KathDen on the different faces of the OFW experience in ‘Hello, Love, Again’
MANILA, Philippines – Joy and Ethan are en route to the cinema, and back to our hearts.
Picking up right where audiences left off in the 2019 record-breaking film Hello, Love, Goodbye, Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards return with the sequel Hello, Love, Again.
Excitement is brimming for the joint production between ABS-CBN Studios and GMA Pictures, from the pair’s fans flocking in droves to mall shows, to the millions of views the film’s trailers have amassed across digital platforms.
The two media conglomerates have set their sights on the collaboration as what could potentially be their next box-office feat. With that, Hello, Love, Again is set for an extensive international theatrical release not too far from its Philippine premiere:
- New Zealand – November 14
- Australia – November 14
- US and Canada – November 15
- Guam – November 15
- Saipan – November 15
- UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – November 28
- Singapore – November 28
- Malaysia – November 28
- Cambodia – November 29
- Hong Kong – November 2024
Bernardo and Richards are also slated to reunite with their supporters abroad for special screenings in Los Angeles on November 22, Toronto on November 24, and the United Arab Emirates on November 30.
Back home, the film will also hold midnight screenings in more than 70 Philippine theaters starting November 30, marking a first for local movies in the country.
Apart from the cross-network event and KathDen’s onscreen reunion, what can fans expect from this next chapter of the OFW tale?
The cast and creative team of Hello, Love, Again, represented by director Cathy Garcia-Sampana and writers Carmi G. Raymundo and Crystal Hazel San Miguel, shared behind-the-scenes tidbits and more insight into the sequel’s storyline at the film’s media launch held on Thursday, October 17.
While Hello, Love, Goodbye zeroes in on Bernardo’s Joy, her aspirations, and struggles as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Hong Kong, Richards said the second film will finally give light into his character Ethan’s hardships “in terms of being away from the people that he loves.”
“May ganun talagang traits kasi tayo as Filipinos eh (We Filipinos have these traits),” the actor shared. “We always get out of our way and kalimutan muna kahit hindi man panandalian or pangmatagalan yung sarili natin para sa ating mga mahal sa buhay.”
(We always get out of our way and set aside, though not easily nor long-term, ourselves for the sake of those we love.)
Richards went on by raising the main thesis to the upcoming sequel that he hopes viewers and international workers could identify with: “Ang tanong ba doon (It could be a question of) ‘Is it worth it? Is it worth the sacrifice?’”
Director Cathy Garcia-Sampana also spilled that between the two leads, Richards is most unlike his character Ethan for a portion of the film. While the character’s move to Canada remains unknown, Richards says that Ethan’s choices in Hello, Love, Again posed a challenge to his acting chops.
“I think one of the reasons why is talagalang malaki yung mga epekto ng mga bagay na nangyayari sa atin, sa paligid natin and yung judgement natin is nagbabago based on the circumstances around us,” Richards said of the once more playful Ethan’s journey in the film.
(I think one of the reasons why is that what happens to us, to our surroundings, and circumstances pose a large effect on our judgment.)
Bernardo added that Garcia-Sampana, Raymundo, and San Miguel went on to research and interview OFWs in Calgary, Canada ahead of the film’s production, with some anecdotes inspiring a few scenes in the film.
“No matter how big you are, from wherever in the world, once you move and start over again in another country, [it’s] back to zero,” Raymundo said.
Filipino comedian Jobert Austria, set to return to the silver screen through Hello, Love, Again, also shared that he himself has experienced taking on various jobs like shoveling snow and working in construction upon getting settled in Canada as an international worker.
“It’s very real,” Bernardo recalled. “It’s physically tiring, it’s emotionally challenging, na kami nga na isang buwan doon medyo [naisip na] ‘Woah, medyo mahirap ‘to.’ Ano pa sila na ilang years nang nandoon?’”
(It’s physically tiring, it’s emotionally challenging, that we who only filmed for a month there thought ‘Woah, this is quite hard.’ What more for our international workers who have been there for years?)
Bernardo also performed the balancing act of playing Joy, the go-getter yet pragmatic domestic helper from Hong Kong with whom audiences have grown fond of, to Marie, who has since realized Joy’s dream of becoming a health worker in Canada, all while staying true to the nuances of both professions and countries.
“It’s very familiar once you watch it. The character of Joy, it’s still there,” assured Bernardo, while hoping that audiences will continue to embrace and confide in the character’s experiences that led to her reintroduction as Marie.
“Definitely marami siyang kailangan lunukin para kalimutan yung Joy na nakita ng mga tao (There’s definitely a lot that Joy had to bottle up for people to forget the version of her they’ve come to know),” the actress revealed.
Raymundo added that the concept of time heavily informed the treatment of Hello, Love, Again, both thematically and structurally. She also divulged that the sequel won’t be as direct or as linear as the first film, and that seemingly minute details such as Joy’s departure from Hong Kong around July to August of 2019 is key when diving into this next chapter.
Garcia-Sampana shared that fans can most definitely look forward to a different side to KathDen, one that has matured alongside their personal and professional pursuits: “It was very evident, it was so clear beyond the friendship that I saw [offscreen] kasi parang given na siya eh (because it was sort of a given).”
“May tiwala sila sa isa’t isa. I admire both of them that they support each other so much na kahit nakatalikod, inuubos yung luha,” the director quipped.
(They trust each other. I admire both of them that they support each other so much that even off camera, they were generous with their tears.)
In an equally emotional wrap-up to the event, Garcia-Sampana closed by expressing her hope that the film could tug at viewers’ heartstrings: “Lagi ko yung dream eh, sana paglabas niyo ng sinehan, gusto niyo magmahal ulit. At umuwi, sabi nga ni Carmi, sa home niyo.”
(That was always my dream, that as you leave the theater, you would be encouraged to love again. And to come home, as Carmi said.)
Hello, Love, Again will premiere in Philippine theaters on November 13. – Rappler.com