Acclaimed theater actress Alex Godinez gets her biggest break in “Across the Crescent Moon.”
Alex Godinez comes from an extended family of entertainers that include aunt Becca Godinez and uncle Martin Nievera. Her family owns a prestigious theater company.
At the age of 5, she walked hand in hand on the catwalk with Anna Nicole Smith at the Guess Jeans launch in Manila.
At the age of 9, she started her career in theatre and did several acclaimed plays.
She pursued her passion for the arts and studied music in the States. She was mentored by Howard Fine Acting Studio, the same school that trained the late Heath Ledger and the award-winning actor-producer Michael Chiklis.
She received acclaim for her work in “Saturday Night Fever”. She was also in the cast of “Grease: The Musical”.
Last year, she did “American Idiot” for Globe Live and 9 Works Theatrical for which she was awarded the best featured actress in the recently concluded Broadway World Philippines awards.
Right now, Alex is thankful for being chosen to play the lead role opposite Matteo Guidicelli in “Across The Crescent Moon”, her first major film project.
“I was called for the role. I did not audition and I’m happy that they considered me for the part as Matteo’s Christian wife,” she says.
At first, she admitted that she had some difficulty in adjusting from theater to film.
“They are both challenging, but I guess, it’s harder in theatre, kasi in theater, there is no ‘cut”. There is no room for mistakes. In film, the difficulty that I had was memorizing those long lines because hindi ako magaling sa Tagalog but I guess I’m improving,” she enthuses.
She also felt butterflies in her stomach during the first days of the shoot of their movie.
“I was so nervous then, and when you’re nervous, it’s hard to be creative. Then, there were times that they have to change the lines so, I have to undo what I have memorized and have to think quickly. In theatre kasi, we stick to the script, we stick to the lines, word for word, pero iba sa movies. I just found comfort in my co-stars. They’re so accepting. They trusted me and told me to break out and relax,” she recalls.
Being a newbie in the movies, she appreciates the support her co-stars gave her.
“I’m glad that they’re too supportive especially Tita Sandy who plays my mother-in-law. She’s like a Mom to me. She assured me that everything will be okay. With Tita Dina, Tito Gabby and Tito Christopher, they’re very professional. They come to the set very prepared with their lines already memorized.”
Alex also wants to do teleseryes and TV shows.
“Hopefully, I get more jobs. I think, I really have to work on my Tagalog,” she concludes.
“Across The Crescent Moon” tells the story of Abbas (Matteo), a Special Action Force (SAF) Exemplary Agent who is tasked to investigate a case of human trafficking. In the process, his work puts a strain on his family that is already at odds because of his marriage to a Christian.
The movie also tackles the menace of human trafficking and the complexities of inter-faith relationships.
The action packed drama is written, produced and directed by veteran writer-director Baby Nebrida.
It features an all-star cast. Aside from Matteo and Alex, it stars Christopher de Leon, Dina Bonnevie, Sandy Andolong, Joem Bascon, Ivan Carapiet, Jerico Estregan, Leo Martinez, Rez Cortez, Jackie Aquino, Garie Concepcion, Jerene Tan, Mariel de Leon, Ku Aquino and many more.
It is endorsed by no less than General “Bato” de la Rosa.
It opens in cinemas nationwide on January 25, the second year anniversary of the heroism of SAF 44 in the tragic Mamasapano incident.
INSIDE. Veteran writer-director Baby Nebrida talks about her film “Across The Crescent Moon.”
For acclaimed writer-director Baby Nebrida, doing “Across The Crescent Moon” was really a herculean job.
Unlike her first full-length feature, “Flames of Love”, she had UP professor Gigi Javier Alfonso as co-director.
This year, the prolific writer-turned director marks an important milestone in her celebrated career as she goes solo in “Across the Crescent Moon”, an action –packed drama that she wrote, directed and produced.
“It was very tedious and very difficult dahil almost three months kaming nag-prepare. I attended a symposium on human trafficking. I was exposed to their interviews. Then, I asked myself, how can I help. I’ve been involved in various advocacies and I thought maybe, I could follow the advocacy of Pope Francis that we must end modern-day slavery. I’ve written, produced and directed several documentaries on evangelization and I want to continue to do meaningful films. I’ve done dramas, but I want something different, so I thought of doing an action movie. One that is consistent with my vision as a director. One that would really appeal to international audiences,” she relates.
Prior to filming, she also did an intensive research on her story.
“It took me a month to do my research on human trafficking. I even spoke to an FBI on how traffickers were captured. We shot scenes in Tawi-tawi which is the back door going to Malaysia where it’s exactly happening because true enough, in my research, I’ve found out that 1 out of 4 trafficking victims is a Filipino. I did not want to limit my story to one plot, so we tackled a current issue which is the Muslim and Christian conflict. So, the challenge is there because we thought of a movie for the international market. One that could break through the international market, so we hired the best from the cast, the crew and even employed the best equipments and cameras we can have,” she says.
She also chose the title “Across the Crescent Moon” because it is what she considers apt for her movie.
“The crescent moon symbolizes the Islamic religion. Then there is this cross which signifies Christianity. Some may think the title is “malalim” kasi meron nang nagawa noon na “Bagong Buwan”. After consultation with my children, Christie and Jodi, we came out with the final title.
“I love that I was able to raise my kids through writing and filmmaking and they’ve inherited my passion for the arts,” she avers.
As a filmmaker, she believes also that action movies are not only exclusive to male directors.
“With the help of my stunt directors, Hollywood-based Shawn Bernal, Vlad Rimburg, Tim Waid and also fitness expert Snooky Cruz, I was able to pull it off,” she declares.
For her, the movie is also a family endeavor.
“I have a great cast. Boyet was already a ‘suki’ in my projects. Dina, a devout Christian, agreed to do the project without even reading the script. I’ve known Gabby way back since our “My Only Love” days. Then, I have the athletic Matteo who has the makings of an action hero,” she says.
Inspired by the movie, Direk Baby also wrote the lyrics and created the melody of “Watching the Crescent Moon”, the movie’s theme song which was sung by Bituin Escalante.
“Across the Crescent Moon” is a very timely movie and a must-see.
“It has a powerful, relevant and timely message. There’s unity and beauty in diversity. It doesn’t matter whether one is Muslim or Christian or belonging to another religion. Only one country unites us all, the Philippines, regardless of color, faith, belief, sex or origin. Instead of being divisive, let us lift each other up,” concludes Direk Baby.
