MANILA, Philippines—On the road to the 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, television and film actors and real-life couple Jane Oineza and RK Bagatsing, have just been announced to star in the film Love Child.
Dubbed as a socio-realist romantic comedy, the film follows the story of college sweethearts, Ayla and Paolo, who decided to drop out of school and raise a family after a brief whirlwind romance, which then led to an unplanned pregnancy.
Four years later, the couple discovers that their son, Kali, is diagnosed with autism. With this discovery, the couple faces the bitter reality of raising a child with special needs in a country that has become less than ideal—challenging both their relationship and their dream of having a complete family.
Image courtesy of Southern Lantern Studios
Joining the Oineza and Bagatsing are all-Negrense actors, including Sparks Camp alumnus Nick De Ocampo, along with a five-year-old first-time-actor from Silay, Negros Occidental.
Love Child is a debut film inspired by Jonathan Jurilla’s experience as a father of a child with autism. Jurilla is an associate professor in literature and art appreciation courses at the University of the Philippines-Visayas in Iloilo. As a native of Talisay, Negros Occidental, he is also a writer. In fact, the film is based on a script that won first place at the 2023 Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature.
Image courtesy of Southern Lantern Studios
Jurilla shares, “This film is my tribute to my family, most especially to my own son, who has autism.”
“As someone who has faced several personal challenges, I have many stories to tell. However, the most important story for me is about my 16-year journey as the father of a child with autism. There aren’t enough films or stories about it. While there are a few, most either romanticize or only focus on the gifted aspects of autism. It’s important to remember that autism is a spectrum, and being gifted is not the default for people with this condition.”
He highlights, “Additionally, autism doesn’t just affect the individual; it impacts the entire family. Parents are also affected when their child has this condition. This particular note leads me to write a narrative exploring the relationship of a young couple dealing with a child diagnosed with autism.”
The film’s main producer is Arden Rod Condez with Sonny Calvento (Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss, and Primetime Mother), Sheron Dayoc (Women of the Weeping River, The Gospel of the Beast), and Jo Andrew Torlao.
In a statement, the producers of Love Child shares, “The film aims to shed light to the realities of having a child with autism. Aside from this, the film is a love story. We see the intimate journey of a young couple and how they deal with the difficulties, not just of having a child with autism, but also of dealing with the limitations of living in an economically-challenged country like the Philippines. But we are doing this with a little wit and more realistic and grounded approach to drama.”
Image courtesy of Southern Lantern Studios
Love Child is a co-production between Southern Lantern Studios and Regal Entertainment, Inc. Southern Lantern Studios has produced two Cinemalaya Best Films, namely Sheron Dayoc’s Halaw and Condez’s John Denver Trending, who co-wrote the film with Ayu Martinez, and Angel Benjamin. This serves as the first time the production company is doing a love story.
Ruby Ruiz, Filipina veteran actress, 2019 Cinemalaya Best Actress, star of Lulu Wang’s EXPATS serves as acting coach. Rommel Sales steps in as Director of Photography. As of this writing, Love Child is scheduled to be filmed this month in Bacolod, Talisay, and Silay, Negros Occidental.