Rhen Escaño and Rita Martinez star in a rom-com of two ladies in love in the series “Lulu.”
Written and directed by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo (“Kita Kita”) with her friends in mind, “Lulu” presents a lighthearted look on lesbian love.
“Maraming experience ng friends ko ang nanduon,” said Bernardo, “Gusto ko maka-relate ang friends ko na nasa LGBTQ+ community.
“Passion project ito and gusto ko makita ng mga audience ‘yung takeaway nila na lessons ay maisapuso nila kung ano ang matutunan nila dito. And create more awareness sa LGBTQ+ community that they are also very talented so ito ‘yung sinasabi ko rin to my fellow filmmakers to create more platforms for the community,” she also said.
“Lulu” introduces the fresh and exciting team-up of sultry actress Rhen Escaño as Sophie and singer Rita Martinez as Abi. Devastated by a break-up, the naturally bubbly and outspoken Sophie wants to disconnect from the world. After deactivating her social media accounts, she escapes to her beach front AirBnB house, also meaning to rehabilitate it. But everything she does is turning out to be a disaster. In fact, Sophie believes that in all her 25 years of existence, she has not done anything right. But when Abi arrives in her house and walks into her life, it all feels just right.
Abi is a 30-year-old butch, a talented cook, and a guitarist in an indie band. She is someone who’s got her life all planned out. But for a change, Abi goes on a journey where she just wants to be spontaneous. That is how she stumbles upon Sophie’s AirBnB. When the two meet, sparks fly and they can’t resist falling in love with each other.
Composed of eight episodes, “Lulu” will show how Sophie and Abi handle their relationship as exes come back, old pains resurface and secrets are revealed.
“I wanted ‘Lulu’ to be light,” said Direk Sigrid in an interview, “I want to focus doon sa individual struggles nila and love is secondary. And it will come naturally. Of course, we will tackle ’yong mga issues pero very, very subtle. It’s more of parang every-day life ng lesbian community.”
Rhen and Rita are both excited for the viewers to witness the love between Sophie and Abi.
Rhen believes that there is nothing wrong with this kind of love because love knows no gender. As for Rita, she feels flattered for being given this special role. It’s no secret that she belongs to the lesbian community in real life. And just like her character Abi, she is also a chef and plays for an indie band.
As to the movie’s message, Direk Sigrid simply said, “Love is genderless and love is happiness — happiness in a genderless way.”
“Lulu” is streaming on Vivamax starting January 23, 2022. It is also available in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Brunei, Macao, Vietnam, Maldives, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Canada, USA and Europe.
