By Rica Arevalo It was hard to convince Cesar Hernando, production designer of acclaimed films, such as Mike de Leon’s Citizen Jake (2018), Sister Stella L (1984), Batch ’81 (1982), Kisapmata (1981), Lav Diaz’s Batang West Side (2001), Raymond Red’s Bayani (1992), Maryo J delos Reyes’ Tagos ng Dugo (1987), Doy del Mundo’s Pepot Artista (2005) and Mes de Guzman’s Ang Kwento ni Mabuti (2013), to talk about his over 40-decade career in the film industry. Quite unassuming and “low” profile, he is best known as one of the pioneer “renaissance” professors at the UP College of Fine Arts where he taught from 1986 to 2017. Why do we need production designers?  “A film with a story should have a production designer to the vision of the director based on the script he has written and what it’s going to look like.” Cesar was raised by a father who was a police detective and an avid reader of all sorts of books, magazines, and comics. His mother was a fan of radio soap opera dramas. His brother, film critic Mario Hernando, was a founding member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. When he was studying filmmaking at the Film Institute of the Philippines in 1970, his teacher Ben Pinga assigned him to help Ishmael Bernal in his debut film, Pagdating sa Dulo (1971).  “Ishma taught me the work of an assistant director.  During the shoot, there was no production designer or even an art director,” recalls Cesar, a three-time Gawad Urian winner.  “We worked on what was already on the set location, which was either existing houses or an apartment with ready props. I thought then that was not really an important aspect of filmmaking.” In 1976, he observed Mel Chionglo who was production designer at that time on the sets of Mike de Leon’s Itim (1976) and Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising (1977).  “He (Mel) was responsible for the set dressing of Mario Montenegro’s house and filled up the set with furniture and other props like hangings on the walls,” Cesar beams. “He was also responsible for all the costumes worn by the actors.  I thought that this was a design! The colors were very much controlled, of course with big help from the cinematographer Rody Lacap.” His biggest break came when de Leon asked him to design Batch ’81. “I thought this was a great challenge as I liked the fascist theme of Batch,” recounts the 71-year-old UST College of Fine Arts graduate. “I enjoyed doing the sets in Upakan ’81 scenes of the two rival fraternities. The red color should only be seen at the Cabaret set and the color of blood during the rumble scene.” His constant art director was Lea Locsin. “In 1986, I did Tagos ng Dugo for Maryo J. De los Reyes with Lea as my art director,” he says. “She enjoyed designing clothes for Vilma Santos, which I readily approved as I told her that Vilma had to look glamorous and very feminine—an exact opposite to Sister Stella L.” Unknown to many, Cesar worked as art director in the war-drama British production, Return From the River Kwai (1989). The production designer was Michael Stringer who did many British film productions, such as Casino Royale (1967),  Robin and Marian (1976), and Fiddler on the Roof (1971).  “Since it was a period film set during World War II, I learned a lot from Michael—from doing miniatures to the actual sets. Very professional but stressful. I’ve never seen so many drawings (with measurements) in an art department! We had sets inside a submarine, a passenger ship, prisoners of war sets, dressed up trains, etc. And I had to deal with a lot of people, such as props men, set dressers, construction men, effects men, every day! So when I did Raymond Red’s Bayani in 1992, I applied what I learned.” Red, a 2000 Cannes Palme d’Or award winner, shares their collaborative process. “Cesar approaches design not only through visual inspiration but by narrative and human experience,” he says. “He also derives a lot of insight from history. He absorbs the story and decides the honest significance and purpose of every costume, every prop, every location. He faithfully collaborates with the director and stays true to the intent of the screenplay, and designs to truly serve the story.” In 2000, Cesar was in New York to design Lav Diaz’ five-hour opus, Batang West Side. “That was quite a challenge because we had to shoot in many places with households still occupying the house. We just had to remove some unnecessary props and add more to make it look right,” says this bachelor. “I told Lav that it was better to concentrate on the exterior shots than inside houses. The snow helped a lot in achieving the dark, sullen mood of the film.” Cesar has stuck through “thick and thin” with Mike de Leon and a viral video of the esteemed director giving a shout-out to his production designer, commending him on their close collaborations over many years, is going around the web. “When Mike asked me to read the Citizen Jake screenplay, I immediately liked it. I thought that this was something new. When the film was finished, there were some changes in the script during the post-prod but I was blown away by the final outcome,” muses Cesar. What was his favorite scene in Citizen Jake?  He beams, “I like the apartment scene of the character Jake near the ending. It’s like an apartment in a high-rise building in an ‘industrial’ style look.  It looks like a cavern or a mausoleum with steps that have no railing or a window without a ledge. Mike knows exactly what he likes and doesn’t like during the shoot and during the post-production. To think that this was a shift from the celluloid 35mm, which he was accustomed to, to digital filmmaking, his mind is so crystal clear. Working with him again is like he hasn’t retired. I may say he is a genius.” What attitude must a production designer espouse to have a long-lasting career? “To work closely with the director and the cinematographer—we are the triumvirate,” says Cesar. “Remember that a cinematographer may ruin your set and color!”