Bela Padilla found more than a co-star in Maricel Soriano while making “Life After You.” She found a mentor whose presence helped remind her why she fell in love with acting and storytelling in the first place.
Directed by Marla Ancheta, the Viva Films drama marks Soriano and Padilla’s first major on-screen collaboration.
“Life After You,” which opens in Philippine cinemas Sept. 9, follows two women who become maternal figures to a young girl after an unexpected tragedy. Soriano plays Bella, a widow and grandmother who secretly reaches out to support her granddaughter Denise, while Padilla portrays Joey, Denise’s devoted aunt who puts her own ambitions aside to raise the child.
For Padilla, the project came at a time when she was dealing with personal and professional challenges. Despite this. she did not want that to affect her work.
“I was feeling a bit sad or heavy when I entered this project. [Soriano] made me remember why I love this job so much. She made me realize also that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows in our profession. My whole life, I treated this profession and job that way, and then it got challenging for a bit,” Padilla said during the film’s media conference.
“Inay made me realize why I came here in the beginning, why acting is so important to us and why we love it so much, and why being a storyteller is so important, especially in times like these. Our country’s going through such difficult times. It’s so nice that we get to tell stories that give hope and make people feel good,” she continued.
Soriano, for her part, appeared to take on a maternal role toward Padilla during the production.
“I’m very much a mother to her. I understood immediately. You know what my ‘daddy’ Dolphy (Quizon) used to say to me? ‘Anak, wag ka nang malungkot.’ Because they cannot put a good actress down. So don’t be sad, anak,” Soriano said.
Unmissable opportunity
Padilla revealed that she had been dealing with several concerns when production began and had even been going back and forth to the hospital. She said she considered the project important enough to stay because it was her opportunity to work closely with Soriano.
“I didn’t want to let this one go because this was the first time I was going to work with Inay in this capacity. I felt it was important for me to stay here,” Padilla said.
“I didn’t want to enter a project feeling that way because it felt like a disservice to my co-workers,” she added.
Instead, Padilla continued showing up and reassuring people that she was fine.
“But, of course, inside, you’re dealing with something. Inay immediately got it. She saw that I wasn’t OK,” she said.
According to Padilla, Soriano did not always need an explanation to know what she was going through.
“She always had advice for me every shooting day, and even when I wasn’t saying anything, she understood immediately,” Padilla said.
She described Soriano as affectionate and warm, recalling how the veteran actress would already be in her dressing room in the morning ready to chat.
“From morning until pack up, we would talk. Sometimes one of us would already be done for the day, but the other wouldn’t go home yet. We would wait for each other,” Padilla recalled.
Emotionally demanding
Their friendship also helped lighten the atmosphere of a production that required them to perform emotionally demanding scenes.
When asked about the meaning of “life after you” in relation to her own life, Soriano recalled losing her mother and the difficulty of learning to live with grief.
“You can’t forget someone. You will never forget them. You just have to get used to it,” Soriano said.
Padilla also drew from her own experience of losing someone important, her father who passed away two years ago and was one of her major supporters.
“I used to send the trailer to my dad, or if there was a scene I liked, I’d make a video and send it to him. He would comment on it even if he didn’t understand the dialogue. Sometimes he’d ask what I’m saying or what’s happening in the scene,” Padilla said.
“He’d just say, ‘Oh, I really love this. I felt this,’ and things like that. So I miss him during moments like this when I start a new project or finish one,” she added.
She explained that because she is single and unattached, she regards her movies and television projects as the legacy she will leave behind.
“I always say in my press conferences that I don’t have a family. I don’t have children, I don’t have a husband so my movies, my TV shows —those are my children. This will be my legacy one day,” Padilla said.
“Life After You” also stars Dani Zee, Krissha Viaje, MJ Cayabyab, Andrea Babierra, Peach Caparas, Gardo Versoza, Rey PJ Abellana, Ryza Cenon and Marlo Mortel.
Directed by Marla Ancheta, the movie open in cinemas nationwide Sept. 9.
