It has been more than a decade since The Rich Man’s Daughter aired on free TV via GMA Network. It has also been more than a decade since Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita was released in cinemas. These two titles remain relevant today, as they tell groundbreaking stories about the LGBTQIA+ community, especially lesbians.
Now, ‘The Richman’s Daughter’ stars Glaiza de Castro and Rhian Ramos have teamed up with ‘Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita’ director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo for a GL (Girls’ Love) movie, ‘I Fell, It’s Fine,’ which celebrates love in all forms.
Watch the trailer below:
More than a decade later, how much has the way of telling LGBTQIA+ stories evolved after ‘Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita’ and ‘The Richman’s Daughter’?
“I can see a giant difference between how ‘The Richman’s Daughter’ was treated and how this (I Fell, It’s Fine) was treated right now, especially because that was a TV project and at that time, parang the censorship was so much. ‘Yung para bang it was still considered taboo to talk about or to tell that kind of story. So, there was a lot of censorship on the project. Here, I think we’ve all evolved. Thank you and there’s finally a lot of freedom that we have now. So, there’s a lot of freedom and I hope that it’s something that will be satisfying for people to watch also,” Ramos answers.
“I think sa storytelling, hindi siya dini-dictate ng specific na formula, especially katulad ng sinabi ni Rhian, it’s not TV formula, so parang mas nakakapaglaro, I believe, si Direk Sigrid in terms of genre, in terms of mga scenes and concept. So, mas nabawasan ‘yung mga inhibitions pagdating sa scriptwriting niya, sa acting namin, sa eksena namin. Very happy kasi na-experience namin ‘yung time na sinasabi sa amin na, ‘eto hindi pwede.’ Very controlled, in a way, kasi nga, we have to consider na pinapalabas siya sa free TV. But here, very grateful kami na we were given a bigger platform to tell a story na hindi namin na-kwento before,” de Castro adds.
“Yung ‘Ang Huling Cha-Cha kasi, 2012, diba? So, nung time na ‘yun, nung unang review niya, it was banned for public viewing. Tapos nilaban ulit, saka lang siya ipinalabas. So, it says a lot about gender sensitivity and gender knowledge about that time. Pero kasi, the reason was, hindi about lesbians, akala ko ‘yun kasi it’s a coming of age (story) siya ng 12 year old woman who falls in love with an older woman, pero hindi kami doon na-X, it was really about ‘yung paglalaglag ng bata, may ganung topic. And at that time, sinusulong natin ang RH Bill nung 2012, as in nagra-rally sila Ms. Risa Hontiveros during that time. So, you see doon pa lang, ‘yunng history ng ating knowledge tungkol sa genders at sa pagiging babae and ‘yung mga karapatan namin bilang babae, nandun ‘yung pakikipaglaban pa noon. So, fast forward tayo sa 2026, GL na, hindi na pala tawag lesbian film. Actually nung nilapit sa akin, pwede daw ba akong gumawa ng GL film, ‘anong GL film?’ Di ko naintindihan sa totoo lang,” director Bernardo says.
“Gusto ko ‘yung term na ‘yun,” Ramos adds.
“Gumawa ako ng Lulu sa Vivamax during pandemic. I think ‘yun ‘yung first ko na GL na may BL, ganyan dati, it’s a series. Tapos when I was asking them, ano ‘yung difference niya sa lesbian film? It’s a girl to girl film pa din. But GL is more fun, light and mas romantic, and interestingly enough during those years, kung ivu-view natin na lesbian film, laging iniisip na indie film, drama, mabigat. So, I’m very happy na nandito tayo sa panahon na we go beyond that at nandito na tayo sa romance, sa kilig. I think ‘yun ‘yung maganda na pinagdaanan ng isang dekada. ‘Yun nga, sinasabi nila ‘yung ‘Richman’s Daughter’ ‘yung experience nila, maraming limitations pa pero it was a groundbreakinng TV series na for me, nag-try. Maraming nagta-try, hindi lang kami, maraming director, maraming pelikula, pero maganda ngayon is we go beyond na ‘yun nga, kapag lesbian dapat seryoso, about nakakadurog ang puso lagi. Like for example, itong ‘I Fell, It’s Fine’ namin, actually it doesn’t talk about a girl to girl relationship, it’s really talking about being in a relationship, being hurt and being able to rise up again from all of these hurtful things na nangyari sa’yo. You go beyond the “girl to girl” na parang normal na lang siya sa pelikula. Hindi na siya tinatanong dapat kung girl to girl ba ‘yan, or boy to boy, or whatever. When we go beyond that, ibig sabihin, nasa right track na tayo ng panahon, kasi ang iniisip natin ‘yung kwento na, hindi na about gender,” director Bernardo continues.
Apart from being the lead stars of the film, how involved are Glaiza de Castro and Rhian Ramos as producers?
“Umpisa pa lang talaga, involved na kami. Nung sinabi pa lang sa amin nina Ms. April and Ms. Pauline (of Wide International Film Productions), na i-message ko si Rhian, dun pa lang involved na involved na ako, wala pang script, wala pang director. Actually, nung time na ‘yun, hindi pa kami nagsisimula sa Sang’gre (GMA Network series), so parang ang tagal naming hindi nagkita ni Rhian tapos all of a sudden, magme-message si Glaiza, so parang weird,” de Castro shares.
“From Araneta Coliseum (FreenBecky fan meet in Manila in 2023),” Ramos adds.
“From Araneta, ‘yun pala. Tapos parang nung time na ‘yun, di ko alam kung magre-reply ba siya, magye-yes ba siya, but thankfully she said yes. She’ll always say yes daw, eh. Tapos sa sobrang pagka-involved namin, ang dami naming meetings, even sa Sang’gre pinag-uusapan namin siya, tungkol lang sa treatment lang din kung okay ‘yung script, sa schedule. ‘Yun pa lang, kasi locked in siya. So, not just as actors, hindi lang namin iniintindi mga eksena namin sa pelikula kung hindi pati na din logistics. Ganun kami ka-invloved dito,” de Castro continues.
“To be honest, Glaiza is more involved than I am, but I think everyone cares about the project so much that we wanted it to be the best that it could possibly be. And to some extent, we all made sacrifices to make it better. Whatever it takes to make it better, if we spot something we can improve, pag-uusapan namin, everything is open to other people’s ideas. I felt like it was really a collaboration of everyone,” Ramos shares.
Everyone longs to feel special, and that’s perfectly fine. But not everything we ask for is given to us in the way we want. And sometimes, it’s even better than we imagined. After a decade of waiting, Glaiza De Castro and Rhian Ramos are back together in a romantic comedy that will surely make you feel fine. Written and directed by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, produced by Wide International. Where can we truly find the love we’ve been longing for? What if it’s from a world that doesn’t exist in yours? Can love survive? Can you endure all that love brings?
‘I Fell, It’s Fine’ opens in cinemas on April 4, 2026, from Wide International Film Productions.
Watch our coverage from the media conference below: