Long before Janella Salvador was cast in the Nigel Santos-helmed ‘Open Endings,’ she was vocal about wanting to be part of a queer film, saying it was a personal dream of hers.
‘Open Endings,’ a full-length entry to the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, tells the story of Hannah, Charlie, Kit and Mihan, exes-turned-best friends navigating through their thirties as queer women.
‘Alam kong paulit-ulit ko ‘tong sinasabi but dream come true talaga for me ang project na ‘to. Ang tagal ko nang naging vocal na gusto kong magkaroon ng queer project and part pa siya ng Cinemalaya,’ Salvador said during a Star Magic Spotlight media con, adding that her character Charlie is considered the ‘baby girl’ of the friend group.
‘Nasa point ako ng career ko na I really wanna grow as an actress. I wanna do more films. Nakarami naman ako through the years sa TV kaya I wanna do more films,’ she continued.
(I know I keep on saying this, but this project is such a dream come true. I had always been vocal about wanting to have a queer project, and this is even part of Cinemalaya. I’m at the point of my career where I really wanna grow as an actress. I wanna do more films. I did a lot of TV shows through the years, so I wanna do more films.) While ‘Open Endings’ is a sapphic film, Salvador explained that it is not a coming-out sort of project. It ‘highlights the point of view’ of queer women going through life, especially when it comes to maintaining friendships and relationships.
‘The question is what would make me say no to this project. The moment I read the script, na-feel ko ‘yung mga gumawa ng project na ‘to, they know what they’re doing and what they want. Nakakatuwa kasi it all worked out,’ she said, noting that she auditioned for the project.
(The question is what would make me say no to this project. The moment I read the script, I felt that the people who did this project knew what they were doing and what they wanted. It made me happy because everything all worked out.)
Coming from an all-girls school, Salvador said that while she always wanted to be part of a queer film, it was only in ‘Darna’ where she learned to become more vocal about it.
‘It has always been very personal to me. It’s always something that I wanted to get into. Galing kasi ako sa isang all-girls school, so personal din sa’kin ‘yun. I wanted to be part of those who want to represent that side of the community. Ang galing na dumating siya sa’kin ngayon,’ she said, referring to her 2024 single.
‘I want to do more indie films. Usually kasi, if I would accept a project, tinitingnan ko what makes it different from what I’ve done before and kung meron siyang substance. Wala akong specific genre pero lahat ng projects na tinatanggap ko, gusto kong magkaroon ng impact. Gusto ko may effect siya sa’kin,’ she further explained.
(It has always been very personal to me. It’s always something that I wanted to get into. I came from an all-girls school so it’s personal for me. I wanted to be part of those who want to represent that side of the community. It’s so nice that it happened to me now. I want to do more indie films. Usually, if I would accept a project, I would look at what makes it different from what I’ve done before and if it has substance. I don’t have a specific genre in mind, but I want all of my projects to have an impact. I want them to have an effect on me.) Another highlight for Salvador was the close bond she developed with her co-stars Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Klea Pineda and Leanne Mamonong. ‘First time naming lahat magkatrabaho, cliché siya pakinggan pero instant ang naging [connection] namin.’
‘There’s magic when the four of us are together, naging friends talaga kami off-cam. The four of us still hang out,’ she continued. ‘Of course, nagkaroon kami ng stage na nahihiya pa rin kami pero prinepare kami ng production. ang dami naming pinagdaanan so nagkaroon talaga kami ng chance makilala ang isa’t isa while filming.’
(It was our first time to work together. It sounds cliché but we had an instant connection. There’s magic when the four of us are together, we all became friends off-cam. The four of us still hang out. Of course, there was a stage where we got shy around each other, but production prepared us well. We went through a lot together, so we all had a chance to know each other better while filming.)