A scene from “Liway”
During the filming of the Cinemalaya Audience Choice winner “Liway,” singer-actress Glaiza de Castro had to constantly dye her hair black, to cover the golden-brown tresses required by her afternoon soap opera, “Contessa.”
The hair color chemicals eventually damaged her crowning glory, but it was well worth it, because the sacrifice allowed her to give justice to the role of a subversive-turned-political detainee.
At the gala premiere, the real-life Liway, filmmaker Kip Oebanda’s mother Cecilia, told Glaiza that she was happy that the Kapuso actress had “agreed to play the part.”
Glaiza’s own parents were just as ecstatic. “They were proud and happy. They were just as emotional because, like Liway, they were concerned for their children, as well.”
She noted that, beyond politics, the film is about “family and the future.” She hopes that more Filipinos would be similarly affected when the indie film opens in cineplexes today.
“I wish more of our countrymen would be inspired, in the same way that I was moved when I first read the script, when we were shooting the movie, and when I eventually got to watch it at the gala,” she asserted. “Also, I hope they will be just as touched by the story and that it would have a lasting impact on them, too.”
She feels adamant that today’s youth should revisit, and not revise, history.
“It’s good to know what happened in the past and learn from it,” she explained. “What happened during martial law, especially to Liway, was actually uplifting. It’s a story that will forever remain relevant, no matter what happens in our country.”
It remains a “sensitive,” polarizing topic, she conceded, but the youth should be “made more aware of it, because it’s important to know history and learn from it. It’s necessary for everyone’s growth.”
The director told the Inquirer: During the sold-out Cinemalaya screenings, audiences “laughed, cried and applauded.”
Glaiza de Castro in “Liway”
He pointed out that there was an honest “desire . . . to learn the truth about martial law. They were stirred and were filled with hope after seeing the film. Hopefully, this nationwide screening will help strengthen the discourse on the truth.”
Glaiza said she was willing to act in more politically aware, historically and socially relevant films in the future.
In the meantime, she had just guested in the GMA 7 primetime fantasy series “Victor Magtanggol” and is preparing for a new movie, which is “kinda dark.”
Glaiza, who’s now sporting a short and sleek hairdo, feels fortunate to be one of the few actresses who can effortlessly shuttle between the mainstream and indie worlds.
“I’m so blessed that I’m given all these opportunities,” she remarked. “But, of course, when it comes to choosing projects, it will always boil down to the story . . . if it’s exciting . . . and the people I will work with.”
She is also determined to pursue her first love and finish a degree in music production. “I had just checked out three schools in London and so far I liked two of the choices,” she related. “I am also considering other options—like studying in a different country. But I definitely plan to continue my studies because I want to expand and nurture my skills in music.”