Who'll get the plum lead role in Migrante?

WHO’LL BE the lucky actress to play the lead role of Frida in Director Joel Lamangan’s latest socially relevant opus, “Migrante”, about the sad plight of OFW’s. This will be his follow up to such acclaimed works as “Dukot” (about political abductions), “Sigwa” (about activists in the First Quarter Storm), “Deadline” (about the killings of media people) and “Patikul” (about coffee farmers and teachers harassed by the Abu Sayyaf that just got an A rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board).

The lead character in “Migrante” is Frida, a married woman who becomes a helper in a Lebanese household. When her boss tries to rape her, she fights back and escapes. With the help of fellow OFW’s and some friendly Israelis, she gets to cross the border and goes to Israel to hide. Her abusive employer reverses the truth and tells the people Frida tried to rob him and kill him.

The Israeli police hunts her down and she becomes a wanted criminal. Her husband, Andy, can’t believe his wife is guilty. Migrante International helps him to search for Frida secretly. In the process, the stories of other OFW’s who help them also unfold. The cops locate a decomposed body and conclude that it’s Frida. She is declared legally dead. But one day, a package arrives for Andy and their children. The sender is unknown but the signs show it could only come from Frida.

Direk Joel wants to get Jodi Sta. Maria to play the role of Frida but they’re not sure if ABS-CBN would lend them to her, so other actresses are also being considered. For the role of Andy, the actor he chose is Allen Dizon, with whom he has worked in “Dukot”, “Sigwa”, “Deadline” and “Patikul”.