Faith, trust in God and a Catholic priest

"I enjoyed every moment, and it's exactly the story of Fr. Rhoel D. Gallardo, CMF. For me, it's a beautiful story, one that has meaning in all our lives – that we need to stand on our faith and trust God for everything."

Under the direction of Caesar Soriano and Rommel Galapia Ruiz, Viva Films is set to release "In Thy Name" on 5 March. This movie, inspired by true events and based on the life of martyr priest, Fr.  Rhoel Gallardo, tackles the resilience of the Catholic faith during the cruel times of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Basilan.

McCoy de Leon, who portrays Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, received high praise from the film’s young co-director, direk Ruiz. According to the director, De Leon thoroughly studied the role and executed it well.

“I know that he’s young, but I think In Thy Name is really meant for him,” direk Ruiz said. “What I saw in McCoy was that he studied the role so much and gave his best in this film. He listens very well to the instructions, and he also has suggestions. I admire all of that because he shares our desire to create a film that people will love.”

Apart from De Leon, direk Rommel also commended Mon Confiado’s professionalism.

“It was a dream working with Mon Confiado,” he said. “I always tell others and him that he’s one of the artists on our set who pushed me to perform at my highest level because he’s so professional, and he doesn’t make me feel like I’m a young director.”

Direk Rommel pointed out Confiado’s openness. “He embraces all my thoughts and brings them to action on the shoot. He’s so easy to talk to. I’m so thankful to have him in the cast.”

He also commended the entire cast, saying, “But all of them were so easy to work with — JC de Vera, Aya Fernandez, Jerome Ponce, Yves Flores, Soliman Cruz, Alex Medina, Tito Pen, Kat Galang, Jal Galang, Dylan Talon, Anna Abad, Richard Quan, John Estrada. I appreciate their hard work.”

Before directing In Thy Name, direk Rommel started his apprenticeship with director Jet B. Leyco and cinematographer Tristan Salas. He also directed Sinadya Kong Kalimutan Para Maulit ang Lahat (2016), which was exhibited in various film festivals in the country, like CCP Gawad Alternatibo and Cinema Rehiyon. He also became a camera operator for films like Bamboo Dogs (2018) by Khan dela Cruz, Elise (2019) by Joel Ferrer and Second Coming (2019) by Jet B. Leyco. Director Rommel is currently studying film offers for his next directorial project.