A grown-up FranSeth in their MMFF debut ‘My Future You’

CEBU, Philippines — In their big screen debut as a love team, Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin are star-crossed lovers 15 years apart.

“My Future You” has Francine playing Karen from 2024, while Seth is Lex from 2009, and the two communicate through video calls after they witness a mysterious comet in their respective timeliness. Believing this isn’t a coincidence, Lex helps Karen change something in her past.

In her own life, Diaz said she wouldn’t change anything.

“No because we are grateful for the experiences we’ve had and the people we’ve met,” the young actress said at a December 14 press conference at SM City Cebu. “We are thankful for the lessons we learned so we don’t repeat our mistakes and we become better people.”

The Kapamilya stars said they miss the normalcy of life pre-fame.

Fedelin, 22, who rose to prominence after participating in Pinoy Big Brother: Otso in 2018, shared, “Normal people can make mistakes, but when you are an artist, your mistakes are magnified. So that’s what I miss. We have our flaws, but we are still good people despite what bashers say. There’s no perfection in this world.”

Diaz, 20, who joined showbiz when she was six years old doing commercial shoots, still experiences a semblance of normalcy at home.

“I know that judgments are part of the job. It’s not going away. But I am grateful that once we arrive home, we’re not artistas in our own house. That’s what I consider normal time,” she said.

Produced by Regal Entertainment, the pairing of FranSeth received the blessing of its late founder, Lily Monteverde, before her passing last August.

“We were one of Mother Lily’s handpicks to star in this project, so we were sad when she passed away,” Fedelin said.

While the studio planned to release the film this year, the leads didn’t expect it to qualify as an entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

“We didn’t know we would actually enter MMFF because we didn’t make this movie with that in mind. If Mother Lily were here, she’d be so surprised and proud of us and the whole Regal team,” Fedelin added.

This also marks Regal’s return to the annual film festival after four years. Their 2023 submission “Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Extreme” was excluded from the line-up, Their last participation was in 2020 with the horror film “The Missing.”

With nine other MMFF entries, Fedelin doesn't feel overly competitive and is just honored to be part of the festival’s 50th anniversary.

“There’s healthy competition among the entries. We are just happy to contribute to the industry with our film. We can see that our movie is nice and worthy to be included. There’s really no heavy competition in our heads,” he said.

The concept of love interests meeting under a comet occurrence has drawn comparisons from netizens to the 2016 anime film “Kimi No Wa,” known by its English title “Your Name.” Fedelin said the film isn’t a copy, nor did it draw direct inspiration from the anime.

“There may have been other movies with a similar concept. What makes ours different is our characters, themes, conflicts, and resolutions. Sure, the concept might be similar, but the way we executed it is really different,” he said.

‘Elevated’ Franseth

From the trailer, viewers can see that Diaz and Fedelin have matured significantly since their first pairing in 2019's “Kadenang Ginto.”

“Our characters are young adults, so we had to approach them differently, especially in how they deal with problems,” said Diaz.

It was “Dirty Linen” in 2023 that influenced both actors to elevate their craft, as they were surrounded by veteran actors such as Janice De Belen, Joel Torre, John Arcilla, and Epy Quizon.

“Our friends on set were mostly senior actors, so with every take, we had to do it well. Whoever gave the lesser performance in a scene had to treat [the cast],” Fedelin shared.

Both actors experimented with the show’s signature “eye acting” style, a technique used by lead actress Janine Gutierrez in the show.

“When I asked Francine [in character] if she ate, her response is supposed to be that she didn’t eat at all. She wouldn’t say it verbally, but her eyes would show she was hungry,” he explained. “When there was a scene involving someone who died, she wouldn’t cry, but her eyes would show she was distraught.”

Because “My Future You” features scenes where the leads are separated, director Crisanto Aquino required each actor to be present on set during their partner’s scenes for support, even if they weren’t scheduled to be on-call.

“I am thankful for Direk because he knows his actors’ range. He makes us feel comfortable and encourages us to channel our emotions,” Fedelin said.

While “My Future You” is primarily a romantic story, classic MMFF themes of family and forgiveness are present.

“I hope people will realize how much they should appreciate their family,” Fedelin said.

Added Diaz of another takeaway from the film: “It’s about giving someone another chance and learning how to forgive. Love is connected to forgiveness.”

“My Future You” is the sole G-rated entry of the 50th MMFF, which kicks off December 25 in cinemas.