Inspired by the book featured in her favorite Korean drama “Because This Is My First Life,” Bela Padilla wrote the script for “Yung Libro Sa Napanood Ko,” which she also directed and stars in. She’s joined by Korean actor Yoo Min-Gon in the movie chosen as one of the entries to the first summer edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Apart from the actual film, the journey of Bela and her team getting here is one for the books. Find out more in this episode of Kapamilya Chat.

First, the plot sans spoilers! As Bela discussed, this tells the story of her character Lisa, a writer whose KDrama fascination came to life when she met a Korean guy named Kim Gun Hoo (Yoo Min-Gon) during her book signing.

The viewers will have a great visual experience following Lisa and Gun Hoo’s tale, especially those who are into all things Korean as a huge chunk of the story is set in South Korea. Bela assured that viewers would leave the cinema with a realization about embracing self-love first before committing to a relationship. Besides the romantic angle, it also touches on the life and mental health of OFWs through the character of Lisa’s mom played by Lorna Tolentino.

Bela mentioned that she dreamed of creating feel-good material akin to KDramas without villains. This hints at her movie’s heartwarming and positivity-inducing tempo.

For Bela, taking part in the first Metro Manila Summer Film Festival is an unexpected feat. They filmed in October of 2022 but the post-production work was supposed to be finished later this year, as Bela got busy with her previous film “Spellbound” with Marco Gumabao, though she started editing while she was in London.

She was set to return to London last month, clueless that her management sent her film to the Summer MMFF 2023 screening. She woke up one day to congratulatory messages on Twitter about their inclusion in the festival, thus they were compelled to work on the final touches including the musical scoring by Kean Cipriano. Now, the film is finished, and Bela is just thrilled to share it with Pinoy viewers.

Joining Bela in this episode of Kapamilya Chat is her leading man Yoo Min Gon, whom she praised for his acting skills, saying even Lorna Tolentino was impressed. She revealed that people on set would applaud the actor’s performance after a good take. She believes Yoo Min-Gon fits the character, who tries his best to be a good person despite life’s tests. She said Kim Gun Hoo is an interesting character in itself, but Yoo Min-Gon’s portrayal definitely made it more aspirational. “It’s very refreshing, for me ha, to see a portrayal of a character this well-made or well-thought of,” she remarked.

The Korean star downplayed the compliments, returning them to Bela who guided him in this project. He described Bela as easy-going, one who can explain things well. Just listening to their exchange, we see the platonic relationship that they’ve built while filming. Yoo Min-Gon was a lovely host to Bela and the Pinoy filming crew in Korea. He toured them around and hosted soju and karaoke nights together with his Korean friends.

And when it was his turn to shoot in the Philippines, he had the best time as well exploring places (he wishes to visit Cebu and Bohol soon) and food. Thanks to Bela, he was able to taste pancit palabok and pancit malabon. He likes it so much he’s excited to try the other variants. Of course, he had to learn a few Pinoy slang words such as ‘jowa,’ which we hear him utter in the movie’s trailer. Their filming experience was like a fusion of the two cultures, which was tackled in the movie as well.

Bela went on to admit that she felt nervous directing Lorna Tolentino. The best thing about the Grandslam Queen, apart from her incredible talent, is her humility. She may be a superstar but she never exuded an intimidating attitude. As Bela told, the veteran star arrives prepared and she naturally bonded with everyone on the set. She makes people feel comfortable around her.

It was easy to direct Lorna, too. Bela mentioned that her actress doesn’t need further instructions and can even direct herself. There was a scene where Lorna cried in an instant as if she didn’t need much time to prepare for it. If anything, she is the heart of the movie.

In keeping with the movie’s theme, the guest stars were asked what they’re going to call their book if they could write one. Yoo Min-Gon answered “You, Me, and Us,” which Bela suggested turning into a full-length film since Yoo Min-Gon writes scripts as well. As for Bela, she would call her book “Life Begins Now” because that’s what it feels like to meet the right person at the right time – much like Lisa and Kim Gun Hoo’s story.