Is leaving a mark on this world what really matters most in life?
That’s one of the questions the film Hintayan ng Langit would like an answer based on its trailer. But according to its director Dan Villegas, it’s not entirely what the film really wanted to tackle.
“I hope people would fall in love after watching the film, because the bottom line is, Hintayan ng Langit is a love story. When you get married you promise your partner ‘till death do us part,’ but what if when you die and see your other love in heaven? What do you do?” Villegas told the author in an interview.
“I also hope that after watching the film, once they stepped out of the cinema, they’d realize the essence of valuing what they have, the love they have at the moment. Life is short and we can’t really tell if it’s our time to go,” the director added.
The feature film stars multi-awarded veteran actors Gina Pareño and Eddie Garcia and is written by spoken word artist Juan Miguel Severo based from his one-act stage play for The Virgin Lab Fest.
“We planned to make the story bigger than the original version. In Virgin Lab Fest, the story runs with just two characters talking. With our version, we added geography, and we added more rules, conflicts and mood swings,” Villegas shared.
In Hintayan ng Langit, Lisang (Pareño) has overstayed in her waiting room in purgatory, occasionally causing other souls trouble for her own entertainment. But today her waiting ends. Finally, she is set to cross over and her room is to be leased to a new tenant, Manolo (Garcia), who turns out to be her newly-deceased ex-boyfriend. But life—or death—takes a heartbreaking turn as Lisang and Manolo get a second chance to get to know each other again and, in the process, begin to realize what it really means to be “alive” again. As Lisa and Manolo look back in retrospect and they examine the decisions they made in their lives, they can’t help but ask “what if?”
The film is a co-production between Globe Studios and Project 8 Corner San Joaquin Projects, a film production company owned by top filmmakers Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone. The movie adaptation premiered last October in QCinema and won the Best Actor and Audience Choice awards.
While #HintayanNgLangit is trending on social media for its gripping theme and excellent production values, the film is also the latest commitment of Globe Studios in delivering heartfelt but top-quality films not only for its customers but among all Filipino film buffs as well.
“When I first read the Hintayan Ng Langit script for QCinema, I couldn’t put it down, and when I finished it, I couldn’t hold back my tears,” says Globe Studios Head, Quark Henares. “When I handed it to our producers, they felt the same way. This is a film Globe Studios had to do, and I’m so proud and happy we’re giving everyone a chance to see it nationwide. It’s different. It’s touching. It stays with you. Hope you can all catch it in theaters.”
Due to insistent public demand, moviegoers can catch Hintayan Ng Langit starting on Nov. 21, when it makes its nationwide theatrical run.
“I’m glad that we are having a wider release. This triumph of Hintayan Ng Langit is not just for our film, it’s the triumph of indie movies. That’s the dream of every filmmaker—for their film to be seen by a wider audience,” Villegas concluded.
