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How Matteo found spiritual healing

Matteo Gudicelli (NPPA Images)

Matteo Guidicelli partly credits his renewed friendship with ex-girlfriend Maja Salvador to divine intervention and role in the indie film “Paglaya sa Tanikala,” where he plays St. Jerome.

“I was going to church  a lot more for the movie,” he recalls. “There was healing. Maja and I weren’t talking for awhile.  But we started talking again and we’re friends.”

Peace through forgiveness

Matteo finally found peace through forgiveness.  And he can’t help but smile from ear to ear.

“Forgiveness is important in life,” he notes.  “I’m happy I don’t have enemies.”

His family is just as happy Matteo is playing a saint in the film, an entry in the New Wave section of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

“My maternal grandmother from Cebu is very happy,” Matteo reports. “Pangarap niya sa akin kahit nung bata pa ako ay maging pari ako. Pero sabi ko sa kanya hanggang pelikula lang.”

Matteo’s paternal grandfather, who hails from Venice, is just as overjoyed.  He's proud of the fact that Matteo is  playing someone who comes from the same country (Italy) as he does.  

“Apelyido pa lang, Italiano na ako,” Matteo explains.  “I also have a few Italian lines in the film.”

Changed looks

Matteo changed his looks drastically to resemble St. Jerome as closely as possible.  He grew a beard and looked older than his age.  He endured four hours of putting on prosthetics to mimic the saint’s receding hairline.  Matteo then spent another two hours removing the facial prosthetics.

“I would drive to Pampanga every other day,” he recalls the five-day shooting schedule.

Matteo found it funny that he was working on two opposing projects at the same time.

“Naghuhubad ako sa 'Paraiso' (where he had love scenes) tapos nagdadamit  ako sa  'Paglaya sa Tanikala.'  Sabi ko sa sarili ko, 'Matteo, anong ginagawa mo?' But it was a nice job.”

The film is a dream come true for Matteo since he had long wanted to  have an indie project. 

“That’s why when the producers came up to me, I told them I had been waiting for this kind of project.”

A few lessons

He picked up a few lessons along the way as well.

“If something bad is happening in your life, you can always stop and try again.  You can change your life the way St. Jerome did.  St. Jerome was a drunkard, a rich guy who spent money left and right.  But he changed prostitute, helped orphans and made them better people.”

That’s a lesson not only Matteo, but others will do well to remember.

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