Directed, co-written, photographed and produced by British filmmaker Sean Ellis, Althea plays Mai, the wife of Jake Macapagal as Oscar, an ex-soldier turned farmer in the famous Banaue Rice Terraces where the film starts. Because of their extreme poverty in the province, they are forced to relocate to Manila with their two daughters. She ends up being a dancer and bar girl while Jake becomes a security guard of an armoured truck who later on gets involved in a crime that he didn’t really want to do. The movie is a touching drama-crime thriller with a twist in the plot and Althea feels lucky to be part of a movie that has already been shown in the U.S. and the U.K.
“At least dito, hindi ako naghubad,” she says. “Straight drama ang ginawa ko. Walang pa-sexy. Yung mga kasama kong dancers sa bar ang nagpakita ng boobs dito. May eksenang nag-shower kami ni Jake pero wala namang ipinakitang boobs or anything.”
How did she get the role? “Nag-audition ako, just like in ‘Amor Y Muerte’. Marami kami, e ako raw ang nagustuhan noong British director. Kasama rin namin dito si John Arcilla bilang partner ni Jake sa armoured car na may gustong ipagawa sa kanyang krimen. Jake is better known as a theatre actor at stage actresses ang mga kasama namin dito, like Ana Abad Santos as John’s wife at si Angelica Canapi as the mamasan in the bar where I work. Puro sila magagaling.”
The movie had a successful premiere at SM The Block last Tuesday night. It will be released locally in October yet. The company distributing it is also releasing “The Family” starring Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, and the racing drama “Rush”, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Helmsworth.
