Yibada editor Conan Altatis poses with JC de Vera at the after-party for the 'Best. Partee. Ever.' gala screening. The film is written by Honee Alipio and directed by HF Yambao. (Photo : Yibada/Conviron Altatis)
It will be interesting to see JC de Vera, 30, in "Orange is the New Black" Season 5, which will premiere on Netflix in June 2017. While that is not very likely to happen soon, fans of the Filipino actor will see him play an inmate in the film "Best. Partee. Ever."
A QCinema Film Festival 2016 entry, "Best. Partee. Ever." premiered on Oct. 15, Saturday, at Gateway Cineplex, Quezon City. The film features de Vera as Miguel Giancarlo "Mikey" Ledesma III, a young, discreet, gay man from the affluent class who spends five years in a city jail while hearing his case for drug pushing. This is his first gay role on the big screen.
The cast and crew of the film had an after-party at Club LEVEL in Quezon City right after the gala screening. At the after-party, de Vera laughed when I told him that one risqué scene he did with his co-star Jordan Herrera is one of the most talked about parts of the film. He told me the particular scene was done only in one take and he and Herrera would not be able to do it in more than one take.
Herrera was in the United States so he was not able to attend the gala screening and the after-party. Critics agree that the film marks a good comeback for the actor, whose last project on the big screen prior to "Best. Partee. Ever." was the 2009 film "Big Night."
"Best. Partee. Ever." marks the indie film directorial debut of HF Yambao. It was written by Honee Alipio, the screenwriter of "Ma' Rosa" director Brillante Mendoza's 2015 Cannes Film Festival film "Taklub" starring Nora Aunor.
Among de Vera and Herrera's "Best. Partee. Ever." co-stars are "Ma' Rosa" actors Mercedes Cabral, Kristofer King, Aaron Rivera and Vince Rillon. Also about illegal drugs, "Ma' Rosa" is Mendoza's most recent Cannes Film Festival film and is the official entry of the Philippines to the Best Foreign Film category of the 2017 Academy Awards.
The prison scenes of "Best. Partee. Ever." were filmed in Pampanga Provincial Jail, where Cabral, King, Rivera and Rillon's "Ma' Rosa" co-star Mark Anthony Fernandez is currently detained for illegal possession of marijuana. Like "Orange is the New Black," Yambao's film was inspired by real-life events.
Watch the official trailer of "Best. Partee. Ever." here:
