Summer of Snooky’s carefree contentment

NOW a mom to teenagers, Snooky wants her daughters to watch her old “coming-of-age” film.

THOSE WERE CAREFREE days of innocence.

Actress Snooky Serna fondly recalls shooting Elwood Perez’s “Summer Love,” released in 1981: “I was 14. We were all teenagers. We had no anxieties … no attitude problems.”

She and costars Gabby Concepcion, William Martinez and Maricel Soriano were in the throes of young love. It helped that the film was shot in scenic, romantic Taal, Batangas.

“William and Maricel were sweethearts so they seemed cut off from the rest of us … like they were lost in their own world,” Snooky recounts. “Gabby was courting Sharon [Cuneta]. He kept calling Sharon from Batangas.”

Identical rings

Understandably, “Summer Love” is close to Snooky’s heart. She remembers having said “yes” to Albert Martinez at the time of the shoot. “My parents [actors Mila Ocampo and Von Serna] accompanied me on the set. One day I asked permission to go steady with Albert. They gave me their blessing.”

Brothers William and Albert later gave Maricel and Snooky identical rings during the shoot.

In a lot of ways, Snooky was a true-blue Regal baby, nervously making her first tentative steps in the film.

Director Perez recounts that he taught Snooky how to jump rope on the set. Snooky explains, “I knew nothing of street games … tumbang preso, patintero…”

She’s looking forward to reuniting with Perez and Regal producer Lily Monteverde when “Summer Love” is screened at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) tomorrow. The Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (Sofia) found a U-matic copy of “Summer Love,” believed “lost” until recently.

Snooky hopes to bring her daughters Sam, 18, and Sachi, 14, to the CCP event. “They may find it corny, but I’m sure they can relate to it. It’s a wonderful coming-of-age film,” she says.

Two weeks prior, Snooky had made an appointment with her salon Vivere at Robinsons Place, and rummaged through her closet for old Nono Palmos pantsuits.

Overage now

“It’s great to feel like a Regal baby again,” she notes. “I’m glad I was part of the movies produced by Mother Lily. Some people may call them kitsch or camp, but Regal movies are really avant-garde. In ‘Summer Love,’ we had a music video long before MTV hit it big. Now, there’s even a remake of ‘Temptation Island.’”

Snooky hopes the “Summer Love” revival will inspire Regal to do a remake or a sequel. “Maybe ‘Schoolgirls’ or ‘Underage.’ Never mind that we are now ‘Overage,’” she jests.

The actress has a recurring role in the GMA 7 remake of her old Seiko movie, “Blusang Itim,” and has two indie films in the can—Jigz Recto’s “Road to Ampatuan” and Bong Ramos’ “Bangkang Papel.”

It’s important to find and preserve lost films, she says. “From among all my movies, ‘Summer Love’ is the one that I’ve always wanted my kids to watch. I’m happy that Sofia found a copy.”