‘Love Child’ is also a love letter to parents, director and producers say

A scene from “Love Child” with RK Bagatsing (left) and Jane Oineza. Image: Courtesy of Cinemalaya

The team behind the film “Love Child,” which stars real-life sweethearts RK Bagatsing and Jane Oineza, said that aside from raising awareness about autism, it is also meant to be a love letter to parents of children with special needs.

The film tells the story of a young couple named Ayla and Paolo (Oineza and Bagatsing) who return to Negros Occidental to raise their son Kali (John Tyrron Ramos) who was diagnosed with autism spectrum. It was first screened at the 20th edition of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in August before hitting the theaters nationwide.

But while “Love Child” centers around Kali’s struggles with autism, it also shifts the spotlight to Ayla and Paolo’s love story while sharing the hardships of parents of a child with special needs.

“Meron akong attempt na pasukin ang mundo ng anak ko at intindihin ang kanyang sariling pananaw… kahit 16 years old na ang anak ko, marami pa akong kailangang diskubrehin sa mundo niya,” director Jonathan Jurilla told INQUIRER.net during a talkback session. According to the filmmaker, this particular film is “very personal” to him because his son has autism as well.

“Mas nasa posisyon ako magsalita as a parent kasi ito ang credibility ko. This is the reason bakit nag-focus ako sa parents, more sa struggle nilang dalawa [aside] sa struggle ng bata… ang punto ko [sa pelikula] is mas maraming makaintindi, mare-reach out, and mata-touch na mga tao. Para ito sa mga parents,” he continued.

(I have an attempt to enter and understand the world of my son. He may be 16 years old, but I realized that I have a lot of things to discover about him. I’m more in the position to speak as a parent because this is where my credibility lies. This is the reason why I also focused on the parents and their struggles, aside from the child. The point of this film is to reach out to more people, raise awareness, and dedicate it to parents.)

Meanwhile, co-producer Sonny Calvento and screenwriter-producer Arden Rod Condez touched on the balance between making the film look “indie” while trying to appeal to the public.

“‘Yung mainstream element and bordering into cheesiness minsan [sa lines nina Jane and RK], is ‘yung universal emotion na pinagdadaanan nila,” Calvento said. “But in terms of characters, ‘yung journey and pinapakita na challenges na pinagdadaanan nila, particular sila in a sense. ‘Yun ang pinagdadaanan ng parents with autism. D’un ‘yung naging indie side ng pelikula.”

(The mainstream element, somewhat bordering on cheesiness in the lines of Jane and RK is the universal emotion that parents go through. But in terms of characters, their journey and challenges need to be particular in a sense, to show that this is what parents of children with autism go through. This is where the indie side comes in.)

Condez agreed with Calvento, saying what matters most in the “Love Child” is to inform the masses of what parents go through while raising a child with special needs. For him, it is not only about informing the public but also sharing a “relationship story.”

“For me, napakaimportante na hindi lang siya super indie and artsy film. Kailangan siyang ilapit sa masa. It’s a relationship story. Hindi lang siya kwento ni Kali, kundi kwento ng dalawang taong nagmahal lang naman pero napunta sa ganitong sitwasyon, na bukas palad nilang tinatanggap pero may mga tests along the way,” he said.

(What’s important for me is to not turn it into an indie and artsy film. We need to let this reach the masses. It’s a relationship story. This is not only just Kali’s story, but also about a couple who simply fell in love. Yet they were thrust into this kind of situation but chose to accept it regardless of the tests along the way.)

In a separate interview, Bagatsing and Oineza consider the film as a “15-day free trial” to parenthood, although they clarified that they don’t want to rush things between them.