Some of the cast and crew answer questions during the school tour. Photo by Hannah Lou Balladares

Cast and crew members of the film adaptation of F. H. Batacan’s best-selling and critically-acclaimed ‘Smaller and Smaller Circles’ visited the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) last Nov. 25 in the last leg of its nationwide school tour.

Director Raya Martin, producers and writers Ria Limjap and Moira Lang, actor Jess Mendoza, and film crew Kara Moreno and Alyssa Villanueva all shared their experiences and insights on the film at the Finster Auditorium.

Clips from the movie were played to give a glimpse into the world of main protagonists Gus Saenz and Jerome Lucero, played respectively by Nonie Buencamino and Sid Lucero. Saenz and Lucero are Jesuit priests dabbling in forensics and sleuthing who try to follow the trail of a serial killer in Payatas.

After the clips were shown, a question-and-answer portion with the cast and crew members was held. Director Martin shared about the film’s faithfulness to the novel it is based on.

“As a director, I was scared to tackle it [because] there’s a big cult following for the book and I think there’s going to be a lot of comparisons [to the novel]. We wanted both the readers and non-readers of the book to enjoy the movie, so that people who have not read the book yet will grab a copy and for people who’ve read the book to read it again. In some ways, it’s [similar to most of] the book and it’s also something entirely new,” he said.

The campus tour visited several universities across the country, including Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), University of San Carlos (USC), Silliman University (SU), and Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU). The AdDU leg was made possible in part through the Ateneo Film Circle.

Copies of the novel, stickers, bookmarks, and other merchandise were up for grabs. The first ten students who asked the cast and crew a question received free SASC book bags.

‘Smaller and Smaller Circles’ is produced by Tuko Film Productions and Buchi Boy Entertainment, and directed by Raya Martin. While it does not have a definite release date yet, official sources say that the film will be shown in Philippine cinemas soon. For more updates on the film, like the film’s Facebook page at: fb.com/smallerandsmallercircles.