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Bloggers got the chance to meet one of the country’s most competent and talented young actress, Maja Salvador, in a special “Thelma” Bloggers Night held at Yellow Cab in far, far away Technohub along Commonwealth, Quezon City last August 31, 2011.

The venue was still jampacked (one big factor is because the venue is also small to pack almost 50 plus Bloggers and other guests) despite the heavy rain and the usual traffic in Quezon City. Majority of the main cast of the film was present that night to answer questions from the Bloggers.

Director Paul Soriano, Jayson Abalos, Eliza Pineda, seasoned actors Tetchie Agbayani and John Arcilla and Thelma herself, Maja Salvador, gamely answered all questions thrown at them. It was heart-warming that these celebrities are acknowledging the importance of the new media in helping to promote their film.

According to director Paul Soriano, the film “Thelma” is based on the life of Filipino athletes, in particular, runners. Actually, running has become one Filipino’s favorite sports these days. Although it’s not because they wanted to join the Olympics, but because there are a lot of Fun Runs ongoing almost every month. You will see a lot of runners as well training at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig and other part of Metro Manila. I am not yet a fan of running, but will be doing that when I managed to get the time to do so (also, you need to have a good pair of shoes to do so).

Anyway, director Paul Soriano also clarified that the film is not based on the true-to-life story of athlete Elma Muros but of several athletes he interviewed in creating the story. However, he said it was Elma Muros who actually trained Maja Salvador and also appeared in the movie as Thelma’s coach. I failed to ask though if Elma Muros is playing as herself in the said film.

“Thelma” is a family drama that tells the story of a mischievous and tomboyish teenage barrio lass from Ilocos Norte. Thelma has a passion for running as this serves as an outlet to unsaddle herself on her life’s misgivings. A disappointment for her farmer father’s (played by John Arcilla) dream of having a son for a first born, she is also an elder sister to a smarter and more passionate little sister (Eliza Pineda). Despite being secretly envious of her kin, they are best friends. One day, her little sister meets an almost fatal accident crippling her for life, a major blow that changes Thelma’s view in life. To finance a surgical operation their family could not afford, Thelma took to athletic running as a means to uplift her family from their financial doldrums. As she ventures on this endeavor, Thelma found herself faced with challenges, despair, heartbreak and learnings that enriched her life and more.

As we see Thelma’s story unfold, we will realize that life is a race and we should all be inspired to win.

Maja Salvador said she trained for 6 weeks to literally fit the role of Thelma. She wanted to let her viewers to see her as Thelma and not as Maja Salvador who’s only acting the role. There was even a report that the teen actress collapsed on the set due to exhaustion and was immediately rushed to a nearby provincial hospital for medical attention. But after only a couple of hours and felt capable of resuming the shoot, Maja requested to continue filming.

For director Paul Soriano, she admired Maja’s dedication, motivation and passion for her work. As director Paul puts it, “Maja shed blood, sweat and tears to portray Thelma.”

“Thelma,” produced by Time Horizon and distributed by Star Cinema, also stars Tetchie Agbayani, John Arcilla, Jason Abalos, Sue Prado and with the special participation of Philippine Track and Field champion, Elma Muros.

The movie is presented by Time Horizon Pictures in cooperation with Abracadabra Productions and Underground Logic. “Thelma” will hit theaters September 7.

For more updates on “Thelma”, visit their official website and LIKE them at their official Facebook Page. Here’s a video message from Maja Salvador promoting the movie:

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