Paulo, Kylie and the highs and lows of love and life

Paulo Avelino and Kylie Verzosa may have starred in the 2018 movie “Kasal,” but working together on the upcoming film “Elevator” felt like a first-time experience for them all over again.

“During ‘Kasal,’ Paulo was like my acting coach because I was a newcomer then. So this time — [when I’m armed with more experience] — felt like the first because I got to really ‘act’ alongside him,” explained the beauty queen-turned-actress at the movie’s media conference.

“I’ve waited so long for a reunion project, and I’m glad we get to do it with great material in ‘Elevator,” Verzosa added.

Avelino agreed, “It felt like the first time because in ‘Kasal,’ she would always share scenes with Derek [Ramsay], but here in ‘Elevator,’ we did almost all the scenes together.”

Since their 2018 starrer, Verzosa and Avelino have carved deeper names in the industry and even reaped prominent acting awards along the way.

Paulo Avelino and Kylie Verzosa play characters who must choose whether to be together or keep working toward the better future they seek as OFWs in Singapore. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO 

Avelino earned Best Actor accolades from prestigious organizations, including the 35th Gawad Urian Awards (“Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”) and the 46th Metro Manila Film Festival (“Fan Girl”). Verzosa, on the other hand, was hailed Best Actress at the 2022 Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards (“The Housemaid”).

Despite the five-year gap between their two projects, Avelino and Verzosa said it didn’t take much time for them to get back in the zone, embody their characters and develop the chemistry the ‘Elevator’ demanded.

“It didn’t feel awkward [to be back on the set with Kylie] because before shooting the film, we had several script readings and workshops,” Avelino volunteered.

“I’d like to add that we felt comfortable because we became friends [after we did ‘Kasal,’ which] makes our job easier,” Verzosa echoed.

Written and directed by Rein Entertainment’s Philip King [“Nanahimik Ang Gabi,” “Bagman”], “Elevator” follows the story of Jared [Avelino], an elevator attendant at a hotel-casino complex in Singapore.

Ambitious and hardworking, Jared develops an innovative app for Filipino migrant workers. He pitches his concept to affluent businessmen he encounters in the elevator, hoping to entice them into investment.

Despite his relentless efforts, he is always rejected until he meets Byron (veteran Singaporean actor Adrian Pang), a successful businessman who takes an interest in his app.

But before sealing the deal, Byron instructs Jared to ask his secretary, Bettina (Verzosa), who is also Filipino, to help him refine his business proposal.

Bettina is initially ill-tempered and dismissive towards Jared, but after spending much time working together, the fellow OFWs grow closer. As they share their hopes and dreams with one another, Jared finds himself smitten by Bettina, who warned from the start never to fall in love with her.

Eventually, the two characters must choose whether to be together or keep working toward the better future they seek in Singapore.

Asked why the film is titled “Elevator,” King explained, “We use it as a metaphor. If you want to punch ‘up’ in your life [as you would in an elevator], it means you’re not satisfied or in an abyss. For me an elevator is like that — it’s not part of a building’s floor, you go up and you go down. But as long as you punch that floor number it means you are fighting, it means you want to be somewhere and Paulo’s character is like that.”

In support, Avelino said that while their film is marketed as a romantic-comedy with all the elements of both genres, he finds it more inspirational.

“It’s more of a feel-good movie and it gives a better glimpse of the lives of our kababayans working abroad. I think at its core, the movie is about hope, not just for migrant workers, not just OFWs, but for everyone.

“We all get confused in our lives — what to choose, what to prioritize — and I hope this film will help viewers decide on what they want not just for the betterment of their careers but for their lives as well,” Avelino concluded.

Its producers, Lino Cayetano and Shugo Praico — who, together with King co-founded Rein Entertainment — shared they also partnered with Singaporean production outfit Dogma Films for the movie. Given this multi-way production, the group told The Manila Times Entertainment in a previous interview that “Elevator” is another realization of the industry’s goal to go international.

The movie’s Philippine run begins April 24 and will later premiere in Singapore, among other Southeast Asian markets.