Of healing & heritage: Award-winning Filipino-Chinese movie ‘Her Locket’ debuts in Philippine mainstream cinema
The Filipino-Chinese community and members of the press gathered at Fisher Mall Cinema on January 8, 2025, for the world premiere of “Her Locket,” a film 32 years in the making. The film emerged triumphant at Sinag Maynila 2024, with seven major awards. Her Locket is a tale of healing and heritage.
“I’m trembling right now because it’s the first time, world premiere of Her Locket with simplified Chinese text,” shared Rebecca Chuaunsu during her welcome remarks. “Many years ago, Amy Tan, the author of Joy Luck Club saw through my eyes that I should be an actress and a producer. Several years later, I met Anita Linda and she also told me the same thing. Tonight, I thank the Lord and each and every one of you for making my dream come true.”
Actress and producer Rebecca Chuaunsu
A Deeply Personal Journey
“This film is somewhat autobiographical,” Chuaunsu revealed during the Q&A session. “This film is 32 years in the making, when my own father wrote his last will and testament, and it took me 50 years of acting lessons, my study at UP to prepare me for this role.”
The production process brought its own emotional challenges. “During the pandemic, we had to develop the story, the screenplay via Zoom. And during the photo shoot and the camera and the principal photography, my husband was diagnosed with illness. And on the last day of shoot, I had to rush into the hospital. During the post-editing, he passed. So this is a very sentimental film for me because of the roller coaster ride.”
Cultural Significance and Universal Appeal
Dr. Joyce Piap Go, one of the special panelists at the premiere, emphasized the theme of forgiveness: “If there is a keyword I can use for this film, it is the forgiveness of her heart that was able to let her go through life and truly become a victorious person or a victorious Christian. I hope that all of us will have this forgiveness of heart that starts with a decision that we want to forgive someone in our family and then make daily steps to work towards it.”
Breaking New Ground
“This is not only for the rich families but the rich and middle-class families in Filipino and Chinese communities,” Chuaunsu explained. “The message we want to bring to the audience is a woman has a voice and the voice needs to be heard.”
Speaking about the film’s future, she shared her aspirations: “I already have the synopsis of Her Locket 2, but I need you to spread the word so that during the commercial run there will be more people to come and we can have more ticket sales.”
THE CAST:
International Recognition
“I brought this to different continents, to US, to Europe, to Africa, to Asia, and now to the Philippines,” Chuaunsu proudly stated. “The Filipino communities in US and Europe are very warm, they are homesick, and in Africa, the young girls would just hug me and take selfies with me or autograph. I am not as famous as National Artist Ricky Lee, but they appreciate the message.”
Dr. Tan, another panelist, praised the film’s portrayal of dementia: “This is a very touching and very realistic as we see many with dementia. This is a story about dementia, which means disturbance of the memory, disturbance of the thinking, disturbance of the understanding. So those are the important features.”
“Her Locket” opens in theaters nationwide on January 22, 2025, bringing its powerful message of healing, forgiveness, and cultural identity to a broader audience.
