Direk Manny recalls shoot on the day ABS-CBN was shut down
It’s understandable when people could not intentionally forget emotional events as easily as mundane ones. It’s normal why to this day, director Emmanuel “Manny” Palo can still vividly recall how he, together with the cast and crew of Walang Hanggang Paalam, reacted when news broke about the ABS-CBN shutdown.
It was the exact day when they were shooting a couple of intense scenes in Subic. Direk Manny said they all tried to stoically hold together the emerging sadness and enveloping doom in order to keep their focus on work.
“If you ask me about the most memorable taping day sa buong series, that would be July 10, 2020,” he began. “That was a Friday and we were shooting the very long action sequence between Paulo (Avelino) and Jake Cuenca at the Subic Yacht Club. It was so hot outside, plus we only had a limited number of people and we were still doing some adjustments on the set, nangangapa pa kami sa mga protocol guidelines.”
They knew that that very same day would be the announcement of the Congress regarding its decision on the network’s franchise. “I think, it was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon when the voting ended and we heard that the franchise won’t be renewed. Natahimik ang lahat.”
Direk Manny walked away from the crowd, not wanting others to see his tears but he failed to control his emotions and found himself crying with them. “Everybody was crying. ‘Yung mga actors, nag kanya-kanya ng puwesto nag-iyakan. I told them na tatapusin na lang namin ang eksena kasi sobrang bigat na ‘yung nararamdaman namin.”
The actors finished the scene even when they were clueless of what was going to happen next. All went home without any assurance that the drama show would be aired, direk Manny narrated.
“What’s good today is that we are all here celebrating until the finale (episode),” he triumphantly exclaimed. “It’s an odd experience; against all odds yet everyone is willing to overcome the challenges, so aabot ka talaga sa gusto mong marating.”
Walang Hanggang Paalam was produced by Dreamscape Entertainment and made its debut in September last year. It premiered on Kapamilya Channel and Kapamilya Online Live after ABS-CBN was ordered to halt its radio and TV broadcasts as a result of the franchise denial.
The series, starring Angelica Panganiban, Paulo Avelino, Zanjoe Marudo and Arci Muñoz, follows the story of Celine (Angelica) and Emman (Paulo), exes brought back together by a crisis that complicates their present relationship.
Walang Hanggang Paalam will air its final episode today, April 16, but direk Manny is certain that the soap will forever be etched on their hearts despite the many sacrifices and difficulties they tackled while working on it. It is said that the more challenges you have, the sweeter the taste of success when achieved.
Celine and Emman equally show the determination to fight against all odds with the hopes of rebuilding their family and reuniting with their son Robbie (Robbie Wachtel).
Televiewers should expect action-packed and heart-tugging scenes until the end of the series as Emman and Leo (Tonton Gutierrez), as well as Celine and Amelia (Cherry Pie Picache), come face-to-face with each other in their fight to protect their loved ones.
With love as the central theme, Walang Hanggang Paalam makes for a fitting inspiration to all Kapamilya viewers to continue to love unconditionally and work on keeping the family together. The final episode airs on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, Kapamilya Online Live YouTube Channel, ABS-CBN Entertainment Facebook page and iWant-TFC.
(Walang Hanggang Paalam is co-directed by Darnel Villaflor. It also stars JC Santos, Lotlot de Leon, Ronnie Lazaro, McCoy de Leon, Mary Joy Apostol, Sherry Lara, Victor Silayan and Javi Benitez.)
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