Igorot actor Mai Fanglayan: ‘Culion’ is a story that must be seen and heard by everyone

Mai Fanglayan, 23, of Baguio City, Philippines is one of the cast members of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2019 entry “Culion.” This is one of her next projects after becoming the first ever Igorot actor to receive a Best Actress nomination from the Gawad Urian.

Written by Ricky Lee and directed by Alvin Yapan, “Culion” is a historical drama film set in the 1940s about three women Ana (Iza Calzado), Doris (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and Ditas (Meryll Soriano), who are afflicted with leprosy. An island located in Palawan, Philippines, Culion was once known as a major leper colony.

In the film, Fanglayan plays Mabel, a new patient in the island. The Igorot actor shared to Conan Daily, “For me, Mabel represents the stories and experiences of the people who were sent to Culion for the first time by their families or loved ones dahil sa sakit nila (because of their disease).”

“Tanging kay Ana lamang siya mapapalapit ang loob (She will become close only to Ana),” Fanglayan continued. “I really gave my all para ma-justify ko iyong character ni Mabel tipong drain na drain na iyong energy ko (I gave my all to justify the character of Mabel like all of my energy was drained).”

“Pero laban lang dahil worth it naman kasi alam kong ito ay hindi lang basta [nilikhang] kuwento (But there was no stopping because it was worth it knowing that this was not just a [fictional] story),” the Igorot actor added. “Ito ay kuwento ng mga tao sa Culion, kuwento na dapat makita at marinig ng lahat (This is a story of the people in Culion, a story that must to be seen and heard by everyone) in order to inspire, give hope and spread love and these are some of the reasons why this film was made.”

“Culion” was produced by iOptions Ventures Corp. Among the co-stars of Calzado, Curtis-Smith, Soriano and Fanglayan are Joem Bascon, Mike Liwag, Suzette Ranillo, Joel Saracho, Nico Locco, Simon Ibarra, Lee O’Brian, Mayen Estañero, VJ Mendoza and Mercedes Cabral.

Only Filipino films will be screened in Philippine theaters except IMAX and 4D theaters during the MMFF 2019, which will run from December 25, 2019 to January 7, 2020. Watch the trailer of “Culion” here: