Jeff Fernandez: From Acting to Directing

It’s been a long journey in show business for actor now director Jeff Ismael Fernandez, officially known as Jeff Fernandez.

I remember when I was editing the entertainment pages of the tabloid Bomba!, my writers like Leo Paul Caliwara, Ronald Duka, Alfie Moreno, Linda Cabuhayan, Ismaelli Favatini, Matt Garcia, the late Jun Bombay and Lolo Buenaobra etc. would always send in their stories about Jeff with matching photos and I would gladly publish them pronto.

Fernandez had done movies in various productions, big and small, and he would treasure these appearances to his heart’s content no matter how minor his role was.

I once in a while heard of him from colleagues and stars who had the chance to work with him like young actress Nica Naval, a Lopenze who was the Gregoria de Jesus in Richard Somes’ “Supremo” which was top billed by Alfred Vargas sa Andres Bonifacio. Nica said she and Jeff are friends.

In the advent of the voluminous social media info, though, I happened to come across Jeff in his Facebook account in 2016—as we were friends all along. There were many show biz connections on his spaces. There was a time I would wonder who Eunice Naval was as a council candidate of the Sangguniang Bayan that year as posted in his wall. Were Eunice and Nica the same person? I managed to send a message to Fernandez about the identities of the two personas and he confirmed Eunice and Nica were all the same.

Before my interview with Naval in Rospan Hotel and Restaurant in Barangay Bebito ni Lopez, Quezon about a possible film—the meeting was with controversial Fil-Briton filmmaker Jowee Morel—I asked Jeff what made him and Nica click? “Simple lang siyang tao (She’s just a simple person),” assured Fernandez.

After my editing stint with various tabloids and broadsheets, I didn’t hear from Jeff anymore but would see him in socmed until I was tuned in to “FB Kumustahan Live with Lollipop,” an online show on Facebook anchored by Leo Paul and daily, now 9:30-11 am broadcast, from the town of Lopez in Quezon Province.

It was there that I encountered again Jeff no matter virtually.

Fernandez struck me as a persevering person and artist.

I also discovered that he is now a filmmaker and an award-winning film artist at that.

Don’t look now but Jeff, the Zamboangeno actor-director is a star maker and an actor’s director as he jumpstarted the acting career of Nica who was featured in a challenging role in “Sumbang (Incest)” of AMI Productions.  Fernandez made Nacal an awarded actress to romp away the Best Supporting Actress award from the 6rh Inding Indie Film Festival held at the Museo ng Pasigueno in 2019.    

The film also took home the Special Recognition for Directing for Jeff and the Excellence Award Gawad sa Puso ng Sining 2019 at the same fest.

Meanwhile, the Nica Naval-Edward Sevilla starrer in “Sumbang” won Best Foreign Film at the Bettiah International Short Film Festival 2020 in India.

Last February, the film brought home the Best Actor Award from the Reels International Film Festival in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The film is at the Nawada International Film Festival in India.

Meanwhile, “Pangantin” and “Takipsilim,” the other directorial works of Jeff have just won two plums each, Best Direction and Special Mention and Best Foreign and Best Philippine Film, respectively, at the 2021 Gully International Film Festival in India.