Following her return to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last year with When I Met You in Tokyo, the “Star For All Seasons” is returning for the second year in a row with the much-awaited psychological thriller Uninvited.
Vilma Santos has been a big name in Philippine cinema for decades, but despite her more than 60 years in the business, the seasoned actress admitted that she was still searching for challenging roles—until she received an invitation to star in Uninvited.
“At this point in my career, it’s hard for me to find a role that suits my age and one that will challenge me. In more than 62 years in the industry, I feel that I have done a lot of different kinds of characters. Some were all the same,” the actress shared.
Despite her legendary status and countless achievements, Vilma is far from complacent.
“If I ever make a movie, I will make sure to do a film that will challenge me. In ‘Uninvited,’ my role was challenging,” she added.
At the recent grand launch of Uninvited at Solaire North, Vilma couldn’t hide her excitement as she, together with her fellow cast members and crew, finally unveiled the movie, which she described as a “dream project.”
“Uninvited is my dream project. I’ve long wanted to make a film that happens within 24 hours. It starts beautifully and ends up dilapidated. That’s what I want,” Vilma said.
She then mentioned that she had been envisioning this kind of project for years, and the filmmakers took her idea and helped shape it into a reality.
“I don’t know about the middle. How will that happen? The directors added the story in the middle until Uninvited came together,” she continued, highlighting that director Dan Villegas and Mentorque Productions helped her fill the missing puzzle pieces of her dream movie.
Having won Best Actress at the 2023 MMFF for When I Met You in Tokyo and again at the Manila International Film Festival Awards Night in the United States, the award-winning actress has never been one to rest on her laurels.
“I’m not thinking about winning another Best Actress award. What I want is to create a beautiful film that we can be proud of. That’s what’s on our minds. When we conceptualized the movie, there was no plan to include it in the MMFF. The only discussion was to make a good film that we can be proud of. But we were lucky and got accepted into the MMFF. It just so happened to be right after each other in the MMFF,” explained Ate Vi.
Uninvited also served as a reunion movie for Vilma and actor Aga Muhlach, whose last collaboration was over three decades ago in Nag-Iisang Bituin.
“Initially, we even called this ‘Project Red.’ But when they laid out the story, it wasn’t easy, and the characters are very important for the movie to be effective. And when it was finalized, the team and I spoke with Direk Dan, and there was no other choice on who would play Guilly. The first name that came to mind was Aga Muhlach,” the actress shared.
Apart from Vilma and Aga, Uninvited boasts a stellar cast including Nadine Lustre, RK Bagatsing, Mylene Dizon, Lotlot de Leon, Gabby Padilla, Elijah Canlas, Ketchup Eusebio, Gio Alvarez, Cholo Barretto, Ron Angeles, Nonie Buencamino, and Tirso Cruz III.
