Gabby, KC star in father-daughter drama, “I’ll Be There”

June 21, 2010 - PRLog -- The last time KC Concepcion saw her father, Gabby, as a child, she was 10 years old.  Her actor-father, then at the peak of his career but also at the height of several controversies which included a failed marriage to megastar Sharon Cuneta, quit from showbiz in 1995 and went into self-exile in the U.S.  It would take 13 long years before KC, an adult and a budding superstar celebrity by then, before she laid eyes again on her father in San Francisco.  While KC before had felt confusion, pain and even anger over the separation of her parents, she revealed that she felt like she was “five all over again, but I’m not because I’m able to talk with him about so many issues” and that she saw her father “in a different way” when they finally reunited.

People are saying that the Father’s Day film offering from Star Cinema, I’ll Be There, hews very closely to the true life story of KC and Gabby.  Both say it’s fiction, but the father-daughter emotions during the shoot were all real.  This June, fans will get to see the much awaited historic father-daughter tandem on screen, which made audiences cry at the Manila premiere last June 16, when ABS-CBN’s Starry Starry Store brings “I’ll Be There” to nine U.S. cities in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington and New Jersey.

KC plays the role of Maxi dela Cerna, a young, aspiring New York-based fashion designer who returns to the Philippines shortly after her mother’s death to find her father. She had been swindled by her ex-boyfriend and hopes to pay off her debts by selling the piece of provincial land that her parents co-owned.  But this means spending time with her father whom she hates for walking out on her and her mother 15 years ago.

As the uptight and guarded Maxi struggles to immerse herself in farm life and deal with a father she despises, she crosses paths again with Tommy (Jericho Rosales), her childhood friend, now an architect who is trying to heal from his own mistakes in the past with his 7-year-old son.

Will a daughter full of pain and anger be able to forgive her father?  Will a father be able to heal the deep wounds in the heart of his daughter?  And how will a woman who had very painful experiences with men she had loved be able to open her heart to loving again?

Award-winning director Maryo J. De Los Reyes is now winning raves following the premiere for his masterful helming of yet another powerful drama in his litany of critically acclaimed film obras. The unanimous verdict by media is that KC has improved her acting by leaps and bounds, shining in her dramatic exchanges with Gabby and generating perfect onscreen chemistry with Jericho.  Gabby proves anew why he remains, without doubt, among the top drama actors of the country in decades.  And Jericho validates observations that he is, indeed, one of the best young actors in Philippine cinema today.

But even more salient is how audiences are reacting to the film, with many writing, blogging or commenting that the film’s story resonates so much because they either identify with the characters or they know someone who has gone through the same experiences.

“I’ll Be There is a story that underscores the value of love, acceptance and forgiveness in our lives,” said ABS-CBN International Head of Theatricals Kerwin Du. “Each time such universal themes are crafted and communicated well in a medium like film, our human nature is to respond to it with passion and understanding. As a father myself with a daughter who I love, this film means more to me than just your regular summer movie and I believe many moviegoers will feel the same way.”  

Fans can catch the U.S. screenings of the critically acclaimed I’ll Be There in the following theatres in various cities and on the following dates:

SAN FRANCISCO
June 25-July 1
UA Stonestown Twin
501 Buckingham Way
San Francisco, CA 94132

LOS ANGELES - CERRITOS
June 25-July 1
Cerritos Stadium Cinema
12761 Towne Center Drive
Cerritos, CA 90701

LOS ANGELES - ONTARIO
June 25-July 1, 2010
Edwards Ontario Palace Stadium
4900 East 4th Street
Ontario, CA 91764

SAN DIEGO
June 25-July 1, 2010
UA Horton Plaza
475 Horton Plaza
San Diego, CA 92101

LAS VEGAS
June 25-July 1, 2010
Regal Village Square Stadium
9400 W Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89058

HONOLULU
June 25-July 1, 2010
Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18
735 Iwilei Road #B
Honolulu, HI 96817

SEATTLE
June 25-July 1, 2010
Parkway Plaza Stadium 12
5910 South 180th Street
Tukwila, WA 98188

NEW JERSEY - BERGENFIELD
June 25 - July 15, 2010
Clearview Bergenfield Cinemas
58 South Washington Avenue
Bergenfield, NJ 07621
www.MovieTickets.com

SF - MILPITAS
July 2 - 8, 2010
Century Great Mall
1010 Great Mall Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035

For more information, please visit www.abs-cbnglobalmovies.com.  Check out the official U.S. trailer also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMgk-TwmfQI



For movie stills, please visit: http://starcinema.multiply.com/photos/album/373/ILL_BE_TH...
For press con photos, please visit: http://starcinema.multiply.com/photos/album/375
For premiere images, please visit: http://starcinema.multiply.com/photos/album/379/EXCLUSIVE_Ill_Be_There_red_carpet_premiere_photos

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About ABS-CBN International
ABS-CBN International was created 15 years ago to be of service to all Filipinos. With the launch of The Filipino Channel (TFC), the company became the first and most successful Filipino broadcaster in the U.S. The company offers telecommunication, retail, theatricals, money remittance and cargo services, online audio and video streaming along with philanthropic support for Filipinos and the communities they now call home. Based in Redwood City, Calif., ABS-CBN International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting, the Philippines’ largest entertainment and broadcasting company. For more information, visit www.abs-cbnglobal.com.