KDrama fans are in for a welcome treat as they will surely fall in love with this first Filipino-Korean romance drama in the mainstream movie scene which stars two Korean actors and Kapamilya leading lady Devon Seron.
Writer and producer Shine Deauna-Ricafort from Gitana Film Productions, first thought of “You with Me” during her trip to Japan for the screening of her other film “Higanti” starring Assunta de Rossi and Jay Manalo.
“YWM started from a simple fan-girling moment to a dream come true. I asked my daughter to load movies in my phone so I will have something to do during the travel. She loaded Goblin (popular Korean drama starring superstar Gong Yoo) and from then on, I got hooked,” said Ricafort.
“You with Me” revolves around the story of a rich young Filipina named Kim Soriano (Seron) who struggles to be independent from her overprotective parents. In her attempt to do so, Kim tried her luck as a part-time English tutor. This eventually got her to South Korea where she found not only freedom, but also love and the deepest secret of her family.
Out of the many who auditioned, Korean drama actors Kim Hyun Woo and Jin Ju Hyung shone the brightest and they eventually became Devon’s two leading men.
Hyun Woo is known for his award-winning role in the KBS show “The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop” while Jin Ju Hyung became popular from the KBS2 show “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.”
After seven years of playing support roles in some of the country’s blockbuster films, Seron finally got a hard-earned title role in “You with Me.”
Like her leading men, the character Kim also didn’t come very easy for Devon. In fact, the former “Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash” housemate had to brave and “gatecrash” the audition for the said role.
“Nung nag-audition po ako, sinabi na po sa akin na sa Korea daw po gagawin tapos yung mga kasama Korean. So ako naman, nachallenge ako, parang, wow! Pano kaya to? Pano ko kaya gawin to? Nalito rin po ako and nahirapan din ako na i-imagine yung sarili ko in that position,” Seron said.
Eventually, the young actress embraced the challenge brought about by the film.
“Opo, may mga doubts talaga sa sarili ko. Pero sobrang tuwa ko, sabi ko, gagawin ko talaga yung very best ko in this film talaga. Dahil yun nga po, pinagkatiwala sa akin,” she said.
Around 70% of the movie was shot in South Korea and a mix of Filipino and Korean staff made the production of “You with Me” possible, despite certain difficulties pertaining to their language barrier.
“Actually mababait sila, they are very caring and gentlemen talaga yung mga co-workers ko and yung mga staff rin po, masaya rin sila makasama. Sabay sabay kami kumakain, nakikipag chikahan din sila, yun po,” said Seron.
Now that the gates have opened for Filipino-Korean film partnerships through what Gitana and Film Line Productions’ cooperation, Devon is hopeful that it could prosper further in the future.
“So eto po siguro yung magiging simula ng collaboration ng Korea and Philippines and sana magtuloy tuloy na kaya po hinihingi ko po talaga yung support nila, yung 100% support nila for the film para maging successful po sya and magsunod sunod na yung gagawin ng Philippines with Korea,” said Seron.
Directed by Rommel Ricafort under Gitana Film Productions, “You With Me” starring Devon Seron, Hyun Woo and Jin Ju Hyung will be in cinemas nationwide starting on September 27, 2017. This will also be released in other Asian countries soon.
