Have you ever felt stuck, depressed, or hopeless during the pandemic? Umikot ka mundo, nandito pa ako. Well, you’re not alone. Leading video streaming service Viu Philippines understands the struggles that many Filipinos have been going through and has created its new Viu Original musical series, “Still” to tell the story of this quarantine generation.
The 8-part musical narrative is designed to move us to move forward, perfectly capturing our pandemic stories and sentiments. It tells the story about a group of aspiring artists who get stuck in a music camp during the first few months of the pandemic. Just like us, each character experiences bouts of feeling stressed, lost, and sad; but through new relationships and moments of self-discovery formed over time, they still find reasons to stay strong and hopeful for the future.
“We hope that we can help a lot of people who are experiencing anxiety and doubt. The series is particularly made for today’s generation so they can still believe in hope,” said Pat Valera, renowned director-playwright and creator of “Still.”
“Still” is also Viu’s first Filipino production and is a testament to the company’s mission to deliver the freshest Asian content, as well as champion premium Asian entertainment.
During the press conference, Arianne Kader-Cu, country manager of Viu Philippines, said: “Viu aims to produce premium Asian content for everyone. We specifically looked into our data to understand what our consumers are interested in. Over the past 18 months, we noticed that Filipinos are getting more interested in music and we used that as our pillar to create premium Filipino content with ‘Still’.”
From the relatable storylines to lyrically powerful songs, every episode features a powerhouse cast of characters who we can all identify with and be inspired by.
Below are some of the show’s characters and their quarantine story.
Christian Bautista stars as Nikolas, the camp head and mentor of Daloy Himig. Nikolas doesn’t believe his talent is worth sharing and when the lockdown was announced, he was unsure of how he could distract the campers from being depressed and stressed. “My real experience is almost the same as my character. I really thought, ‘Nag research ba sila about our personal experiences during the pandemic?’ because the stories portrayed in the series are all real. Every camper has different thoughts about the pandemic, and it is on how we manage it,” said Bautista
Julie Anne San Jose is Laura, who fights for herself and her dreams, and for the people she loves — even as the pandemic seemed to put all her plans on limbo. Through her songs, like “Bagong Mundo,” Laura poignantly expresses her feelings, teaching us to stay true to our emotions and fight against our inner struggles. As Laura would say, “To sing is to tell your truth twice. Kumbaga, hindi mo lang siya binibigkas, isinasabuhay mo rin siya.”
“Dito sa Bagong Mundo, ang dami nating kinatatakutan, mga katanungan na minsan hindi natin alam ang sagot. All we need right now is faith. Sa kabila ng lahat ng pagsubok, matatapos rin ang lahat ng ito. When I first heard ‘Bagong Mundo,’ tumagos talaga sa puso ko yung lyrics. It is just so beautiful.”, said San Jose.
Veteran singer Bituin Escalante portrays the owner of Balay — home of Daloy Himig, Annette. While she has always lived vicariously through the young campers, the lockdown forces her to confront the losses she had previously pushed to the side. “So many people have gone through depression without knowing it. Sometimes we need that validation that what we are feeling is real. When you see your experiences being fleshed out and played on the screen, it’s therapy. Reminds you that everything’s okay, you’re not alone,” she said.
Gab Pangilinan plays the voiceless writer Sab who is like any other girl wanting to follow her dreams but can’t or won’t. As Sab expresses during one episode, “para sa ating mga naliligaw, noong tumigil ang mundo, tumigil din ang mga pangarap natin. Madaya. Ang dami nating alinlangan at galit.”
“Many of us are in limbo during the pandemic. Still confronts that. The characters in ‘Still’ just reflect who we all are today,” said Pangilinan.
Learn more about each character, the music, and be moved to move forward by streaming Viu Original “Still.”
