By Maria Katrina Segui
After working together in the 2017 film, Kita Kita, Alessandra de Rossi and Piolo Pascual reunite on and off-screen for the Netflix original, My Amanda, which tells the platonic romance of two unusually close friends, Amanda and TJ.
The film marks Alessandra’s directorial debut, describing it as a mixture of excitement and embarrassment, while Piolo co-produced under his production firm, Spring Films.
Alessandra, who took on many hats as the all-around woman of the project from acting, directing, writing, and producing, revealed that post-production work — sound design, CG, scoring, editing, color grading — was a “monster.” Directing was so physically draining that it took a toll on the actress’ health to the point of hospitalization, which happened three times in two weeks.
“She was getting disappointed, getting frustrated because of the things that she wanted. She was just taking on so much stuff that she couldn't express,” Piolo recalled moments when Alessandra struggled as the director in a virtual conference.
Piolo also mentioned Alessandra and the film’s creative director, Joyce Bernal, would get into “big fights” during the shoot, but ultimately led to the betterment of the film.
“What's nice about their relationship is they're open. They learn from each other, especially you [Alessandra] from director Joyce,” he shared.
Apart from directing, Alessandra also penned the story, taking inspiration from her real-life friendship with men, particularly with her guy best friend, TJ, who shares the same name as Piolo’s character. She also cited Piolo and director Joyce’s friendship as another point of reference for Amanda and TJ’s dynamic relationship. The story aims to prove that platonic love between men and women is possible.
“That's what I wanted to talk about because all Pinoys are fans of romcoms. I decided to direct it because no one wanted to touch it. Because they found it a little bit unbelievable,” she explained about how My Amanda is a different take on love.
Piolo also talked about investing in the film as the producer. He revealed that the story pitch was presented to him as a gift, and it was not hard to approve as he has always trusted Alessandra’s craft ever since Kita Kita.
“I didn't think twice because I knew it was a good film, and it's a good story to tell. As a producer, it's always risky to produce, but once you believe in a project, once you believe in the idea, you go all in, you dive headfirst.”
To be given support by the streaming giant Netflix was huge too, the two admitted.
“I've always wanted to showcase Philippine movies to the international scene. We go to festivals to sell our films, we spend so much and we don't get distributed, and yet Netflix took a risk getting our film launched globally because I feel that we have a voice and that voice needs to be heard globally as Philippine filmmakers. I'm just happy that they gave us this chance to do it and I hope it will open doors for more,” Piolo shared.
According to the lead stars, the movie was in the works for three years and wrapped up before Netflix tapped them for a global launch, which gave them ample time to polish the film. The experience helped them come up with something so well-crafted as they were not bothered by deadlines.
“That was a good discipline for us, thanks to Netflix for it. Because of that, we're able to adjust and learn as well and grow as producers,” Piolo added.
My Amanda premiered on July 15 and is currently the second trending film on Netflix Philippines.