VALERIE CONCEPCION has not done a movie in four years. Her last was the OctoArts 2008 Metro filmfest entry, the sex comedy “One Night Only”. She’s now back with a bang in Baby Nebrida’s “Flames of Love” playing the most demanding role in her career as Carla, a young student who goes astray and uses her body to gain favors from older men. Her character is the one that links the four different stories in the movie. She’s the daughter of an OFW (Jacklyn Jose) working in Jordan who is sexually abused by her stepdad (Ku Aquino) while her grandma (Marita Zobel), a gambler, ignores it. She’s having an affair with a classmate (Mavi Lozano), the son of Dina Bonnevie and Ricky Davao, who’s also her sugar daddy. She’s also having an affair with another married man, Allen Dizon, who’s married to Rina Reyes. Her professor, Christopher de Leon, is married to Lani Mercado, who’s having an affair with Alvin Anson.
Valerie has many dramatic scenes in the film. She’s a standout in that confrontation scene with her evil stepfather, also a drug and porn addict, and she decides to run away from home to stay in the pad of Allen. Although she’s a sinner in the story, you’d pity her because she’s a victim herself and there’s redemption in the end.
“It’s an emotionally draining role as I get to interact with almost all of the other characters,” says Valerie. “But I want to thank our director, Gigi Alfonso, for guiding me all throughout.”
We won't be surprised if she'd get an acting nomination for her work in “Flames of Love” that opens in theaters on December 12.
