Lilet Never Happened Premiere Screening

Sandy Talag

In line with the International Human Rights Day, the European Union in the Philippines and Springfilm Foundation presented the premiere screening of the film Lilet Never Happened at the Glorietta 4 Cinema.

Jacco Groen

The event was graced by the film’s director, Jacco Groen from the Netherlands and the lead star Sandy Talag. Other cast members present during that night were John Arcilla, Marife Necessito, Antonette Garcia, Timothy Mabalot, Jermaine Patrick Ulgasan, Dorothea Marabut, Grace Onstantino, and Lara Unika Zapata who mingled with the other guests during the cocktail reception before the film screening.

The cast of Lilet Never Happened

European Union Ambassador Guy Ledoux, Terre des Hommes’ Asian Region Director Lenny Kling and Salinlahi Alliance’s Director Jaqueline Ruiz, all delivered welcome messages prior to showing the film. Jacco Groen and Sandy Talag gave closing remarks after the film screening.

Lilet Never Happened

The film Lilet Never Happened by Dutch director Jacco Groen, has already been entered in various film festivals in numerous parts of the world, picking out awards left and right before it had the chance to be screened here in the Philippines. So I’ve had high expectations when I watched this film during its European Union sponsored premiere screening over at Glorietta. Thankfully, the film lived up to its expectations.

Lilet, played by Sandy Talag, is a young girl forced into prostitution by no less than her mother, Rosing (Angeli Bayani). Lilet scouts for potential clients every night while trying to evading the police. During one of those times when she is caught and detained by the police, Lilet caught the eye of social worker Claire (Johanna Ter Steege) who ends up rescuing her along with Nonoy (Timothy Mabalot), another delinquent youth. Lilet and Nonoy instantly form a bond while getting educated in Claire’s center. Things may have started to look rosy for Lilet but it’s never going to be easy for her to get out of her predicament. With a mother who is a former prostitute and a sister, Tessie (Dorothea Marabut), who is a bargirl, Lilet grows up with a very warped sense of the world. She never shows any shame or remorse with peddling herself to elderly men, especially foreigners. Lilet flees both the clutches of her mother and the protection of Claire and ends up at the nightclub with Tessie. And with this environment, there’s no way for her to go but to sink further. But a good side of Lilet is shown through her relationship with her young brother, Dino (Jermaine Patrick Ulgasan), who Lilet tries to shield from the quagmire that she has sunk into. While I tried to remain hopeful that things will turn out well for Lilet in the end, I had to accept that her scars are way too deep for her to find full redemption.

I couldn’t help but compare this film to the Cinemalaya entry Nuwebe that also tackled sexually abused girls. While Nuwebe failed in coming up with a convincing character that was sexually abused, Lilet nonetheless was able to portray a girl who is both hardened by her circumstance while also retaining the traits of still being a child.

I may have had a few issues with the timeframe of Lilet, probably stemming from the fact that this film was shot in short bursts from 2009-2012. It made me a bit confused as to how long did Lilet work at the bar with her sister Tessie who got pregnant and gave birth during the film. I also found it odd the use of language in the film especially with Claire who spoke English entirely while seeming to have a decent understanding of Filipino, the main language of the film. It would’ve been a lot more convincing if Claire had some lines in Filipino, showing that she made some effort to reach out to the kids under her care as a social worker. This would’ve made for a less jolting experience whenever the scene featured characters of different social and economic standing speak to each other in different languages and yet, totally understanding each other.

Minor quibbles aside; Lilet Never Happened is a gritty, disturbing, eye opening social drama that is clearly for adults only. The young members of the cast were nowhere to be seen inside the theater during the screening and child psychologists were on hand during filming to ensure the young actors’ mental being after tackling such difficult roles. This film also hits close to home since I regularly pass by areas in Metro Manila where prostitution is rampant and I often wonder how these women end up in this trade. And I always give a sigh of relief whenever I fail to see someone like Lilet or any young girl for that matter prowling the streets. It’s a morbid thought to have but I couldn’t help it since watching the film and there’s no more denying that Lilet and an alarming number of young girls out there, hidden from sight, really do happen.