Bea Alonzo found Fujifilm before it found her.
The actress had been looking for an ideal camera (“A good, good camera,” as she likes to say)—one that has great features and is light and easy to carry around. “Dati may DSLR ako, ang bigat-bigat, napunta lang sa nanay ko agad,” Bea said.
After some intense Googling, blog-checking and review-reading, her search ended with the mirrorless, tan Fujifilm XA-2. “’Yung talagang nag-attract sa akin ’yung Wi-Fi feature. Ang dali ma-transfer ’yung pictures sa phone… Na-she-share ko agad yung photos sa Viber sa family chat group namin, sa Instagram ko.”
Bea had been using the camera for months when Fujifilm realized it had an unofficial endorser in the actress. “I had been endorsing it to my friends,” she noted. “Kumuha na sila ng Fujifilm X-A2 dahil nga tinatanong nila, ‘Ang ganda ng photos mo, anong gamit mo?’ Akala nila meron akong professional photographer.”
Her Instagram followers also kept asking what camera she was using to take those crisp photos she was posting. Fujifilm decided to make it official, signing Bea as brand endorser.
“Our mantra is beauty from every angle and, for us, Bea is the epitome of beauty, very angle,” said Maan de la Cruz, Fujifilm’s digital camera marketing leader.
At the recent Fujifilm event at Relish, Inquirer Lifestyle Super sat down with Bea to talk about snapshots and “A Second Chance,” the sequel to “One More Chance,” her 2007 film with John Lloyd Cruz written by Carmi Raymundo and Vanessa Valdez and directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina.
Beautiful memories
Have you always been into photography?
Not so much, until nag-open ako ng Instagram account. Slowly ko siya na-discover eh.
So, just a few years?
Oo, nu’ng nag-ta-travel ako. Actually nu’ng nag-start akong mag-travel, hindi ako ma-camera kasi iniisip ko I’d rather see it in person and savor the moment than get busy taking pictures. But after a while, ang dami ko ring nakakalimutan, and the pictures remind me. Then I realized I should get a good, good camera that captures real-life moments like ito, kahit gabi nakikita mo ’yung background, parang nandun pa rin ako. It brings back all the beautiful memories na nakukuha ko tuwing nagta-travel ako.
Hindi enough ’yung camera phone. Tayong humans, nakakalimot. Maganda na may isang bagay na nag-re-remind sa atin ng mga magagandang alaala.
A good selfie
Do you also use Instax?
Recently lang… hindi kasi ako ma-instant camera. Pero ngayon na-realize ko… pwede mo siya i-scrapbook, I’m starting to love it. I can hang the prints somewhere, I can place them in a box.
What’s the secret to a good selfie?
Knowing your right angles. Pumunta sa magandang lighting, ’di ba? At siguro a happy face, always a happy face, a happy heart.
Were you surprised by how much people ended up loving “One More Chance”?
I was! And they call it a classic.
It is! We can’t count the number of times we’ve watched it. When you were working on it, you didn’t expect it?
Hindi talaga. We were just trying to tell a story—the anatomy of a breakup. Somehow lahat kami nu’ng time na ’yun nagdaan na sa breakups… Eight years later, nag-te-trending pa rin siya tuwing pinapalabas sa Cinema One.
Nakakataba ng puso. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam na gumawa kami ng isang movie na nag-define ng generation. So ngayon, itong ginagawa namin, regalo sa mga na-in love sa first one. Sana magustuhan nila. ’Di ba meron akong line sa pelikula, “I don’t want what-ifs anymore, I want to know what is.” Ito ang what is namin. Ayaw namin ng what-ifs. What if we make another movie, ’di ba?
Did you say yes to the sequel immediately?
At first, nag-dalawang isip ako kasi baka naman hanggang du’n na lang. Until sinabi sa akin nu’ng writers namin at ni direk na “Meron pa, ’di ba?” at “Bakit tayo matatakot? Why should we live in fear na baka hindi nila magustuhan? In the first place, hindi natin ginawa ’yung first movie dahil sa approval nilang lahat, we just wanted to tell a story. Dapat ngayon, hindi natin gagawin ’to to impress. It’s all about telling a story again.”
Did you ever re-watch the movie?
We did! Kasi nagkaroon kami ng lock in sa isang hotel, lahat ng Thursday barkada (the film’s cast) and we had this brainstorming. Kagaya kasi nu’ng first one, we were part of the creative process. So, ginawa ulit namin. Ginagawa lang namin ’yung ginawa namin dati. Pinanood sa amin ulit para ma-remind kami. Ang sarap nga eh, kasi nakakatawa. Parang, “My God, ang bata pa natin.” Tawang-tawa kami sa mga itsura namin. May nakalagay na board d’yan, tapos mag-sa-suggest ka kung anong sa tingin mo… It’s banter, it’s a debate, it’s a long discussion kasi hindi nila laging tatanggapin, so you have to defend.
We were given a questionnaire, kami ni John Lloyd, para sagutan, as Popoy and Basha. Ang sarap, ’yun ’yung pinakamasarap na parte, the creative process.
Did you miss Popoy and Basha as well?
Of course! When I read the book…
So you read Juan Miguel Sevilla’s novelization?
Of course! When I read the book, it brought a lot of different memories of Popoy and Basha. Until now, every time I hear “I’ll Never Go,” ’yung song ni Erik Santos, my God parang kahapon lang ’to. Eight years later, nandito, ginagawa namin… It’s unbelievable… unexplainable feeling.
Still nervous
Do you still get nervous before a new film comes out?
All the time!
And are you extra-nervous about this one?
Yes. I get nervous bago ako mag-take, kapag naririnig ko na ’yung “Rolling! Lights! Camera!” My God, grabe, para akong manganganak. Until now. Kinakabahan ako baka hindi ko maabot ’yung gusto kong maabot, baka hindi ko ma-achieve ’yung gusto kong ma-achieve.
But I like that feeling, ’yung fear, I like that fear na baka ’di ako makaabot, it makes me feel alive.
What would you like to tell fans who have been dying to watch the sequel?
Just keep an open mind. Don’t compare it to the first one. Never compare.
Is social media something you enjoy? Or is it something you have to do because it’s part of the job?
It doesn’t come out naturally for me, no. Kaya hindi ako every day nag-po-post. Kasi, in the first place, hindi ako ma-text, hindi ako ma-update na tao. As in, I update only kapag gusto ko lang. Sometimes nga ’pag ano, nag-aaway pa kami ni Tita Monch (Novales, her handler), kasi minsan kailangan ko mag-post.
Kasi ’di ba, in the first place, kaya ko inopen ’yung Instagram ko, for my own personal pleasure. So ayoko na sinasabihan akong I have to post. Gusto ko lang… I have to keep it that way. Dapat balanse ’yung buhay.
You posted about #StoptheHate. Is cyberbullying something you feel strongly about?
Yes, yes. Kasi ’di ba, just because anonymous ka, just because hindi ka nakikita ng tao… that doesn’t give you the right to bash anyone. Ang dami ng hatred sa mundo. Ang dami ng nag-aaway. We should stop. But you know, I don’t really care.
It doesn’t affect you?
Not really. It only affects me kapag tungkol sa pamilya ko or sa mga taong mahal ko.
But do you read all the comments?
Not all the time. I don’t even… I rarely block people. Hindi ako masyadong… Siguro habang tumatanda ako, I care less about what other people would say about me. Dati mas parang, “Oh my God baka ganito sabihin nila.” Now I care more about what will make me happy.
Your camera is always with you—what are your other travel essentials?
Siyempre, in order to take a beautiful selfie, kailangan may beauty essentials din. Kailangan may pa-lipstick, mga ganyan. Meron akong beauty essentials sa bag all the time. I also bring a battery pack all the time kasi ’di ba pag naka-3G ka, ang bilis sa battery talaga. Lagi rin akong may sunblock especially pag nag-ta-travel… And what else? Cologne. Hand sanitizer. And wipes.
A lot of people have become reliant on their camera phones when they travel… What tips do you have for people who want to go back to using a camera?
They should. Alam mo kasi, misconception ’yan eh. Kasi para sa akin, in order to keep all the memories na gusto mo ma-keep kasi nandu’n ka nang personal, you have to capture that specific moment, kung paano mo siya nakita sa personal. Syempre sa phone hindi naman siya high resolution… Minsan ka lang pupunta so kung gagastos ka sa eroplano, gagastos ka sa airfare, gagastos ka sa hotel, gumastos ka na rin sa isang magandang camera.
Which other places do you want to go to and you want to take pictures of?
Gusto ko sana pumunta sa December sa Hokkaido, during Christmas, kasi sabi nila parang Christmas Village ’yung itsura… Switzerland… I would like to go to Prague. I would love to go to Germany. ’Di pa ako nakakapunta sa Belgium. Mostly in Europe. Gusto ko pumunta sa mga lugar na ’yun.
“A Second Chance” opens in cinemas on Nov. 25.
