Push Admin

Gretchen Ho on making docufilm about athletes’ stories

Article (news)

Nikka Avegail Sabio

<p>Athlete-turned-broadcaster Gretchen Ho shared how her <em>Beyond The Board</em> aims to show untold stories of Filipino athletes.</p><p>In a private screening for her documentary film on Friday, June 21 at Powerplant Mall in Makati City, Gretchen shared the purpose of showing the story of Filipino Olympian skateboarder Margielyn Didal after she got injured in a competition.</p><p>“We believe that things like this should be done. I mean the stories of our athletes deserve a platform… They deserve to be heard,” Gretchen said.</p><div style="text-align:center"><strong><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Gretchen-Ho-1.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></strong></div><p><strong> </strong>She went on: “Kami sinusubukan namin ikuwento is the other side of sports even if it looks fancy… We wanted to show the lack of what somebody like Margie needs. Marami pa tayong haharapin because it’s not easy.”</p><p>Gretchen also expressed how showing the other side of Margielyn’s life may also help people to know what the Filipino athletes need and show their potential.</p><p>“Hopefully, through this film… hopefully we can see possibilities,” Gretchen said.</p><p>She also shared what she loved about Margielyn’s story. </p><p>“Para sa akin, pinaka-favorite ko yung… Yung pagbounce back niya from injury and turning into ano ba talaga yung naiambag ni Margie sa skateboarding (community),” she said.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8eduywyWvt/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=524&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A343383.89999997616%2C%22ls%22%3A343133.89999997616%2C%22le%22%3A343379.10000002384%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="985" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Beside being the host, Gretchen also worked as the writer and producer of her series where she personally built and oversaw the docufilm.</p><p>“The challenge was, &#x27;how do you tell the story?&#x27; Kung titingnan mo simple lang yung istorya, yung injury. Paano mo gagawing exciting iyon? Iyon yung challenge namin. How to add music? How to add suspense? How to, you know, use the power of visuals, the throwback videos and the soundbites,” Gretchen told PUSH when asked how she worked on <em>Beyond The Board</em>.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Gretchen-Ho-2.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p><strong> </strong>The former volleyball player also gave credit to her team who made sure that the film would relay its goal.</p><p>“Both of us were very hands-on with putting this story together. I guess pati yung sa pagtatanong. There’s a lot of interviews and trying to see what matters here. Yung journey niya of her injury, recovery and bringing her back to childhood days and presented to the audience yung hirap nila sa Cebu sa skateboarding and how they came from nothing tapos nakarating sa Olympics,” she remarked.</p><p>“I’m a learner. I’m very happy with the good team… I did a lot of the work, but they also did a lot of the work, and it was all team effort,” she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8dY7nTymYt/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=524&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A343391%2C%22ls%22%3A343133.89999997616%2C%22le%22%3A343379.10000002384%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1093" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Gretchen then revealed that she found fulfillment seeing the fruit of their hardwork.</p><p>“Yung fulfillment na nakukuha ko kapag nakikita ko talaga yung story na nabubuo kasi nanggigil ako kapag walang magic yung kwento ko, yung audio and video and yung pagkalatag ng video, I feel like I always need to do it justice kasi kapag hindi nagsasayang kami ng oras. Kahit nagpupuyat kami ng sobra-sobra pero kapag nabuo na iyong material, iba. Iba yung feeling, iba yung pakiramdam,” she stated.</p><p>Now that she started her docufilm, Gretchen then shared how doing such projects helped her delve deeper into different topics as well as allowed her to work with different people she admires.</p><p>“What I love about <em>Woman In Action</em>, yung main series ko, I got to experiment on different things I wanna do. Hindi ko siya kinakahon sa ito lang yung format niya. In fact nagexperiment kami. Mayroon kaming docu, mayroon kaming mas infotainment, mayroon kaming travel lang, mayroon kaming international, mayroon kaming local, mayroon kaming issue-based. So, ayun yung playground ko for everything I wanna do and people I wanna work with,” she told <a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/"><strong>PUSH</strong></a>.</p><p>She continued, “Mayroon na akong mga ideas for the next season. Abangan niyo na lang.”</p>

<p><i>Gretchen Ho highlights story of Olympian skateboarder Margielyn Didal in a docufilm.</i></p>

Gretchen Ho highlights story of Olympian skateboarder Margielyn Didal in a docufilm.

Gretchen Ho on making docufilm about athletes’ stories: “They deserve to be heard.”

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Showbiz

Gretchen Ho on making docufilm about athletes’ stories: “They deserve to be heard.”

Nikka Sabio

Published June 23, 2024 07:53 PM PHT

Read More:

Gretchen Ho

Beyond The Board

Margielyn Didal

Woman In Action celebrity news

entertainment news

showbiz news

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.