Charo goes from vengeful ex-con to grieving OFW in latest Lav Diaz film
Charo Santos
Former ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio will star in another Lav Diaz film, this time as a nanny who served a Singaporean family for 20 years, the prize-winning actress announced on Wednesday.
“It will be shot entirely in Singapore. It’s about an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) who comes home to bury her son. Her flight gets delayed, so she has to stay at the Singapore airport, where she meets young OFWs during the transit,” Charo told reporters during the launch of Sun Life Financials’ new collection of digital films titled “Sun Shorts,” which she endorses with Judy Ann Santos, Matteo Guidicelli and Piolo Pascual.
“Unlike the overseas workers of the previous generation, these young ones work hard for their families, but they also think of themselves. We are so used to stories of OFWs who only think of their families’ welfare and forget about their own. They forget to love themselves,” explained Charo. “After talking to the young ones, this particular mother realizes that she has been serving a Singaporean family as a nanny for 20 years, and its members have become her own family. She has to decide whether to go back home or stay.”
Charo, a former beauty queen, said she expected to be deglamorized while playing the role, just like in her critically acclaimed project with Diaz, “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” where she had to dress like a man.
“I’m ready for anything,” she told the Inquirer. “My first encounter with Direk Lav was nerve-wracking. He has no rules. He doesn’t block the scenes. It’s up to you to make sure that you understand your character. You’re made to go through the motions as if there were no cameras. I felt so unsure at first, but I relaxed on the third day. I told myself, ‘If I’m not hearing any comments [from Lav], I guess I’m doing the right thing.’”
For her second film with Lav, Charo said: “I’m a pro. I will not be a problem to my producer because I’m a producer, too. So I know what one goes through. I’ve been on the other side.”
Charo has never been busier since she retired as Kapamilya president. She is currently a board member and the chief content officer of ABS-CBN. She’s also one of the country’s top product endorsers. She has recently released a book titled “My Journey: The Story of an Unexpected Leader.”
“Life outside the office is fun. You can be random and buy dirty ice cream whenever you want to,” she said. “You don’t have a routine. You discover the world and get to enjoy the moment. When you get to my age, you don’t look for affirmation from the world anymore. It’s time for you to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. But you continue to be open to new things. You never stop learning.”
