Camille Naredo

The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film "Open Endings" at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film "Open Endings" at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City.

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PRIDE PH 2025

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1751265838872063025_OE 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film &quot;Open Endings&quot; at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film &#x27;Open Endings&#x27; at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. <em>Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- More than four months before its official premiere, the Cinemalaya film &quot;Open Endings&quot; has already garnered a small but vocal online following -- mostly queer women who are excited to see themselves represented on screen. </p><p>During Saturday&#x27;s Pride celebration at the UP Diliman campus, the stars of &quot;Open Endings&quot; -- Kapamilya actress Janella Salvador, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Leanne Mamonong and Klea Pineda -- had the golden opportunity to introduce their project to a wider audience.</p><p>In front of the LGBTQIA+ community at the UP Sunken Garden, the quartet shared their excitement for the movie, for the journeys taken by their characters, and for the significance of its existence in the current media landscape.</p><p>&quot;Kailangan natin mas marami pang pelikula para maibahagi at maipakita ang representasyon, ang identity natin, maipakita kung sino tayo -- that we are just like everyone else,&quot; Curtis-Smith told the cheering crowd. &quot;We&#x27;re human, we&#x27;re living, we&#x27;re living our truths.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So lahat kami &#x27;yun talaga &#x27;yung rason kung bakit nag-yes [to the movie]. It was a no-brainer para sa aming lahat,&quot; she added.</p><p>In &quot;Open Endings,&quot; the four actresses play four &quot;exes-turned best friends.&quot; After having dated each other at different points in their lives, they are now in a &quot;ride-or-die friendship&quot; -- but this is challenged when one of them makes a &quot;surprising life decision&quot; that affects the dynamic of the group and tests their bond. </p><p>The crowd at Pride got a brief look at the characters: Curtis-Smith&#x27;s Hannah, Mamonong&#x27;s Mihan, Pineda&#x27;s Kit and Salvador&#x27;s Charlie. After their cast reveal in late May, fans had been quick to put pairings together, and all four actresses joined in the fun by &quot;campaigning&quot; for different &quot;ships&quot; on social media. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/5/25/sapphic-cinemalaya-film-open-endings-reveals-cast-1537">READ: Janella Salvador to star in sapphic Cinemalaya film with Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Klea Pineda, Leanne Mamonong</a></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1929067924368789516&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-06-30T07%3A41%3A16.288306%3A320d1d6d-bbba-47a7-a9c1-3765e5e9042e%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=05f51f303f10c5011f6ce38d42e8a3a8718d73fd&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:249px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1929067924368789516"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>The actresses admit that the excitement they have seen online since the cast reveal is overwhelming -- but also gratifying.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s all new to me,&quot; said Mamonong, who is half of the music duo Leanne &amp; Naara and will be making her major film debut on &quot;Open Endings.&quot; &quot;So I&#x27;m overwhelmed.&quot;</p><p>For Curtis-Smith, it&#x27;s the &quot;good kind&quot; of overwhelming. &quot;Nakakatuwa, kasi wala pa &#x27;yung mismong film, pero already, there&#x27;s so much support and imagination that goes on behind each character&#x27;s stories,&quot; she said. &quot;Nakakatuwa.&quot;</p><p>At the Pride festival on Saturday, they got the chance to bring that anticipation outside the virtual realm and in front of a bigger audience -- including those who may not have been aware of the movie. It made their appearance all the more special for the cast: not only did they get to promote their film, but they also got an up close and personal look at the community that they will represent.</p><p>&quot;I think I&#x27;ve just seen photos and videos of the past years, and it&#x27;s always been so fun to see everyone coming together for such a beautiful day,&quot; said Curtis-Smith, who was attending the Pride festival for the first time.</p><p>For Salvador, in particular, this year&#x27;s Pride felt like coming full circle. Last year, she had premiered the music video of her song &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/6/23/after-hey-you-mv-janella-renews-calls-for-gl-project-with-jane-de-leon-056">Hey You</a>&quot; with Darna co-star Jane de Leon, and afterward pushed anew for a &quot;GL project.&quot; </p><p>&quot;Last year, ang isinisigaw ko is bigyan ako ng isang sapphic project, and I launched my music video. And finally, this year, nabigay sa akin &#x27;yung dream ko. Why would I not be here? How? Hindi pwede, hindi ako papayag. So it really means a lot to finally be here,&quot; said Salvador. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>REPRESENTATION FOR QUEER WOMEN</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1751265927612063025_OE 1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film &quot;Open Endings&quot; at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The cast of upcoming Cinemalaya film &#x27;Open Endings&#x27; at the Lov3Laban sa Diliman: Pride PH Festival, June 28, 2025 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. <em>Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></strong>Taking the roles may have been a &quot;no brainer,&quot; as Curtis-Smith said, but the stars of &quot;Open Endings&quot; are well aware that portraying queer women on the big screen carries a special weight. </div><p>After all, Curtis-Smith is no stranger to sapphic roles, having starred in 2016&#x27;s &quot;Baka Bukas.&quot; Salvador has been advocating for a &quot;GL&quot; (girls love) project for the past couple of years, and is now finally getting the role she has dreamed of. For <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/20/23/klea-pineda-comes-out-as-member-of-lgbt-community">Pineda</a> and <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.lofficielph.com/culture/leanne-mamonong-lofficiel-philippines-pride-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mamonong</a>, who are proudly out, &quot;Open Endings&quot; is their first major role -- and this movie is proof that manifestation, indeed, works. </p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s nerve-wracking,&quot; Mamonong told ABS-CBN News in a brief interview before the cast stepped on stage at Pride. &quot;I feel like it&#x27;s such a big responsibility, telling this story. Like I really wanted to do it right.&quot;</p><p>&quot;With everyone in the cast and the prod, I feel like we all feel the same way naman,&quot; she added. &quot;So I cannot wait to see the film, of course. It&#x27;s a real opportunity, it&#x27;s a real privilege for me rin, to be able to be a part of it.&quot;</p><p>Mamonong&#x27;s sentiment is shared by her costars, who understand that along with the excitement from fans, there is the expectation that they will tell the story of &quot;Open Endings&quot; with care and respect. They are thus grateful that even before they began shooting, they attended a SOGIE and queer representation seminar, where queer activist Floyd Scott Tiogangco spoke of the significance of their work.</p><p>&quot;We wanted to make sure that the whole cast and crew were on the same page bago namin ikuwento ang queer experience nina Hannah, Charlie, Kit, and Mihan sa inyong lahat,&quot; the film&#x27;s production said in their <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLXsHz8PJl4/?img_index=2">social media accounts</a>.</p><p>The seminar was vital for the cast, who are embracing both the responsibility and the privilege of bringing stories of queer women to a bigger platform.</p><p>&quot;Actually, ako, kahit ang tagal ko nang part ng community, madami pa rin akong hindi alam na nalaman at natutunan ko noong nag-SOGIE workshop kami,&quot; said Pineda. &quot;And importante siya, kasi may gagawin kaming film, so part na rin siya ng preparation, para hindi lang ginagawa namin &#x27;yung pelikula. Meron kaming knowledge about sa kung anong ginagawa namin.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s about the responsibility, &#x27;cause we&#x27;re representing queer women in the film. So it comes with that responsibility,&quot; added Mamonong. &quot;Like what Klea said, hindi lang basta-basta gumawa ng pelikula. Parang naiintindihan &#x27;yung responsibilidad sa likod nang paggawa ng pelikula.&quot;</p><p>For Curtis-Smith, what makes their project all the more important is that movies centered on queer women remain rare, even in 2025. There have been significant works that portray sapphic love -- &quot;Baka Bukas,&quot; for instance -- but there aren&#x27;t as many as one would expect given the demand for those stories.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/6/5/12-years-on-sigrid-bernardo-reflects-on-impact-of-ang-huling-cha-cha-ni-anita-1705">READ: 12 years on, Sigrid Bernardo reflects on impact of &#x27;Ang Huling Cha Cha ni Anita&#x27;</a></div><p>&quot;Pinakita din sa amin -- and specifically for queer women -- there&#x27;s been little to almost like halos no representation in the film landscape of things, and plenty for gay men. And that&#x27;s not to you know, put a competition out there or anything,&quot; said Curtis-Smith.</p><p>&quot;But this is just for us to also make sure that we approach it in the proper and right way, and also not to just fall into stereotypes,&quot; she stressed.</p><p>The fans -- and the stars of &quot;Open Endings&quot; themselves -- still have quite a while to wait before they can see this latest addition to the library of Philippine sapphic media. But as early as now, there are assurances that it is, first and foremost, &quot;a love letter to the sapphic community.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Filming it has been one of the most meaningful chapters of our lives,&quot; the production said on <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DKyk95RByiz/">social media</a>.</p><p>&quot;This is the best set I&#x27;ve ever worked with,&quot; Salvador told ABS-CBN News. &quot;I love these guys so much… It means a lot to be here with them, promoting our film together. Grabe na rin &#x27;yung pinagsamahan namin in a span of a few months.&quot;</p><p>For now, the cast is just hopeful that the excitement will only grow, and they can draw in a bigger audience to the story that is centered on &quot;queer joy, to the love we find in friendships, and to the soft, familiar ache of what could&#x27;ve been.&quot; </p><p>&quot;Actually, napanood ko pa lang &#x27;yung teaser noong General Assembly, sobrang sumisigaw na ako,&quot; said Pineda, referring to a fundraising event held last June 21 in Poblacion, where a brief snippet of the film was shown to a small audience of fans. &quot;What more &#x27;pag napanood ko na &#x27;yung film mismo? So grabe, sobrang excited kaming lahat.&quot;</p><p>Written by Keavy Vicente (Pearl Next Door) and directed by Nigel Santos (Yours Truly, Shirley; Dalaginding na si Isang), &quot;Open Endings&quot; will be out in October 2025 as part of the Cinemalaya Film Festival.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HWm8NC0SB7o?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>More than four months before its official premiere, the Cinemalaya film 'Open Endings' has already garnered a small but vocal online following -- mostly queer women who are excited to see themselves represented on screen. </p>

More than four months before its official premiere, the Cinemalaya film 'Open Endings' has already garnered a small but vocal online following -- mostly queer women who are excited to see themselves represented on screen.

Stars of 'Open Endings' embrace responsibility, privilege of portraying queer women on screen

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Stars of 'Open Endings' embrace responsibility, privilege of portraying queer women on screen

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 30, 2025 03:34 PM PHT

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Updated June 30, 2025 03:51 PM PHT

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Pride Month

Pride 2025

Open Endings

Cinemalaya

Cinemalaya Film Festival

Janella Salvador

Jasmine Curtis-Smith

Leanne Mamonong

Klea Pineda

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