Award-winning actress Therese Malvar’s dream: To be a cinematographer

Therese Malvar

As difficult as it, Therese Malvar opts to continue her studies while working full time as an actress, because she feels that it’s her “duty.”

“I want to finish my studies because that was my and my family’s initial dream. So even though juggling academics and career is challenging, I really go and push myself,” Therese told the Inquirer in a recent video conference for GMA 7’s new drama series, “Babawiin ko ang Lahat.”

Her hard work and determination paid off. Last year Therese graduated salutatorian from high school. But the credit isn’t all hers, she stressed.

“I feel like the awards I get, may it be for academics or acting, are just bonuses; they’re manifestations of the help I got from my teachers, classmates and the people around me. Even if I had to skip a class, my classmates don’t let me fail. We always help each other,” she related. “I’m blessed.”

While not having an actual graduation was quite a bummer, the 20-year-old Kapuso star was, nonetheless, grateful that she was still able to finish high school, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I feel for everyone who should have marched last year, because we didn’t get to experience it. There was a belated online ceremony, but of course, that’s so different from a physical event,” she related.

“We didn’t feel that school was ending. There was no sense of closure. Before we knew it, we were like, “O college na pala kami!’ We had to adjust and just accept it,” she said, adding that she and her classmates had to make do with an online celebration. “It was a virtual iyakan na lang.”

Therese is currently a freshman student taking up film at Mint College. She sees herself as a storyteller—and a formidable one at that. Therese has won prestigious acting awards, both here and abroad, for her work in indie films. In 2018, she won the best supporting actress award at the Cinemalaya film festival for two movies (“Distance” and “School Service”).

And she would love to tell stories, not only onscreen but behind the cameras, too. “I want to be a director and scriptwriter. But my dream is to become a cinematographer. So, good luck to me, because the cameras are heavy! I hope I can graduate on time,” said Therese.

“Babawiin,” which will premiere this month, follows Iris (Pauline Mendoza), whose perfect life is upended with the sudden appearance of her father’s first family, which she didn’t know existed. Therese plays Iris’s frank yet empathetic best friend who’s not afraid to set the latter straight when she goes astray.

“I was actually afraid at one point, because the production had to trim the cast. I thought my character would get eliminated,” she said. “But thankfully, I got to stay.”

Locked-in tapings have pros and cons, Therese observed. While she prefers to take breaks between work days to allow herself to disassociate from her character, that’s no longer possible with the current setup.

“It’s almost like doing a movie, where you do the first sequence this week and then on the 10th next. You’re always going from light to heavy scenes. But unlike in the film where you do it for eight to 12 days, here you do it for two to three months. That’s why it’s difficult and tiring,” she said.

“I prefer to turn off my character once in a while, because it’s hard to get attached,” she added.

On the other hand, locked-in tapings allowed her and her costars (Pauline, Manolo Pedrosa, Kristoffer Martin) to form deeper bonds. “I think we have a better chemistry because we’re together and talking to each other all the time,” Therese said. “Things may have been different if it were the normal setup.”