Marian Rivera was moved when she was cast as a teacher in the film Cinemalaya, which reminded her of someone from college./hi

Marian Rivera to star as teacher in Cinemalaya film

MANILA, Philippines — Before she was a TV and movie star, Marian Rivera worked as a special education teacher, and now she is about to play a teacher in her upcoming Cinemalaya film titled “Balota,” set during a town’s elections.

In early April, GMA Pictures and GMA Entertainment Group announced that they were fielding the movie with Marian as the lead and Kip Oebanda as the director at this year’s Cinemalaya.

Oebanda directed another Cinemalaya winning entry “Liway,” starring Glaiza de Castro, in 2018.

Marian shared the film’s recent story conference on her Facebook page.

“First time kong gagawin itong Cinemalaya na ito. Very, very excited ako. Bukod doon sa kwento, excited ako doon sa makakasama,” she said.

Royce Cabrera, Will Ashley, online personality Esnyr and content creator Sassa Gurl were spotted in the story conference.

“Ang sarap lang buksan ang ganitong klaseng kwento na magkakaroon uli tayo ng paninindigan kung ano talaga ang gusto nating mangyari sa buhay natin at sa bayan,” she added.

In a GMA Network report, it said “Balota” is about Emmy, a teacher who serves in the election. Marian’s character will be seen running “into the wilderness with a ballot box, the last copy of the election results when violence in their town erupts.”

Marian was among the star-studded guest stars in the 2013 Cinemalaya entry “Ekstra,” starring Vilma Santos.

This year’s Cinemalaya is scheduled from August 2 to 11. — Video from GMA Integrated News YouTube channel