Dennis Gaviola

Janella Salvador to star in sapphic Cinemalaya film with Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Klea Pineda, Leanne Mamonong

Article (news)

Camille Naredo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- Pride month started early for Filipino sapphics this year, as the cast of the Cinemalaya film &quot;Open Endings&quot; was revealed on Sunday.</p><p>After initially teasing that they would unveil their cast on June 12, &quot;Open Endings&quot; instead unveiled their stars along with members of their crew in a social media post.</p><p>Kapamilya actress Janella Salvador plays &quot;Charlie,&quot; while Jasmine Curtis-Smith is &quot;Hannah.&quot; Klea Pineda takes on the role of &quot;Kit,&quot; and Leanne Mamonong of the indie pop duo Leanne and Naara is cast as &quot;Mihan.&quot;</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1926531013145944512&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-25T08%3A32%3A52.820819%3Af28b8c13-1740-4f96-aa98-a820a2a62342%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=3aedf3873d902605a1b2eb2a7f9fcc6de795e5a8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:650px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1926531013145944512"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;Open Endings&quot; tells the story of four queer women who are &quot;exes-turned best friends,&quot; according to the Cinemalaya website. Their relationship &quot;is put to the test when one of them makes an impulsive and potentially life-changing decision.&quot;</p><p>For Salvador, it&#x27;s a fulfillment of a long-dreamed of role, as she has been <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/30/23/why-not-jane-janella-welcome-possible-gl-project">advocating for a sapphic project since early 2023</a> when her &quot;unexpected&quot; tandem with Darna co-star Jane de Leon became popular.</p><p>&quot;The way I&#x27;ve been holding this in for months,&quot; said Salvador on X.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1926531209410023708&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-25T08%3A32%3A52.820819%3Af28b8c13-1740-4f96-aa98-a820a2a62342%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=3aedf3873d902605a1b2eb2a7f9fcc6de795e5a8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:623px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1926531209410023708"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Curtis-Smith, for her part, previously starred in Samantha Lee&#x27;s sapphic film &quot;Baka Bukas&quot; in 2016, for which she won Best Actress honors in the Cinema One Originals Film Festival.</p><p>Pineda, who came out as a lesbian in 2023, is making her first major film appearance. It&#x27;s also the full-length acting debut of Mamonong, who is best known for her work with Naara Acueza in the music scene.</p><p>In &quot;Open Endings,&quot; the four women are in a &quot;ride-or-die friendship&quot; after having dated each other at different points in their lives. Conflict arrives when one of them &quot;makes a surprising life decision&quot; that &quot;stirs up old emotions, reveals secrets, and prompts unexpected confessions, testing the strength of the ties that bind them.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Open Endings&quot; is written by Keavy Vicente (Pearl Next Door) and directed by Nigel Santos (Yours Truly, Shirley; Dalaginding na si Isang). </p>

<p>Pride month started early for Filipino sapphics this year, as the cast of the Cinemalaya film "Open Endings" was revealed on Sunday.</p>

Pride month started early for Filipino sapphics this year, as the cast of the Cinemalaya film "Open Endings" was revealed on Sunday.