Movies under the stars in a mansion’s backyard

February 12, 2025 | 12:00am

The weather on the evening of Feb. 2 was cooperative, with cool winds gently blowing through the widespread leaves of the age-old trees.

Young folks were meandering here and there, some pleasantly conversing on the mats laid out on the grass, and in some areas were gathered an older generation seated on chairs.

A set-up of aluminum serving dishes with heaters underneath lined the buffet tables as guests chose their evening fare. Some preferred the bundle of bottled iced tea, cookies and a delicious tuna sandwich garnished with crispy  apple slices. And of course, there were the required movie treat of popcorn bags which were freely given to the viewers who came that night for the evening’s movie showing. “Pelikula sa MiraNila” is a once-in-a-lifetime experience of watching choice films on comfortable mats on soft grass and bring-your-own pillows, with a beautiful heritage mansion as a backdrop.

Since last year, the Benitez-Tirona MiraNila Foundation has supported the vision of its president, Petty Benitez, in opening up their historic mansion as a cultural hub in Quezon City. Last year’s presentations included a send-off concert for 17-year-old cellist, Damodar das Castillo, to his scholarship in Dresden. And a few months later, a victorious welcome concert for the Junior Manila Symphony Orchestra after bringing home the gold at the 13th Bratislava International Youth Music Festival. These two concerts by music prodigies were well-attended events by music afficionados coming from as far as Alabang, braving the traffic at rush hour for a trip to Quezon City, making it worth their while.

Pelikula sa MiraNila was a brainchild of a third-generation Benitez family member, Roberta Benitez, which was enthusiastically accepted by her aunt, Petty. To further expound on the idea, the young interns whom Petty had recruited to help for the MiraNila events proposed that the kinds of films to be shown were not “formulaic.” They called the event “Pelikula MiraNila Outdoor Screenings.” The whole idea was to put together surprise films for pre-Valentine showings. Rounding up an audience proved to be a cinch as young film enthusiasts rode on the idea and showed up by groups that night.

Acquiring the films was more a challenge which entailed linking with producers and getting their permission to screen their films. Since the chosen films were by independent producers, it proved an easier task by approaching them straight, unlike the red tape that needed to be traversed when dealing with bigger studios.

Petty once more allowed the young recruits to make the film choices, examining romance comedy or romance drama, as they studied the films for pleasant surprises. Coming on board to help out in technical issues was Cinemalaya’s veteran technician, Rodel Valiente.

That night, the three chosen films were all top-of-the-heap films that garnered either awards or nominations both locally and internationally.  The first film, Gitling was the 2023 awardee for Best Screenplay at Cinemalaya in 2023, which was subtitled for the Ilonggo dialect. The second film, Past Lives, a romantic drama, was the directorial debut of Celine Song. The film got critical acclaim and  five nominations  at the 81st Golden Globe Awards and two nominations, including Best Picture, at the 96th Academy awards.

Witnessing the enthusiasm of both young and old audiences fueled the impetus of the MiraNila production group to churn out more varied presentations in the near future. On Feb. 12, an early Valentine’s date at the movies in the great outdoors with first-class service as one lounges on the matted grass under the stars awaits the takers. The showings will include Tokwifi a five-time awardee of 2019 running for a short 20 minutes; Living Things, Best Short Film in 2014, is a comedy drama; and Isa Pa With Feelings by Star Cinema is a full feature film which had a theater release in 2019 starring mainstream actors and actresses Maine Mendoza, Carlo Aquino, Lotlot de Leon and Raffa Siguion-Reyna. It promises to be a night well spent in the most elegant, yet chill mode. Ready your pillows!

It even beats the drive-in movies of old.