Ella Cruz and Louise Abuel share how they handled kissing scene in ‘Edward’ movie

Former child stars Louise Abuel and Ella Cruz are excited for the commercial screening of their movie Edward on October 2. Directed by Thop Nazareno, this award-winning 2019 Cinemalaya entry tells the story of a playful young boy named Edward (played by Louise) who has been spending his time at a public hospital where he meets a patient named Agnes (played by Ella Cruz).

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my cinemalaya balanghai trophy ❤️😭 maraming salamat po talaga sa lahat ng nagtiwala. Cinemalaya, maraming salamat po. Sa bumubuo ng EDWARD at kay direk Thop, salamat po sa tiwala at sa oppurtunity na to, Bb. Joyce Bernal thank you po. Sa aking mga boss mula sa @vivaartistsagency, Boss Vic, thank you sa pagpush sakin na tanggapin ang role na to, Tita Jun, Boss Vernique, Boss Vincent, maraming salamat po. Sa mga nagsulat po ng magagandang reviews tungkol saming pelikula, salamat po. Sa aking ELLAmazings, salamat at finally mapapanood na rin natin ang EDWARD this October! Sa aking pamilya, mama and papi, salamat po. Para sa inyo po ang award na to. Father God, thank you for all the blessings, ibabalik ko po ang karangalan na to sa Inyo. I’m really grateful sa lahat ng mga natatanggap ko ngayon. At hanggang ngayon di ako makapaniwala na nakatanggap ako ng ganitong recognition kaya SOBRANG MARAMING SALAMAT PO. ❤️🙏🏻👆🏻 mahal ko ang “acting” at sa sampung taong mahigit ko sa industriya, never ako naggive up. Simula palang to. 💫

A post shared by 𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚊. 🍭 (@ellacruz) on Sep 19, 2019 at 2:35am PDT

This is not the first time that Louise and Ella worked in a project together. Louise was nine years old while Ella was 16 when they both starred in the 2012 fantasy series Aryana, in which Ella was the lead actress. Now, both are each other’s love interests in Edward.

Talking about their kissing scene in the movie, Louise, who is now 15, shared that when he read the script, he thought, “Kaya ko kaya ‘tong kissing scene? Hindi ko rin alam kung sinong partner ko. Tapos sabi si Ate Ella Cruz daw. Sabi ko, nakasama ko siya dati. Hindi ko alam kung magiging kumportable ba ako dun sa… Kasi syempre nakasama ko, mahirap ‘pag first time lang namin nagkita. Siguro mas kakayanin ko kasi kakilala ko siya. Pero pagdating ko, ‘nung magstart na ‘yung eksena, nanginginig talaga ako. Hindi ko alam ‘yung nararamdaman ko ‘nung oras na ‘yun.” He later admitted that he felt shy.

As for Ella, she said that she advised Louise to relax. “Pero grabe, as in amoy na amoy ko na nag-ano siya, mouthwash siya, nagtoothbrush siya. Pero ‘nung time na ‘yun, sinabi ko kay Direk eh, ‘Direk, ‘wag na natin practisin ‘to. Kunan natin ‘yun talagang magiging expression ni Louise kasi first time niya talaga in real life tapos first time niya sa pelikula so magiging sobrang raw ‘nung emotions niya, ‘yung magiging reaksyon niya.’”

Nonetheless, she added that they took the scene carefully and, “Meron ‘yun mga ilang takes para mas maganda siya panoorin and mas heartfelt siyang panoorin ‘nung mga audience kaya nakuha naman namin.”

Meanwhile, Ella recently received a Best Performance of a Supporting Actress award for Edward by the Philippine Independent Film Festival 2019.

“Never pong sumagi sa isip ko na even a small recognition or talagang mapapangaralan po ako, never po talaga kasi sa’kin naman, basta ginagawa ko lang ‘to dahil mahal ko ang umarte and gusto kong gumawa ng magagandang pelikula na hindi lang basta-basta may magawa pero dahil maganda po ‘yung pelikula mismo,” she said during the media con.

Brought by Viva Films, Edward opens on October 2 in cinemas nationwide.