after its main characters who suffer from mental disorders were Brando, Uriel, Anna and Angelo, Nadia, George, Karen, and Andrew.

“Brando” is a story of a captive gay who tries to escape from his psychotic captor. “Uriel” revolves around an obsessive-compulsive disorder nursing student who ended up murdering a child after disturbing her cleanliness routine. “Anna and Angelo” is a tale of a girl who befriended a ghost at a school library. “Nadia” is about a girl celebrating a tea party with her imaginary friends.

“George” is about the life of a paranoid Biology student and his stalker. “Karen” involves a psychiatrist analyzing a patient who suffers from a sadomasochistic relationship with her lover. The last film “Andrew” is a story of a boy who plays in the streets pretending to be a homeless child to escape his pampered life being a member of a wealthy family.

“My favorite among the seven films is ‘Anna and Angelo.’ The lines were spontaneously delivered and I find the story touching,” said James Kevin Acuña, a UP student present during the event.

The film presentation is full of skits, all relating to a mental disorder, hence, the name “SKITzophrenia.” Both skits and videos were infused into the presentation since ACT-UP is a theater and film organization,” said Chloe Veloso, founder of ACT-UP.

Skitzophrenia is a prelude to ACT-UP’s main event on August this year. Everyone should watch out for that,” she said.

The ACT-UP is a theater and film organization based and founded in Cebu. It promotes artistic self-expression among amateur film and theater enthusiasts in UP Cebu.

The organization aims to use the performance arts as a medium for social awareness. /UP Masscomm student Casey Moncal