Celebrities showed their grace and support at the blue carpet event for the special screening of the newest series “Saving Grace,” which started streaming on Nov. 28.
The Filipino adaptation of the Japanese series ‘“Mother” is a collaboration project of ABS-CBN and streaming giant Prime Video.
Most stars in the teleserye found their roles challenging due to the complexities of their characters.
Grace (played by Zia Grace) is being abused by his mother Sarah (played by Jennica Garcia) and stepfather Chito (played by Christian Bables), beating and yelling at her.
Despite Anna’s (played by Julia Montes) long dream to go to Hong Kong and pursue ornithology or the study of birds, she gives up all of that to kidnap Grace and save her from brutality in her home.
Years after taking a break from showbiz, Julia found it hard to play Anna, who is impassive.
“Kaya hirap na hirap akong i-portray yung role [ni Anna]…kasi ang hirap magpigil [na hindi umiyak],…especially kapag nakita mo ‘yung galing nung bata,” Julia explained while referring to her heartbreaking scene with Zia Grace in the first episode.
“Kapag umiiyak na siya (Grace), kailangan kong pigilan na ‘wag akong madala. [K]ailangan kong i-klaro sa mga tao na hindi ako emosyonal na tao kasi ang dami kong pinagdaanan. Walled-out akong tao.”
For Jennica, portraying her role, Sarah, was “mentally draining.”
“Ang hirap kapag ilalagay mo ‘yung sarili mo sa posisyon na kailangan mo ng lalaki para mabuhay na parang trinabaho mo na hindi maging ganun.”
“Trinabaho mo ‘yung lakas mo na kaya kong tumayo mag-isa tapos ibabalik mo ‘yung character mo sa isang babae na hindi niya kayang tumayo sa sarili niyang paa kung wala ‘yung nobyo niya.”
As the type of actor who internalizes his role by knowing his character’s origin and personality, Christian echoed the same sentiment.
“Hindi ko alam kung papaano ko bubuhayin ‘yung character dahil ayaw ko naman nung bastang masama. Ayaw ko na bastang demonyo ka lang.”
The creative brains behind the teleserye highlighted that the “character is a theme.”
“Saving Grace” director Dolly Dulu pointed out that this distinguishes the Filipino adaptation from other international versions of the series like Korean and Turkish, which centered more on the teacher and the kid.
According to them, they wanted to feature the backstory and the point of view of each character.
“Wala kaming isang pinabayaan kasi the source of the wound of each character is coming from this poverty of being unwanted. ‘Yung sugat na itinanim sayo, ‘yun din ‘yung ginagamit panugat. And in this case, ‘yung ginawa sa bata,” Director FM Reyes stated.
“‘Pag natapos mo ‘yung series, may kumpletong journey [ang bawat character],” he added.
Filipinos could relate to and understand the issues of child abuse explored in “Saving Grace” since the issue persists in the country, according to Dolly.
“Same ‘yun sa nangyayari rito sa “Saving Grace.” Nakikita pero karamihan, walang ginagawa. Pero may isang nakakita, at may isang ginawa,” she said.
Julia also hoped for the project to inspire more people.
“I’m just praying and hoping na this project will inspire and help ‘yung mga children going through,…mga wives na battered, [and] anybody na may pinagdadaanan physically, emotionally…na sana merong magspeak-up [para sa kanila].”
Star-studded special screening
Several stars and cast members attended the special screening last November 22 at the Gateway Mall in Quezon City to fire up the series.
Main cast members Julia, Sam Milby, Janice de Belen, Christian, Jennica, and rising child star Zia were present at the screening.
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Co-stars Elisse Joson, Eric Fructuoso, Mary Joy Apostol, Adrian Lindayag, Sophia Reola, Andrez del Rosario, PJ Endrinal, Lotlot Bustamante, Daisy Cariño, and Fe delos Reyes also joined them.
ABS-CBN chief operating officer Cory Vidanes and international distribution head Pia Laurel; Dreamscape entertainment heads Kylie Manalo-Balagtas and Rondel Lindayag; and Sherline Parohinog, the head of Social Media—Southeast Asia, Middle East-North Africa of Prime Video, also did not miss the event.
Gracing the event were also the behind-the-camera names like creative manager Danica Domingo and directors Dolly and FM.
Other personalities, including Rosanna Roces, Sylvia Sanchez, Cherry Pie Picache, Jeremiah Lisbo, Dustine Mayores, Malou Crisologo, and Coco Martin, were also spotted at the event.
However, Megastar Sharon Cuneta, who will also play a big role in the series, was not in attendance.
The blue carpet was hosted by Aya Fernandez and Emilio Daez, who are both cast members of “Saving Grace,” while VJ Ai dela Cruz led the media conference.
“Saving Grace” series will be releasing two episodes every Thursday exclusively on Prime Video.