Vanessa Hudgens to explore Filipino roots in travel documentary

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American Hollywood actress Vanessa Hudgens is set to visit the Philippines for the first time this month to film a travel documentary exploring her Filipino heritage.

Paul Soriano is attached to the project as the producer, executive producer and director.

According to a report by Variety, the High School Musical star will be visiting her mother’s birth country as filming for the project begins in Manila and Palawan at the end of this month.

The untitled documentary will focus on Vanessa’s relationship with her sister Stella, and Filipino mom Gina, who left the Philippines for the United States at the age of 25.

“I feel like ours is such a relatable story to so many women all over the world. The more that we can share, the more we can lift each other up,” Vanessa was quoted saying in the report.

Vanessa rose to fame after playing the role of Gabriella in the hit Disney original film High School Musical. She is set to star in the upcoming films French Girl and Bad Boys 4.

The 34-year-old is also known for starring in other movies such as Beastly, Spring Breakers, and three installments of the Netflix film series The Princess Switch, which she also co-produced.

In a December 2021 interview with The Philippine STAR, she spoke about what it meant to her being part-Filipino.

“I feel like it’s really special and I am aware (of the Filipino fanbase) because there’s not that many of us in the industry, you know. And my mom is first generation in the States and to be able to represent her culture and her heritage, and just have that community behind me means everything because Filipinos are like the most lively, kind and whimsical people that I know. Now, I gotta make my way out there. It’s on the top of my list,” she then said.

Meanwhile, director Paul, who currently serves as the presidential adviser on creative communications, expressed excitement over working with the Hollywood star in the upcoming project, which will be produced under his film production company TEN17P.

“We are honored to work with Vanessa for this film project. It’s inspiring to note that with everything she has achieved in life, she wants to discover her Filipino roots and pay homage to her mother’s country. Hopefully, this opens doors for many more collaborations to come,” Paul said in a statement.

Paul helmed the Manny Paquiao biopic Kid Kulafu (2015), and 2019 Tokyo International Film Festival official entry Mañanita. As a producer, his film outfit’s A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery bagged a special film award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016 while Transit was Philippines’ official entry for the foreign language film category at the Academy Awards in 2014.