- ‘Sahaya’ is claimed to be primed as the first Philippine TV show to be part of Netflix
- GMA Network is going all out in producing the Badjao-themed series ‘Sahaya’
- The team created an entire Badjao village in Batangas where they shoot many of the scenes, recreating the Badjao houses in Tawi-Tawi
GMA Network’s upcoming television series ‘Sahaya,’ starring Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix, is preparing to be the first ever Philippine show that will be part of the famous online streaming service, Netflix.
According to Manila Bulletin, this was disclosed by a key person from the show in an interview.
The network and producers are completely all out in the making of the series, that they invested a lot on it. They rented a shore for 6 months to recreate an entire Badjao Village in Calatagan, Batangas, replicating the stilt houses of the Badjaos in Tawi-Tawi. This was revealed by the program manager Helen Rose Sese by posting a sneak peak photo on her Instagram account, showing the set’s construction progress.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt4tJaWAQ2G/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In an interview she said, “We created an entire set sa Calatagan, yung set construction is ongoing. Ang ganda ng nakikita ko na progress ng set. It’s really something to be proud of. We rented the entire shore area and then we constructed a set there, yung stilt houses ng Tawi-Tawi. Perfect yung sunset.”
Sese also claimed that for the very first time they will be using C700 cameras, a high-end camera to take the shots. Emphasizing that these are the cameras good for a Netflix show.
“I’m just happy to share with you na nag-taping na kami and I’ve seen the materials. Ang galing ni Direk Zig Dulay, ang ganda ng materials niya, ang ganda ng camera movements niya, ng shots. And this is also the first time that GMA Drama will use the C700 cameras, so ito yung akma na puwedeng pang-Netflix.”
She also explained that this series is very innovative, wherein the network tried something new and interesting for the viewers to watch out for.
“GMA is known for innovative concepts so wala tayong nakikitang ganyan pa from ibang networks, so we wanted to try something new and would be interesting to the viewers. We wanted to try yung scene, yung stilt houses, kasi nakita na natin before sa ibang shows. Plus the interesting part is may nakita kaming nag-graduate na Badjao na honor student so we picked it up from there. We incorporate yun sa kuwento namin, si Sahaya is a successful honor student.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3EIb2gb9S/
For the preparations, the actors went through various lessons to perfectly portray their roles. They did diving lessons, dance workshops and even studied the cultures of the Badjaos. Bianca expressed her excitement saying that this is her most challenging role to date.
And that this is sort of a dream come true for her as she dreamt of playing a mermaid role, though this is not a fantasy series, she will be doing a lot of swimming.
“I immersed myself in the background of the character I play. I researched. I practiced their local language and it’s really fun. The story is very beautiful. Here, I’m an honor student who dreams to uplift the lives of my tribe. Sahaya is not a mermaid here but she’s always in the water. She lives with a family of fishermen. I’m excited because I really love the water.”
‘Sahaya’ is a Badjao themed series which will be an inspiring story about a young Badjao woman who wholeheartedly embraces her own heritage and identity, even defying the power of love.
