By CJ Mendoza

Winning an acting award in an international film festival might be a tough feat for any actor but, nevertheless, this is what Ruru Madrid has set his eyes on this year.
 
Ruru is one of the lead stars of the independent film Above The Clouds. The said film is currently competing in the 25^th Singapore International Film Festival. He is nominated as Best Actor and is scheduled to fly to Singapore on December 11. Before this, Above The Clouds was also featured at the 27^th Tokyo International Film Festival last October.
 
In Above The Clouds, Ruru plays “Andy,” a boy trying to overcome the grief of his parents’ death through trekking the mountains with his estranged grandfather played by OPM legend and rock star Pepe Smith.
 
The young actor shares his first impression about the music legend. “Kala ko nung una, rakista lang s’ya, pero hindi pala, magaling din pala s’yang umarte. Natutuwa ako. Kasi s’yempre, makasama lang s’ya, iba na eh, legend na s’ya eh.”
 
Their professional relationship quickly developed into a more personal one as, according to Pepe, Ruru has a physical semblance to his son, Beebop Smith. “Parang masyado s’yang attached sa’kin. Kasi ‘yung anak daw n’ya may hawig daw sa’kin,” tells Ruru.
 
Ruru says that he auditioned for the role “Andy” and was chosen after the director saw that he has potential chemistry with Pepe Smith. “’Yung role ko kasi dito, parang bad trip ako sa kanya, hindi ko s’ya pinapansin. Nangyari na raw sa kanya ‘yon, so naging madali para sa kanya,” adds Ruru.
 
The attachment was reciprocated by Ruru, as he remembered his own grandfather through Pepe Smith.  “Nung 6 years old ako, ako nag-aalaga sa lolo ko so naaalala ko pa rin ‘yung mga ganung panahon.”
 
The young actor also did not waste any time learning from a veteran in the industry. “Tinuruan n’ya ko, sabi n’ya, ‘Yung mga fans mo, alagaan mo sila, mahirap kapag nawalan ka ng fans.’”
 
 The title of their film, Above the Clouds, tells a lot about the location requirements of the film – they shot sequences in several locations atop the Mountain Province for more than a month.
 
“Tumira ako sa Baguio, Sagada, Mt. Pulag,” shares Ruru, and adds that, “’Yung mga scenes, location, sobrang hirap ng dinanas namin. Sa lahat ng nagawa ko ‘yun na ‘yung pinakamahirap. Tapos nag-trekking kami sa Mt. Pulag ng 5 hours. Mahirap talaga.”
 
The 17-year-old actor was unfazed by the difficulties of filming though, and instead notes that, “Sana ‘yung mga pinaghirapan namin, sana maibalik sa’min. Sana manalo sa abroad. Sana maging successful.”
 
Despite the international road that he is trudging now, Ruru never forgets the lessons he learned from his Protégé mentors. “Gusto ko pang mag-workshop. Kasi kailangan ‘yun eh. ‘Yun ‘yung natutunan ko sa mga mentor ko, kay Tatay Ipe (Philip Salvador), kay direk Mario (J. delos Reyes) na ‘wag kang tumigil mag-aral kasi d’yan tayo kumukuha pa ng bala eh,” Ruru concludes.
 
Win or lose, we’re proud of you Ruru! Congratulations in advance!