Fans of Aga Muhlach and Bea Alonzo braved the rain to line up and see the premiere of their movie First Love. First Love, a joint production of ABS-CBN Films, Star Cinema, Viva Films, and Ten17P, was shot entirely in Vancouver, Canada. It also stars “Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky Season 7” alum Edward Barber, Albie Casino, G Tongi, and veteran actress Sandy Andolong.
The project, which was first announced back in November, is Aga’s second film since coming back from his nearly seven-year movie hiatus. He starred in Cathy Garcia-Molina’s “Seven Sundays” last year. In the movie, Aga plays Nick, a top financial adviser who helps companies in making good investments in the story, while Bea is Ali, a happy-go-lucky young woman whose motto in life is just to “seize the day” as she has a heart ailment and needs a heart transplant. Destiny brings them together and they meet by chance in Canada, where their romance blooms. Also starring in the film is Vancouver actor Tim Donad, and the location of the scenes were filmed all over the city, mostly in Stanley Park. Joining them in the Vancouver shoot are Sandy Andolong as Bea’s Mom, Albie Casino and Edward Barber and they all become one family while working on location.
In an exclusive interview with PNT, Bea said it was a dream to perform with Aga.
“He has always been one of my favorite actors and now, I not just get the chance to work with him but also to discover how good he is as an actor but also as a person,” she adds. “Kahit mabigat ang eksenang ginagawa namin (even is the scene is challenging) he has a way of making it easy para hindi kami pareho mahirapan (so that we won’t have a difficult time). He’s a very generous co-actor and I’m so thrilled to be working with a brilliant actor like him.”
Aga says the same of Bea. “I always wanted to work with her. I’m glad that when Paul (the director) said that she was going to be my co-star, I immediately said yes to the project,” Aga shares.
Both of them said they liked the ten-hour shooting day only here in Vancouver. It gave them time to rest and go around the city, especially that in the summer, the sun sets at 10 PM.
“That was amazing,” Aga shares. “Vancouver is really a beautiful place, and we really enjoyed our stay here. And the people are really nice, ang babait ninyo!”
Bea said she enjoyed her runs in the morning around Stanley Park before the shooting day began. “It’s really nice to run around the park, kasi it’s not too warm, and the scenery is really beautiful.”
When asked if they plan to do more projects in Vancouver, they both unanimously said yes. Both of them have been thinking of producing movies, and they think that Vancouver is a great place to film. Aga has done some movies off-screen and says he enjoys that aspect of film making as well.
Both Aga and Bea say that choosing to do a movie and taking note of the theme is important for them.
“I really appreciate doing romantic movies, especially the old-fashioned way of telling a love story,” Bea shares. “Nowadays, people just text or send emails to show or tell someone they loved them, no more writing love letters, etc. So, I like telling romantic stories like this.”
After the 2 PM show and before the 7PM show, Aga and Bea gave their fans a chance to answer questions in an informal forum hosted by Marieton Pacheco of TFC. A number of fans had a chance to take photos and selfies with the two, who were very gracious with their Vancouver fans.
First Love is being shown in the Philippines and opened on October 17. Special screenings in Vancouver was last October 28 and regular screening starts this November 2. See Poster on pages 18-19.
