Charles Teves
Director Cathy Garcia-Molina had nothing but praises for the cast of Love at First Stream.
The project is Garcia-Molina’s first-ever movie to be part of the 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival.
This is also the first she worked with younger stars, especially Kaori Oinuma and Jeremiah Lisbo.
In a media conference, she said she was impressed at how the artists delivered on their roles and how professional they were during taping.
“I am very, very, very happy with the four,” she said. “I must commend their professionalism at a very young age. I am so proud of them, na even after my film, tumawid sila sa isang project, sinabi na ang babait po ng mga bata.”
“They did well. They performed beyond my expectations. Tuwang-tuwa ako sa willingness nila to learn. As much as siyempre nasabihan ko na ‘yan before, sila ‘yung hindi nagkukwentuhan sa harap ko. The respect for me and my staff were there all the time. And I love them for that,” she added.
Kaori admitted that the renowned director made her nervous due to her “terror” reputation.
“Nakakatakot sa umpisa. Bago ako pumasok sa set, nanood ako ng interviews ni Direk. Bakit parang napakakalog ni Direk? Parang ibang-iba sa naririnig ko na terror. Pero pagdating ko ng set, nakakatakot nga talaga siya,” she said.
“Pero habang tumatagal, napakakalog ni Direk. Lahat kami barkada, tawanan, nagshe-share sa’min si Direk kaya nawawala takot namin sa kanya. ‘Pag nasa set, work is work, pero ‘pag off set naman, lahat bonding talaga.”
Jeremiah also realized that Garcia-Molina isn’t as terrifying as celebrities make her out to be and even found her amazing.
“Karamihan ng impression kay Direk Cathy nakakatakot, terror… pero kapag tumagal nang tumagal, mae-enjoy mo talaga ‘yung trabaho.
“‘Yung mga eksenang mino-motivate ni Direk ‘yung mga actor. Ako kasi, nanonood ako kapag hindi ko take. Talagang hindi siya susuko kapag hindi niya na-achieve yung emosyong gusto niya. Sobrang amazing lang,” he said.
Daniela Stranner meanwhile still had butterflies in her stomach despite having worked with the director previously.
“Sobrang takot ako kay Direk, kasi THE Direk Cathy yan. Pero noong nabasa ko ‘yung script bago kami mag-lock in, oh my gosh, ako ‘yung pag-iinitan ni Direk dito. Siyempre baguhan po kami, di kami ganoon kagaling. Pero pagpunta ko sa set, it’s not what I expected.
“Sobrang matulungin si Direk Cathy. From the start hanggang huli, hindi niya kami pinabayaan.”
Kaori also noticed that Garcia-Molina went beyond the job of directing.
“All around siya (Si Direk) sa set eh. Siya ‘yung nagdi-direk, siya yung nag-aayos ng buhok namin, siya nagme-makeup, halos lahat siya gumagawa. Siya ‘yung nanay namin doon, katawanan, kabarkada,” she recalled.
Love at First Stream will be available in cinemas nationwide this coming Christmas.
