By Edd Aragon

I didn’t have any clue what Lucky Miles meant until I saw it at the end of movie. It is the title of a new Australian movie to be shown this month at the Sydney Film Festival. Surprisingly, a Filipino, Kenneth Moraleda, plays a major role—that of Arun, a Cambodian refugee—in this black comedy involving human trafficking, human nature, tragedies, and compassion.

This movie is not one for the malls. To appreciate it is to acknowledge the different emotional states people could be subjected to by the ever-changing political climate. Tolerance and compassion shall win over self-defeatism, fatalism, and pragmatic attitudes.

The film reminded me of the sufferings endured by early Australian pioneer-explorers like Matthew Flinders, William Dawes, Burke, and Wills in this unforgiving desert continent. It dawned upon me that these film characters now became explorers incarnated, masochistically relishing the tyranny of distance, blindly servile to an invisible but universal intent to explore and take big risk.

Some reviews on the film:

Cinematic Intelligence Agency: “Too much paradise. It’s 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons Iraqi and Cambodian refugees in a remote part of West Australia. Whilst most are quickly caught by officials, three men with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination escape arrest and begin an epic journey into the heart of Australia. Pursued by an army reservist unit, our three heroes wander deeper into the desert, desperately searching for civilisation amongst the stones of the Pilbara. Lucky Miles, a black comedy about distance, difference and dud maps. Based on a collection of almost true stories.”

Stan James, The Advertiser: “Exciting, political and darkly humorous.”

Philippa Hawker, The Age: “An intriguing vision of Australia.”

Oscar Hillerstrom, FHM: “Brilliant. One of the great Australian films about Australia.”

Richard Kuipers, Variety: “A winning streak of wry humour.”

I was able to corner Kenneth Moraleda at the majestic Dendy Cinema at Circular Quay, right under art deco pillars of the Big Toaster (a giant monolith of a hotel built right in the island protrusion where the Sydney Opera House sits).

EA: Hi, Kenneth, we just saw Lucky Miles 15 minutes ago. The refugees’ panicky voices still ring fresh in my ears. I enjoyed the film. Congrats, bro! Did you enjoy the outdoor movie set and playing a significant role there? One more thing, awesome cinematography! I thought I stepped into one of Sir Arthur Boyd’s paintings.

KM: Hi, Edd! Yeah, I did enjoy the shooting of Lucky Miles. We filmed in South Australia to represent Western Australia, and we basically spent six weeks in the middle of nowhere. The main shooting was done in an area six hours north of Adelaide, past the Flinders Ranges and it’s a landscape I have never seen before.

How long did it take to film under those dreadful, hot conditions?
The filming was eight weeks all up.

That’s harsh! Have you been acting for quite a while now?
I have. I started acting in 1992.

How old are you now?
I’m 33.

Any other film project after Lucky Miles?
Not at the moment. I’m going to head back to a movie in the Gold Coast and that’s just about it.

I reckon the film captured visually the real, geographic Australia. However, with regard to the Australian people, would you agree with the plot and political lines of the movie? I mean contemporarily–you know, boat people, human trafficking, strict Australian immigration laws, coastal security, etc.
Definitely, yeah, even if there’s only four major Australian characters in it, it’s very Australian in flavor. It’s got a great landscape. It’s a very Australian film and yet very different from any other.

So why is a Filipino playing the role of a Cambodian?
I was at one point playing the Indonesian guy; everyone else was Indonesian or
Iraqi. Well, they were all available and they thought I could do the role of the Cambodian well. We didn’t specifically play our own heritage, but you know I can play any role.

I thought I saw your face before on TV, did you appear on [the Australian drama series] Neighbours?
No, I did not do Neighbours, but I did [police action-drama shows] Water Rats and Wildside and show called Bondi. [The Australian broadcast station] SBS had been good to me.

Oh, okay, are you expensive?
[Laughter] Not yet.

Stars will always shine. You will be, for sure.
My friends call me cheap all the time. I don’t know what they mean.

Will Lucky Miles be shown abroad?
Definitely, Edd. We’re doing the international film festival circuit this year and hopefully there will be other cinema releases outside. Definitely, there will be a cinema release in July in Australia. On the 22nd of June we will be at the Sydney Film Festival.

Honestly, I find you a very natural actor. Not a trace of acting, you know.
Thank you. Well, in real life OA ako!

You were born in–?
A very strange story. I was born in Cambridge, Massachussets, in the USA. My parents were there studying when I was born, then we moved back to the Philippines and stayed in lots of different places like Dagupan, Bicol, and La Loma.

When did you come to Sydney?
We arrived in Sydney in 1989, but we came from Seattle. We all came as a family.

You think acting will be your real, serious career?
Yes. I’ve been constantly acting even if there’s no visibility. I’ve been constantly working and acting in bits and pieces, like professionally, not to a major extent but definitely enough to support me as, a profession, which is good. But yes, I do odd jobs every now and then, just to support the lifestyle of a creative person, any creative person.

Did you go to any acting schools?
I went to an acting school in Kensington, pursued dramatic arts, and finished in 1995. I was the first Filipino to graduate there, which is great.

Wow, good to hear you’re a pioneer there. Any inspiring words for our young Fil-Australians here?
Just keep at it. The more [there are] of us, the better the competition and the better this town would be.

Suffice it to say, there’s no glass ceiling for Filipino Australians and other Asiatic people for the film industry?
None at all, and based on my experience in the industry, they always need people to represent all of these different multicultural faces on television and film and stage, and it just comes down to a few of us that are actually trained. I know most of the people that I see in the auditions, there’s not enough, we need more.

Got any other skills Ken, aside from acting?
I do graphics and design. I’m a mean karaoke singer. Also, I did stage. I was in Lion King, which went to Melbourne and then to China.

Thank you and good luck to you, Ken. It’s wonderful to meet a guy from Lucky Miles in person. Proud of you and our Pinoy DNA!
Thanks, Edd. All the best to our Filipino-Australian community.

Visit Edd Aragon’s blog.

——————–

Kenneth Moraleda’s photo courtesy of www.disney.com.au