Francine Diaz, the female lead in Regal Entertainment’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry “My Future You,” opposite Seth Fedelin, says the success of their love team is due to “teamwork.”
“Hindi kami makikilala sa iba’t ibang work namin if not for the love being given to us by our fans and supporters,” Diaz shared. “We know there are younger stars around, but we want to make our fans happy and we want to give them a good example in everything we do.”
Regal Entertainment’s “My Future You,” directed by Crisanto B. Aquino, is one of the ten official entries in the 50th year of the MMFF, which begins on December 25. The fantasy drama marks the first big-screen collaboration of the “FranSeth” duo.
Director Crisanto “Cris” Aquino acknowledged that comparisons of his romantic film to other works, such as the Japanese animated fantasy film “Your Name,” were inevitable.
“The story of ‘My Future You’ started from random thoughts,” Aquino explained. “The initial reaction, when they see a film with the same theme, was normal. That is what we call film tropes. ‘Yung kwento, timeline, we writers use that device to make sub-stories.
“Let’s say I thought about a certain plot, but it’s about a different timeline, I cannot stop myself from making a new film. So that’s not a big deal for me.”
The movie received a G rating, signifying it is suitable for general patronage. “That’s good news,” Aquino said. “Lahat pwedeng manood. Lahat pwedeng pumasok ng sinehan. Sobrang laki ng advantage sa movie.”
Aquino, who also contributed to the film’s story, shared details about the characters. Diaz plays Karen, who exists in the present timeline, while Fedelin’s character, Lex, is an adopted son who lived 15 years ago, in 2009.
Aquino expressed confidence in the on-screen chemistry between Diaz and Fedelin, despite this being their first big-screen pairing. “Both of them are aware about what to do on the set,” Aquino said. “I guide them on what to do in the next scene. You will see they were holding their scripts and they were memorizing their lines.
“They were discussing what to do. Their guidance is two-way. If I am their teacher and I see what they do, I will give them a grade of 1 right away.”
Diaz and Fedelin first gained recognition as a loveteam on television and are mindful of their established partnership. “It never crossed my mind na mawawala na ang ‘FranSeth’,” Fedelin shared. “What if in our next project, we are no longer together? That never crossed my mind.
“Ang ginagawa ko at plano ko, mas galingan pa namin para mapatunayan namin na magkasama kami. Hindi kami dapat na ‘FranSeth’ palagi.
“We don’t forget that in terms of work. Sa showbiz, siya si Francine Diaz at ako naman si Seth Fedelin at may ‘FranSeth.’ Malinaw sa amin na ang kay Francine, kay Francine. Ang kay Seth, para kay Seth. Ang sa ‘FranSeth,’ para sa ‘FranSeth.’
“That was where we started. Tulungan lang kami so anything happens, kaya namin tanggapin ang mangyayari. Nasa puso ko na palagi kong gusto kasama si Francine. Happy ako when I’m with her.”
Fedelin emphasized their commitment to nurturing their partnership. “As the man in this partnership, I will love the girl I’m with,” he said. “Mamahalin ko siya at ibubuhos ko ang pagmamahal ko.
“If she deserves it, I will give it to her. From what I see, Francine deserves to be loved. Gusto ko sa babae na nagtatanong kung okay lang ako. Mas maganda na nagtanong siya kaysa magkwento ako. Masarap sa pakiramdam ‘yun. ‘Yung ang gusto sa magiging future ko.”
Both stars are eagerly anticipating the MMFF float parade on December 15 and the awards ceremony on December 27.
“Sa lahat ng ginagawa namin, excited kaming talaga palagi,” Fedelin said. “Yesterday, we went to Dasmariñas in Cavite, sa bayan ko. Nagpapasalamat kami sa lahat ng kababayan ko. Iba ang pagsalubong nila sa amin.
“Sa mga susunod pa, we are excited in the float parade. We are excited how our float looks like. We will also surprise the moviegoers watching the film in theaters on Christmas day.”
Diaz acknowledged the collective effort behind “My Future You.” “All of us worked hard to finish this film,” she said. “Sama-sama kami and this film is our gift to the Filipino family. Sana with this film, we can take care of our friendship and make it stronger.”
