KZ TANDINGAN has been in showbiz for 7 years as a singer after winning in “The X Factor Philippines”. A new door now opens for her and she tries acting for the first time in “The Art of Ligaw” which opens in theaters this Wednesday. She plays the female lead no less, opposite Epy Quizon, written and directed by Jourdan Sebastian, and she’s glad that the feedback on her acting after the premiere night last week is generally favorable.
“I couldn’t believe it when they offered it to me,” she says. “I had to ask: are you sure ako talaga ang gusto nyo kasi hindi naman ako artista? Singer po ako. But now, dahil sa magagandang comments na tinanggap ko after the premiere, I’m glad that I did the movie at hindi naman pala ako nagkamali sa decision kong subukan ang acting.”
She plays Carisse, a millenial from Davao who works as a call center agent. She then meets Epy as Jake, who’s from Manila. “I was actually overwhelmed when they told me I will act in the movie, but I told myself that if you’d just stay in your comfort zone, you will never grow, so I accepted it as a new challenge.
"So parang tumalon ako sa bangin but they were there naman, sina Epy and Direk to help me and guide me. Talagang inalalayan nila ako’t hindi pinabayaan. But they also gave me the chance to sing in the movie. I have three original songs in it, ‘Quicksand’, ‘Walang Hiyang Pag-ibig’ and ‘Balay ni Mayang’. It’s now part of the movie’s original soundtrack.”
KZ said her family, who lives in Davao, was affected by the recent earthquakes. “My mother and my pregnant sister were in a mall when it quaked and they were trapped there for a while, with my sister almost losing her baby,” she says.
She has gone home to personally distribute reliefs goods to people of remote towns in Davao del Sur which were heavily damaged and seldom reached by supplies from government agencies. “Kawawa talaga sila so let’s all pray for their safety at sana wag na uli lumindol. I want to stay longer there sana, but I have to come back to Manila to promote ‘The Art of Ligaw’ kasi nga ipalalabas na.”