The award-winning Filipino-Chinese film “Her Locket” will have its US premiere at the San Diego Filipino Film Festival this week.
In the family drama, a Chinese woman, who is suffering from dementia, gradually recalls memories from her past with the help of a locket necklace.
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“Her Locket” recently bagged Best Film, Best Director for J.E. Tiglao, Best Actress for Rebecca Chuaunsu, Best Supporting Actress for Elora Españo, Best Screenplay for Tiglao and Maze Miranda, Best Cinematography for Jag Concepcion, Best Production Design for James Arvin Rosendal, and Best Acting Ensemble at the 2024 Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival.
This is Tiglao’s second feature film, after winning Best Director for “Metamorphosis” at the 2019 Cinema One Originals. Chuaunsu also won Best Actress awards at the Wu Wei International Film Festival in Taiwan and the Festival International du Film Transsaharien de Zagora in Morocco.
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Chuaunsu plays the role of Jewel Ouyang, a senior citizen who was once the daughter of a wealthy Chinese businessman until she suffered from dementia and lost everything. The old woman now lives with her lawyer son, Kyle Nicolas (Boo Gabunada). Kyle hires a caregiver, Teresa Firmante (Españo), who desires to undergo rhinoplasty to escape her present life.
An old locket that contains Jewel’s photo with her parents, and her brother, Magnus, will remove the cloud of forgetfulness and free her memories of her tenuous relationship with her family.
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“Two women want to do something about their memories. One wants to get it back. The other one wants to forget. Both came from experiences of pain and loss. Both a victim of patriarchy under two familial cultures of Chinese and Filipino. However, this is also a restorative story of women who choose not to be silenced, who choose to hold the line. My intention is to portray an empowering tale of feminism in front of a backdrop of conservative milieu,” Tiglao shared.
Produced by Rebecca Chuaunsu Film Production in cooperation with Rebelde Films, “Her Locket” also stars Sophie Ng as the young Jewel, Benedict Cua as the young Magnus, Tommy Alejandrino as the young Jewel’s love interest, Francis Mata as the old Magnus, Rolando Inocencio, Jian Myco Repolles, Zoey Villamangca, Norman Ong, Nellie Ang, Angela Kate Villarin, Ashlee Mickaela Factor, Matthew Seaver Choy, Roberto Uy Kieng, George See, Banaue Miclat, and Chuansu’s real-life lawyer Kesterson Kua.
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Tiglao and actress/executive producer Chuaunsu also got ample support from producers Sarah Pagcaliwagan Brakensiek and Ferdinand Lapuz, line producer Jane Danting, production manager Gel Gadon, assistant director Roderick Goot, editor Renard Torres, sound designer Armand De Guzman, musical scorer Divino Dayacap, head wardrobe Jomar Matawaran, costume designer Wim Jay Fernando, makeup artist Cheryl Cabanos, among others.
“Her Locket” will be shown on October 3 at AMC Plaza Bonita, Westfield, San Diego, California, USA. The couple – Gawad Urian awardee Benito Salvador Bautista and Emma Francisco Bautista – respectively serves as Executive Director and Programming Director of the San Diego Filipino Film Festival. They both co-founded the Filmfest with Dr. Ben Camacho.
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