Maris Racal better secure that best actress bag while supporting women’s advocacies in the Philippines.
Related: 4 Reasons Why Antoinette Jadaone’s Latest Movie, ‘Sunshine’, Already Has Our Attention
Maris Racal has always been that girl. No matter the project and whether she’s alone or with a love team partner, the star has proven to be adept at taking on every role that is given to her. This year alone, Maris gagged audiences as Irene Tiu on Can’t Buy Me Love, started a new popular love team with Anthony Jennings, and was a scene-stealer on Marupok A+. We’ll never tire of giving her her flowers. And the Maris hype train continues with her latest movie, Sunshine.
HERE FOR ACTRESS MARIS RACAL
Recently, social media was abuzz when the trailer for Sunshine dropped. For those of you part of Filipino cinephile Twitter, you’d know that the movie was already building hype given that it comes from the mind of Antoinette Jadaone. And our first look at the movie backed it up. Aside from the fact that it was a well-made trailer, it also gave us a closer look into its story.
Sunshine follows a young gymnast named Sunshine Francisco (Maris Racal) who has a bright future ahead of her in the sport. But her world falls apart when she discovers she’s pregnant just before the national team tryouts. In her desperation, she seeks out an abortion and comes face-to-face with a conservative society bent on preventing her from doing so.
Understandably, many praised Maris for how she’s set to deliver another stand-out role in her discography. Sunshine gives the actress a vehicle and more room to showcase her skills. That scene of her emoting on the jeepney had many feeling seen and heard. Those jumps, flips, and splits were all Maris, who trained with actual gymnasts for the role. The trailer was less than two minutes, but we can already feel Maris is going to eat it up. The hype she’s getting online is proof that she is deserving of the moment. Even non-Filipino locals were talking about the trailer.
And the fact that she filmed the movie at the same time she was filming Can’t Buy Me Love, yeah, we know a mother when we see one. Adding to the pedigree of Sunshine is the caliber of its cast, which includes Elijah Canlas, Xyriel Manabat, and Jennica Garcia. Also, the film marks Maris Racal and Antoinette Jadaone’s third project and first movie together. Lowkey it’s giving another iconic director-actor pairing like Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan.
FOR THE GIRLS
While it’s nice seeing a lot of the discourse around Sunshine revolve around Maris owning the screen, what’s also commendable about the movie is its subject matter. It centers around teenage pregnancy and abortion in the Philippines, two serious issues facing Filipinas yet rarely get the proper discourse and attention it needs. Notice how in the trailer when Sunshine confronts the boy who impregnated her, he just asked if it was his and shrugged it off, while she has to deal with the life-changing consequences of an unplanned pregnancy.
Movies will always be a form of entertainment, but it’s also great when films ground their stories on real-life issues. That’s the case for this movie which explores the challenges faced by pregnant women in the Philippines where proper healthcare options, especially for young women going through a crisis, are lacking.
This much is true for Maris, who dedicated the movie to a woman’s right to decide about their bodies. “Para ito sa kababaihan at sa kanilang karapatang magpasya para sa sarili at sa kanilang katawan,” she wrote on Instagram. Not only is Maris coming for that best actress bag, but she’s also using her platform as an A-list star to advocate for women’s reproductive rights in the Philippines, something you rarely see in the country. You know when an actor combines their talents with advocacy, they’re worth stanning.
At the same time, Sunshine will also spotlight the challenges athletes face in gymnastics in the country as the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines partnered with the filmmakers to ensure an accurate representation of the sport. It’s a timely topic given recent events. It all comes together for a movie about a young gymnast in an underfunded sport who is pushed to extremes in a misogynistic society.
Sunshine is set to premiere this September at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where it will be a part of TIFF’s Centrepiece program. While Maris sadly can’t make it (and we hope that changes because she highkey needs to be there), Antoinette Jadaone will be in Toronto to present the thought-provoking piece. There’s no release date in the Philippines, but fingers crossed it comes to local cinemas soon.
Continue Reading: 7 Maris Racal Performances That Are The Definition Of Scene-Stealer
