Muntik nang hindi matuloy ang pagpo-produce ng actress/producer na si Rebecca Chuaunsu ng pelikulang Her Locket na entry sa Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2024.
Umpisang kuwento ni Rebecca sa panayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), “Actually, we auditioned people to play the role of Jewel, but I think the director thought… for me doing my role as Jewel, would be best.
“So… when my husband started getting sick, actually one night before the shoot, all of you may not know, I almost cancelled, because for every injection, it cost almost 500,000 pesos.
“And I was thinking I have to allocate money for his medical expenses and I have to allocate production expenses.”
Pero ayon pa rin kay Rebecca, matagal na niyang pangarap na magkaroon ng isang proyekto na tulad ng Her Locket.
Aniya, “But I said, I've been dreaming about this for 32 years. I said, go."
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rebecca's husband passes away
Pinagsabay ni Rebecca ang pag-shoot sa Her Locket at pag-alaga sa kanyang asawang may sakit.
Aniya, "So, we were shooting and during the shoot, he was already hospitalized.
"And when we were doing the Mandarin subtitles, my husband passed away."
Kuwento ni Rebecca, dinalaw naman siya ng kanyang asawa sa isang panaginip habang siya ay nasa isang film festival sa Morocco.
“So, there were times like on the 40th day of his passing, I was in a strange country, Morocco, not knowing anybody.
"And then, in the dream, he appeared to me, very young again, but his voice was so feeble. He told me, ‘Rebecca, I haven't died.’ And so, I said, ‘My gosh, we buried you already’.
“So, that night, during the awarding ceremony, Morocco and Philippines has about 7 to 8-hour time difference, I was a bit sleepy.
"And they were speaking French, I couldn't understand. And they said, ‘Rebecca?’
"And I stood up and I said, ‘What happened?’
"They said, ‘You won.’ ‘What did I win?’ ‘The Best Actress!’"
Nanalong Best Actress si Rebecca Chuaunsu para sa papel niyang Jewel Ouyang sa Her Locket sa 2023 Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora sa Morocco.
Pagpapatuloy pa ni Rebecca, “And I praised the Lord, that was the 40th day."
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her locket goes global
Abala si Rebecca ngayon sa pagdala sa Her Locket sa ibang mga bansa worldwide.
Aniya, "Now, I bring this film to different countries, to Cannes, I can only speak, merci beaucoup.
“I go to London and I don't know anybody there. So, I go to Jollibee to eat so that I can give them flyers.
"I go to Morocco and a lot of Muslim young girls, 13, 14 years old, would help me, because they cannot speak my language, neither can I speak their language.
“So, they put me on Viber and they said, thank you for being the voice. I go to Bangladesh, they asked me to talk about women empowerment.
“Do I regret? No. I'm so glad you're here to share this moment with me. In a few days, we'll be in Gateway, Sinag Maynila.
“I thank you for being part of my dream.”
Taong 2022 pa natapos ang pelikulang Her Locket.
“This was in late 2022 when we were just coming out from pandemic, and we were almost locked-in shooting because we had to have COVID tests and all this, and a lot of our pre-production meetings were done via Zoom.
“So 2023, I brought it to Cannes, to London, and all this, and thankfully, Sinag Maynila will take care of bringing this film to different countries and different regions for the next five years.”
Nitong nakaraang taong ay isa ang Her Locket sa dinala ng Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) sa Marché du Film 2023, ang business arm prestihiyosong Cannes Film Festival na ginanap sa France mula May 16- 27, 2023.
rebecca on starring in her locket
Pinaka buod ng pelikulang Her Locket ay tungkol sa isang locket necklace na naging dahilan upang ang isang babaeng Chinese na may dementia ay unti-unting manumbalik ang mga alaala ng nakalipas.
Base sa tunay na buhay ang pelikula, at malaking bahagi nito ay kuwento ng pamilya ni Rebecca, ng mga magulang niya, at ang pagpabor sa lalaking anak kaysa babaeng anak.
Hindi ba siya natakot na mailahad ang mga nakatagong lihim ng kanilang pamilya?
Paliwanag ni Rebecca, “This story is a tapestry. Weaving of stories from the director, from the writer, and me as the storyteller.
"And if you notice, I bring my own dear life, and we have a lawyer here, Atty. Kester Kua, and so on.
“We have a disclaimer, and not all parts will be biographical.”
Mabigat ang papel ni Rebecca bilang si Jewel: malalim, kumplikado at tumalakay sa dementia, papel na nababagay sa isang Nora Aunor.
Ano ang saloobin ni Rebecca tungkol dito?
Lahad niya, “I was scared, because number one, I don't have dementia yet. So, I researched and interviewed a lot of dementia patients.
“Basically, they're my aunties and my older sister. I talked with them, they didn't know I was researching them.
“So, another thing is I had acting coaches. They were provided by the director to coach me on the set, including the Tagalog diction.”
Paano niya pinaghandaan ang kanyang karakter sa pelikula?
“It was a very difficult role because I haven't experienced dementia.
"And when I started interviewing my aunties, my older sister, it hits me that maybe it will happen to me one day.
“How to prepare the role is super, super challenging. Not only because I have to speak Malay, but because it is so emotional.
"There are days na after pack-up and I go to the car to drive myself home, I'm still crying.”
Ano ang mas nais ni Rebecca; ang manalo ng mga award sa Sinag Maynila o panoorin ng maraming tao sa sinehan ang Her Locket?
“Yes, I’d like more and more people to watch it, that’s our goal. Now, whether we win any award, it will be cream of the crop or crème dela crème.”
Mula sa Rebecca Chuaunsu Film Production in cooperation w/ Rebelde Films, ang Her Locket ay sa direksyon ni J. E. Tiglao at isa sa mga full-length film entries sa Sinag Maynila Film Festival 2024.
Gaganapin ang film festival mula September 4 to 10, 2024 sa ilalim ng Solar Pictures, ng festival director na si Brilliante Mendoza at ng City of Manila.
Ipapalabas ito sa Gateway 2, SM Cinemas in NCR, Robinsons Galleria and Manila, at Market! Market! Cinema.
Kasama ni Rebecca sa pelikula sina Elora Españo, Boo Gabunada, Sophie Ng, at Benedict Cua.
rebecca on being actress-producer
Natanong naman ng PEP.ph si Rebecca kung ano ang advantages at disadvantages na siya ang lead star at producer ng kanyang pelikula.
“For the lead star, I get to tell my story my way.
"For the producer… sorry if I sound like a control freak, I’d like to tell my story my way also,” at tumawa si Rebecca.
“So on the set it’s pretty difficult, because on the scene you’re Jewel.
"And then, once off the screen, Kristine will ask me, ‘Becca, can we approve to buy clothes, or flashlights or extra food?’ And then, I have to wear my ‘hat’ again as Jewel.”
May plano pa si Rebecca na mag-produce pa ng pelikula.
“Yes,” bulalas ni Rebecca. “Actually, I wanted to produce a film for Binondo the Musical, I was working with National Artist Ricky Lee, direk Joel Lamangan, and then…
"But I thought I don’t have the marketing and distribution experiences, so we switched it into a musical, at The Solaire.
“We played it for 2 years, 2018 and 2019, and in 2020, praise the Lord, the Lord gave me an Aliw Hall of Famer for Best Producer.”
Ang tinutukoy ni Rebecca ay ang musical na Binondo: A Tsinoy Musical na isinulat ni Ricky Lee at idinirek ni Joel Lamangan.
Nakausap ng PEP.ph si Rebecca noong Agosto 27 sa Oriental Palace Restaurant sa T. Morato Avenue sa Quezon City.
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Nasa Her Locket rin sina Francis Mata, Zoey Villamangca, Nellie Ang See, Rolando Inocencio, Atty. Kesterson Kua, Angela Villarin, Ashlee Factor, Jian Rapolles, Tommy Alejandrino, Norman Ong, Matthew Seaver Choy, Atty. Allan Jao, Roberto Uy Kieng, George See at Dr. Philip Tan Gatue.
Ang Her Locket ay isinulat nina J.E. Tiglao at Maze Miranda, ang assistant director ay si Roderick Goot, cinematography ni Jag Concepcion at production design ni James Rosendal.
Line producer nito si Jane Danting, production manager si Laugelie Gadon, with Sarah Pagcaliwagan Brakensiek and Ferdinand Lapuz as producers, with Dr. Rebecca Shangkuan Chuaunsu as the executive producer.
Bukod sa 2023 Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora sa Morocco at sa Marché du Film 2023 na business arm ng prestihiyosong Cannes Film Festival sa France ay naging participant rin ang Her Locket sa London East Asia International Film Festival sa UK, sa 22nd Dhaka Film Festival sa Bangladesh at sa Wu Wei International Film Festival sa Taiwan.
Naimbitahan din ang Her Locket sa San Diego Film Festival sa Amerika sa Oktubre 2024.