“Bilyarista,” a billiards drama starring Venice Film Festival best actor winner John Arcilla and featuring cameo appearances from legendary pool players Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, is making its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The feature, directed by Phil Giordano, follows Aya (Loisa Andalio), a young girl from Manila’s slums who dreams of becoming a billiards world champion but is manipulated by her hustler uncle Itoy, played by Arcilla, into playing dangerous underground gambling matches after her father’s murder. Giordano, an Italian-American filmmaker who previously directed Arcilla in the short film “Supot” (2016), was drawn to the project nearly a decade ago after encountering the Philippines’ underground pool culture during street casting for that earlier work. “I was doing street casting for the actors, and one of the kids that we cast, he couldn’t read or write, and he was homeless at the time,” Giordano says. “I saw him go into a pool hall, and he’s like 12 years old, but he was fantastic. He beat this like 40-year-old guy, and he had this expensive pool cue. And I was just fascinated by this world that this exists.” That fascination led Giordano to discover that the Philippines has produced more world champions in pool than any other country, with Reyes widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. “There’s this whole culture where, because of the climate and the tables and the moisture and the air and the pressure, that is not by accident that all the best players in the world are from here,” he says. Arcilla, who won the Volpi Cup for acting at the 2021 Venice Film Festival for “On the Job: The Missing 8,” describes how he approached the morally complex character. “Even until the last minute, he doesn’t have any guilt about it,” Arcilla says of his character. “My interpretation was supposed to be that he’s not so guilty about it. He always thought that he’s helping the niece. Being unfair to that niece for him is my right, because I’m running the business.” The actor draws on universal experiences to inhabit the role. “We all have experiences as human beings when we’re not always positive about things. Sometimes we get mad with anything, with something that pisses us off,” he explains. Giordano emphasizes his immersive research approach. “I like to meet a lot of people and ask a lot, learn about people’s lives and hear stories,” he says. “When I was doing the research, I started meeting these characters like the manager, and seeing how the ecosystem works, all the details of the gambling and everything, and not judging the characters and learning how the hierarchy and everything truly is done.” The production brought together an international crew, with New York-based cinematographer Adam McDaid, whose credits include HBO’s “Single Drunk Female” and Netflix’s “Everything’s Trash,” and camera operator Aaron Brown, who worked on “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Smile 2” and “Past Lives.” Philippine editor Lawrence Ang, who cut Sundance Special Jury Prize winner “Leonore Will Never Die,” handled post-production. The film is produced by Gale Osorio and Shreyom Ghosh through Leesan OPC Productions Philippines, in association with Terminal Six Post Philippines and Tasia Films Hong Kong. Ghosh, based in Hong Kong after completing an MFA at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, explains his attraction to the project. “What I really like is an outside point of view in a place from where you are not from,” Ghosh says. “Phil, being an Italian American director, was based in Philippines for almost four years. He’s not unfamiliar with the place, but he still brings an eye which other Philippines directors will not be bringing.” The appearance of pool legends Reyes and Bustamante adds authenticity to the film’s world. “It was everyone’s dream to be like them,” Giordano says. “When John is there and Loisa is there, there’s so many fans. And then when Efren and Django show up, there’s like a whole other breed of fans. It was really generous of them to join the film, and it meant the world.” Arcilla notes the thematic significance of the cameos. “It underlines that there are other avenues for your prodigies to go to. There are other options rather than just use them to be your pawns,” he says. “You don’t even need to go to what you’re doing. There’s a more respectable way, and it was being underlined by the presence of the two greats.” Ghosh emphasizes the film’s grounding in reality. “Because it is as a coming-of-age sports drama, which is about aspiration, having them being in that position and broken free of it, it makes it real,” he says. “When people see, ‘oh look, Efren is there,’ this is what we are talking about. This is what we are going and to give people hope.” The film features an original song by Filipino-American rapper Alex Bruce, signed to Sony Music Philippines. Partnerships include ABS-CBN Entertainment and Sony Music. Color grading was completed at Company3, the facility behind “The White Lotus,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Paddington in Peru.” Following its world premiere at IFFI Goa, the film is set for festival circulation, theatrical release and eventual streaming distribution.
https://variety.com/2025/film/festivals/john-arcilla-loisa-andalio-billiards-film-iffi-1236589964/
John Arcilla, Loisa Andalio Billiards Drama ‘Bilyarista,’ Featuring Pool Legends Efren Reyes, Django Bustamante, Makes World Premiere at International Film Festival of India
