Filipino movie Hello, Love, Goodbye premieres in the UAE

Stars of the Filipino rom-com - Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo - to meet and greet fans during movie's premiere in UAE this weekend

Fans of Filipino heartthrobs Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo in the UAE can rejoice as two of the country's beloved stars will be heading over to the UAE to meet and greet their fans! The duo are scheduled to make an appearance at The Dubai Mall and Al Ghurair Centre, on August 9 and at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi on August 10 to promote their latest movie titled Hello, Love, Goodbye that's releasing in cinemas here this weekend.
The romantic drama, based on the life and travails of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) also marks the coming together of rival network stars GMA-7's Alden and ABS-CBN's Kathryn. It's also the first time that stars from established love teams are crossing over to be paired together. The movie is directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina who is known for her romantic blockbusters like A Second Chance, Crazy Beautiful You and It Takes a Man and a Woman. However, this may perhaps be the last time fans will be watching a movie directed by the award-winning filmmaker. According to a ABS-CBN News report, Cathy plans to quit directing altogether to devote more time to her children.
Ahead of the movie's release in the UAE, Kathryn and Alden shared with us their experiences while making Hello, Love, Goodbye. Excerpts from the interviews:

Kathryn Bernardo:
You and Daniel Padilla are a successful and popular love team, how was it breaking away from that pairing for the first time and working with rival star Alden?
I actually enjoyed the experience. I did not expect that we would get along so well and be so comfortable with each other since we have been part of two different love teams for years - the KathNiel (Kathryn/Daniel) and AlDub (Alden/Maine Mendoza) team. There were no indifferences between us on the sets, even though we belong to rival networks (Kapamilya and Kapuso). I feel honoured that Alden accepted this project. He has so much to offer (to fans), and I'm happy that through this project he is able to showcase that.

How did you prepare for the role?
We arrived there (at the Hong Kong location) in the morning/noon, director Cathy immediately told us to prepare to go to Lan Kwai Fong (a popular nightlife zone) where we would be actually working in bar as a bartender and a waitress. The OFWs taught us the tricks of the trade, so that's how we prepared for our roles. We completely immersed ourselves into our characters. During the entire time we were shooting there, we were not Kathryn and Alden, but Joy and Ethan.

What did you learn from the experience?
I am proud of our OFWs. No matter how hard their life is overseas, they still find a way to be happy. Though they are away from their families, you will see them happy whenever they get together (with other OFWs). They really know how to take care of each other (when they are abroad). At the same time, I feel a bit sad for them because of the hardships they have to endure.

What is your message for OFWS?
Though there are wonderful employment opportunities abroad, there are umpteen jobs available in our country too. Some OFWs are lucky to take their families along with them, but that's not the case with everyone. It's not so easy to live abroad, I experienced it for a month, and I can say that it is not for me. When you go abroad, you do it because it is something you voluntarily want to do. You don't want to find yourself saying, 'okay, I went abroad because I need to'. In reality, you are sad about it. Life there (abroad) is really hard, so ask yourself first if is it worth the sacrifice and if you really want to go. You may suffer but you will be able to save (money).

Alden Richards:
How was it working with Kathryn, who is from your rival network?
At first, I had a lot of apprehensions. I thought I might have a hard time because everyone is from Star Cinema (ABS-CBN) - from Kathryn to the staff and crew. But I'm not a difficult person to get along with. When I work with people, I know how to adjust with them. It wasn't difficult to work with them because I realised they are not different from my team in GMA.

And how was it facing the camera with Kathryn for the first time?
Since it was our first time together on screen, director Cathy made a conscious effort to shoot the scenes in chronological order. That kind of helped me and Kathryn as our characters got to know each other better.

Anything you recollect about Cathy while making the movie?
Yes, I will never forget what director Cathy told me during a conference when we were being interviewed by a television crew. She saw the microphones of bitter rivals ABS-CBN and GMA next to each other, so she said, 'oh, it's possible!' In a similar way, we hope this project too will help kickstart collaborations between rival networks and artistes.

We heard you had to lose a lot of weight for your role?
Yes, it (losing weight) was a conscious effort. The first time I met Cathy was during the story conference. During the look test, we tried a couple of looks, I realised Cathy was looking for something else (appearance wise). That was when she told me, 'Alden, come here, look, you look fat.' And that kind of motivated me (to lose weight). I told Cathy, 'director Cathy, when you see me again I will not look like this anymore.'

What's the takeaway for you from the movie?
After working in Hello, Love, Goodbye, I realised what it means to portray real life characters. Kathryn and I represented every OFW (around the world) even though the film was shot in Hong Kong. The movie showcases the state of our overseas workers. I also learned that the lives of OFWs are aspirational and inspirational. And being given the chance to portray that, I was able to showcase their struggles on screen. It is an honour (to play an OFW). Through this film, the families of OFWs will get to see how our fellow Filipinos are living abroad. We are also sending a beautiful message that despite all their struggles, there is also a happy side to them, when they bond with other people in the countries they work. Hopefully, we are able to bring forth the harsh realities they face overseas. Our youth who are interested in working abroad should see this.

Any message for OFWs?
Yes. It's really about freedom of choice. No one else can decide about it (working abroad) but you - not your family or friends, only you.
Meet Kathryn & Alden in the UAE
Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards will be gracing the premiere of Hello, Love, Goodbye in Reel Cinemas The Dubai Mall from 11am to 12pm and Al Ghurair Center from 3pm to 4pm ,4pm to 5pm and 5pm to 6pm on August 9 and at Oscar Cinemas, Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi on August 10 from 10am and 11am. Regular screening starts on August 8.
michael@khaleejtimes.com