While Ben Yalung solidified himself as a filmmaker specializing in action films, his son Benedict Yalung looked back at the time he was dedicated to following his father’s footsteps—although he ended up on a different path.

“Ako lang ang medyo sumusunod sa Dad ko eh. I try to follow his footsteps. He directed films nina FPJ, Bong Revilla, naalala ko na nandun ako sa kanya parati behind the scenes,” Benedict recalled during an interview with reporters in Quezon City.

(I consider myself the only one who followed my Dad. I try to follow in his footsteps. He directed the films of Fernando Poe Jr. and Bong Revilla. I remembered always staying by his side behind the scenes.)

Known as M7 among entertainment circles, Ben is best known for directing “Sparrow Unit: The Termination Squad,” “Anak ni Zuma,” “Moises Platon,” “Kumander Dante,” and “Kumander Cobra.” He then shifted to directing religious films after joining the religious community Oasis of Love in the 1980s and is currently the chairman of the Asia Pacific Film Institute.

“Rather than admiring the scenes [of the movie], I was admiring him. He was a director and it was his passion,” Benedict said of Ben, while noting he went corporate through the digital agency Universal Vision where he serves as the chief executive officer.

Despite shifting his film aspirations into the corporate world, Benedict shared that he and Ben entertained the possibility of remaking “Anak ni Zuma” someday. The 1987 film originally starred Max Laurel, Dang Cecilio, PJ Abellana, Lorraine Schuck, and Mark Gil, and was also the inspiration behind the 2013 fantasy drama “Galema: Anak ni Zuma.”

“We’re hoping it would work. Actually, may plans na before. We’re asking the family of [co-writer] Jim Fernandez because he passed away,” Benedict said. “Wala pa[ng actors in mind]. Iba na [ang mga actors] ngayon. Iba na ang [filmmaking] ngayon. Iba ang mga tao ngayon.”

(We’re hoping it would work. We actually had plans before. We’re asking the family of co-writer Jim Fernandez because he passed away. We don’t have any actors in mind yet. Actors are different now. Filmmaking is different now. People have different viewpoints now.)

Benedict also pointed out that the shifting trends in filmmaking are one of the challenges before seeing the “Anak ni Zuma” remake come to fruition.

“Hindi ka na pwedeng basta-basta maglabas kasi alam mo naman ang trend ng movies ngayon. Iba na ang storya, kailangan may [genre] na hindi gaya ng araw,” he said. “Ang issue natin sa movies ngayon ay access. And sa theaters ngayon, iba na rin ang trend. [Priority] ngayon ay storya, budget, and kung gusto mo ng magandang pelikula, kailangan mo ng budget.”

(You simply can’t put out films because of the trends now. The stories are different now. You need to have a specific genre unlike before. We also have the issue of access and theaters rely on trends. The storyline and budget are also the priorities now. If you want to have a good film, you need the budget.)

Despite this, Benedict nonetheless said he makes it a point to honor his father through his work and personal life, as a way of expressing his gratitude toward the latter for helping him through his formative years.

“He’s very strict in terms of business. But as a family man, he’s willing to give advice. He is willing to [help us with insights] on what we want to do in the future. I followed his footsteps,” he said.