Seasoned singers Rachel Alejandro, Geneva Cruz, and Jeffrey Hidalgo are part of the film adaptation of the musical Nasaan Si Hesus. During the media conference for their upcoming musical film, the stars expressed their excitement to give justice to the well-loved characters.
Nasaan Si Hesus was first staged in the mid-2000s and re-staged in 2017. The play was mounted more than 80 times for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other audiences in different parts of the Philippines, including the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
Geneva, who plays the role of a nun, shared that it was one of her dreams back then to become a nun in real life. Because of this, the actress shared that when she heard about this upcoming film, she wanted to do it no matter what.
“I’m really really excited na gawin itong pelikula. Madalang po ako gumawa ng pelikula these days kasi sa totoo lang po nag eenjoy talaga as a performer and as a singer. Pero, ito po excited ako. Namimili rin po ako ng pelikula na alam ko na ikakaproud ko at ikakasaya ng aking kaluluwa at puso,” she shared.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey is set to play the role of a man married to Rachel’s character. Originally casted as a priest in the film, changes were made along the way which landed him in his new role.
“It’s nice to be part of a project with such a very powerful message. Hopefully, this message and movie touches the lives of the Filipino… I hope you support this film,” he added.
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For Rachel’s part, they will be filming her scenes in the film this month, ahead of everyone’s scenes. This is to fit her schedule as she is set to fly back to the US where she is based. Despite this, the singer-actress maintained that she really wanted to do the film.
“Talagang pinilit ni sir Dennis na makunan yung mga eksana ko before I go back to the US. Eksacto naman, naipilit. Pero ako lang talaga yung mag sho-shoot–– yung story namin [ng] family unit, yun lang makukunan ng January. The rest ata February and most of the principal photography will be in February and March,” she shared.
“I’m glad kasi nung narinig ko palang yung synopsis ng film, parang napaka relevant kasi ng mga kwento. Parang iba nanaman to from anything I’ve done in the past so for me it’s another challenge,” she added.
Nasaan si Hesus depicts the difficulties of the residents of a community during these modern times when pressures, temptations, distractions, and drastic changes in lifestyles and attitudes have put people’s spirituality to test. The interweaving lives of the characters are made more relatable and heartfelt through the songs created by Lourdes "Bing" Pimentel.