What 'ConMom' stars enjoyed about filming in Boljoon, Cebu

At the May 20 premiere of Kaye Abad’s latest film “ConMom,” the cries from her sons, Joaquin and Iñigo, echoed throughout the theater during the confrontation scenes between Abad and Kit Thompson, who play Pinky and Anton, respectively, as their on-screen daughter Yana (played by Valerie Talion) is caught in the crossfire.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

“My sons don’t like it when I am hurt, and they thought I was actually being hurt [in those scenes],” Abad shared during the post-screening Q&A at SM City Cebu. “They don’t like to see me sad, so they always ask if I am okay.”

The premiere took place three days after Abad’s 43rd birthday on May 17. Co-star Paolo Contis, who attended the event with Patrick Garcia, also 43, joked that holding the film’s debut in Cebu City —where Abad has been based since marrying Cebuano Paul Jake Castillo — was her birthday request.

“First, we shot the movie in Cebu. Now, a premiere in Cebu...all for Kaye,” Contis, 41, teased his longtime friend.

Abad shared that her real birthday wish was to go on an international trip with the whole family.

- The Ibong Adarna parallel -

To establish the strong bond between Pinky and Yana, Mavx Productions’ family comedy-drama that’s now in cinemas, opens with the titular character playing Ibong Adarna in a street play alongside her friends Benok (Contis) and Jetboy (Empoy Marquez), to the delight of Yana who is in the audience.

After the play, Yana asks her mother why the story’s protagonist, Don Juan, would intentionally leave cuts on his arms and put calamansi (Philippine lime) on his wounds as protection against the hypnotizing bird. Pinky explains that it’s a testament to Don Juan’s dedication to capture the bird to heal his sickly father.

Touched by this, Yana tells her mom that she, too, would leave cuts on her arms and drizzle calamansi on her wounds if it meant protecting her. Pinky says she would do the same for Yana, highlighting their deep love for each other.

The parallel between Ibong Adarna and “ConMom” sets the tone for the mother-daughter relationship, and how far Pinky would go for her child when Anton prevents her from seeing Yana after she leaves him upon discovering his pregnant mistress.