Why Kokoy de Santos not sad about Tahanang Pinakamasaya’s closure

De Santos as Emman in Jun Robles Lana’s “Your Mother’s Skin” —THE IDEAFIRST COMPANY

For Kokoy de Santos, adjusting to life after the closure of “Tahanang Pinakamasaya” has been tough, but he says he’s happy that “It’s Showtime!” has a wider audience reach now that it is airing on GMA 7.

“It was hard mainly because hosting the noontime show has become a routine for all of us. I just want to say that life goes on and that while everything always comes to an end eventually, doors will open, too,” Kokoy told Inquirer Entertainment shortly after the special media screening of his latest film, Jun Robles Lana’s “Your Mother’s Skin.”

Kokoy said he could not bring himself to feel sad that the noontime show he hosted with Paolo Contis since June 2023 was replaced by the ABS-CBN-produced “It’s Showtime” recently, “because I know that we are making history here. I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted that ‘It’s Showtime!’ would eventually air on GMA 7, but I’m happy because more people will be able to watch it now,” he pointed out.

Kokoy is still seen in the long-running Kapuso gag show “Bubble Gang,” as well as the second season of “Running Man Philippines.”

“Your Mother’s Skin,” a project that Kokoy shot with Sue Prado, Miggy Jimenez and Elora Espano, will be screened on April 12 as the opening film of “EnlighTen,” the 1st IdeaFirst Film Festival, which will run until April 14 at the Gateway Cineplex in Cubao, Quezon City.

First daring filmThis is Kokoy’s first daring film since he made Eduardo Roy Jr.’s “Fuccbois” with Royce Cabrera in 2019. “It took a while before I got to make a movie that’s similar in theme, something that’s intimate, although we made this in 2021. It’s just that I took the mainstream path for a while. The pandemic struck, too, so we avoided doing even kissing scenes. But for this film, we intentionally forgot all the lockdown rules,” he said, laughing. “I did comedy for a while, so when I saw this, I thought, ‘Indies are really something else. I’ve missed doing indies. If I would be given a chance to do a similar project now that I’m already with GMA 7’s Sparkle, I’d gladly accept.”

“Your Mother’s Son,” which Lana cowrote with Elmer Gatchalian, follows the relationship between a teacher (Sue Prado) and her son (Kokoy) and how it is challenged when she invites one of her students (Miggy) to their home.

What was probably the most challenging and awkward for Kokoy, was doing his “intimate scenes” with Sue. “I was very nervous in the beginning because it was the first time I was required to hold the breast of a fellow actor. I made this film prior to ‘Death by Desire.’ It was even more difficult because Ate Sue played my mother-in-law in ‘Gameboys.’ I told her, ‘Ate Sue, you used to be the mom of my baby (pet name of Elijah Canlas, Kokoy’s love interest in ‘Gameboy’), but for this, I’m truly very sorry.’”

At the media gathering, director Jun said he was lucky to have picked such a talented cast, and that the actors deserve all the rave reviews they have been receiving. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival in Canada and was also shown at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia and the 60th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan.

“I’m thankful that even though there are other actors my age out there, IdeaFirst (the films’ producer) entrusted this material to me. Direk Jun said he has been working on this story concept since he was in college. I’m honored for the trust,” said Kokoy.

Kokoy de Santos—KOKOY DE SANTOS/INSTAGRAM

Their characters

Asked to describe his character, Kokoy said: “Emman gets so consumed by jealousy that he is unable to differentiate what is right from wrong. Sarah is the most important person to him, so it’s expected that he explodes after discovering something dark about her. He is the paranoid kind, but I guess people like him are normal in a society like ours.”

Meanwhile, Sue talks about Sarah in relation to the character’s “opacity, which is very real in our day-to-day lives. She can also be defined by her deceit and need for power. I make no judgment on her. The story talks about her in such a way that the audience is free to look at how they see fit.” he explained.

For Elora, her character Amy is very transparent about what she wants. “Amy wishes to show love and be loved in return. It may not be right, but she is trying to find that love from Emman, and it frustrates her that he doesn’t love her back.”

Miggy, on the other hand, describes his character, Oliver, as “a child who has no one to guide him. His situation has made it more difficult to convince him to straighten his ways because his mind is already closed.”

In an interview while “Your Mother’s Skin” was screening in Toronto, Jun was asked what his goal was for telling this particular story. To this, he answered: “It mirrors our very complicated history with our abusers that started many years ago. We’re talking about our complicated relationship with our colonizers, those who abused us, but eventually became those we look up to and even want to please. That’s after Spain, the US, and even with the leaders that we vote into power.”Jun continued: “The leaders we know eventually become our abusers, we know them to have a history of corruption, to be womanizers, and yet, we elect them into power. I don’t know why. Is it because we feel trapped? That’s how I see this family. That’s how I see Sarah. The moment we allow corruption to happen, it will happen to us and to our family. We will eventually reach a point where whether an act is right or wrong will not matter to us anymore.”