CEBU, Philippines —When the stars and crew of “Culion” flew to Palawan last July to start the principal photography for the film written by Ricky Lee and directed by Alvin Yapan, everyone on the set knew that the producers intended the film to be an entry to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.
It was a long shot of a deal. After all, “Culion” failed to make it as an initial entry based on script submission. But the people behind the production just went on with the task at hand. They know the film still had a fighting chance.
Last week, iOptions and the rest of the stars and staff of “Culion” jumped for joy after the MMFF 2019 Screening Committee announced that the film is now an official entry to the annual festival.
When Star Circuit visited the set of “Culion” in Palawan sometime in July, we had the chance to talk to Jasmine Curtis-Smith up close and personal. At that time, Jasmine said she had only shot two scenes with her co-stars Iza Calzado and Meryll Soriano so she couldn’t say much yet about her experience working with them.
“But I really wanted to work with both of them. In the past, I would watch Iza’s movies like ‘Bliss’ and message her how much I liked her work. I also did the same thing with Meryll,” said Jasmine. “Now that I got the chance to work with them in ‘Culion,’ I am truly happy and grateful for the opportunity.”
Jasmine said she admires Iza and Meryll, not just because of their craft, but also how they prove themselves as women.
“They both stand for what they believe in and right there, I feel that I would like to align myself with them. These two women were doing what they wanted to do. They can prove themselves capable without really having to prove anything. That is how I size them up so that’s why I am so eager to work with them. I am very excited and was wondering what kind of dynamics we will have on the set. We support each other individually, as we look at each other eye to eye on the set, before the take. We’d stare at each other as we feel our respective characters,” Jasmine related.
She added that as she works with Iza and Meryl in “Culion,” she can feel that they are longer acting their parts. “We are already the roles that we are playing. We are in the zone and we are living the character. That was how I felt working with them,” she added.
“I can feel their heart and for me, that is very important. That’s what I need to feel when I work. That was what Iza and Meryll gave me in our scenes. I am so grateful for that experience working with them because I have admired them for so long.”
Jasmine further said that it was a great opportunity for her to work with a superb production team.
“We have Sir Ricky Lee, our writer, Direk Alvin Yapan, plus our producer Shandii Bacolod. I love Shandii ever since we worked together in ‘Transit.’ He was not part of ‘Transit’ but he helped our team. Now with this project, I can say that the production team of ‘Culion’ is wonderful. It is a dream cast and a dream team, a dream producer. I can’t ask for anything more. I feel fortunate to be part of this epic project.”