Southeast Asian actors join local stars in ‘#ExtendTheLove’ initiative

Gina Alajar

At least three Southeast Asian actors have agreed to join local stars led by Gina Alajar, Jaclyn Jose, Elizabeth Oropesa, Piolo Pascual and Jericho Rosales in a series of roundtable discussions that will start on Friday night as part of an online fundraising campaign called “#ExtendTheLove” for the benefit of film workers displaced by the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The fundraiser will also feature actors Ananda Everingham (from Thailand), Nicholas Saputra (Indonesia) and Rhydian Vaughan (Taiwan) in a special panel discussion, according to director Adolf Alix Jr., who is organizing the fundraiser.

Also participating in the roundtable series, titled “Actors Cue,” are Bembol Roco, Ricky Davao, Allan Paule, Nonie Buencamino and Sid Lucero. The live sessions on Facebook will be opened by Alajar, Jose and Oropesa.

Alix said they would “talk about their work as actors and their films. They can also ask each other about their works … We’ll also open the session to entertain questions from the viewers.”

The “#ExtendTheLove” initiative started in March with the streaming of “4 Days,” said Alix. “Kinabukasan” was fielded for the second part of the series last week, then starting this week, Series 3 is fielding the 2013 Cinemalaya film, “Porno.”

Jaclyn Jose

“It’s like giving back to my family,” explained Alix on why he chose to use his movies to raise funds. “Organizing initiatives like this made me realize another avenue for the works I’ve made. These films can also help support people who are in need—those who’ve been with me while I was doing these projects.”

Alix also said he chose the films that have themes “that resonate well with the audience given the situation; and those which were released on a limited basis in the past. Hopefully, [the audience] can rediscover the films now while we’re all in quarantine.”

“#ExtendTheLove” has over 100 film workers as beneficiaries, the director said. “It started with my immediate shooting family and those who have worked with me on my films. I consider them part of my family, so I wanted to extend help to them, especially now that production work has stopped because of the quarantine,” he added. “The list now includes others and hopefully more as we get more donations from this initiative.”

As of April 26, 7:30 a.m., the event has already received a total of P133,034.23 in cash donations.

“I only have my work to use to generate aid for these people I care about,” Alix pointed out. “And also, there are a lot of people who are willing to share, no matter how small, in times like these.”

Alden Richards in “Kinabukasan”