“The Forgotten Island” with Lusodescendant Dave Franco honors friendship

“ Cada character of this film is a fantastic exploration of friendship, connections and memories”, said Correalizer Joel Crawford, at a press conference in Los Angeles where Lusa participated, in anticipation of the arrival of cinemas. The production opens on Thursday, October 1, in the Portuguese rooms.

“ Although it is a celebration of Filipino culture, we wanted to ensure that the feeling of the film was to be at a party where you feel like a family,” Crawford said. “Even if you don’t know anything about culture, you feel love, you feel heat, and that was an important part of history.”.

In “The Forgotten Island”, the inseparable friends Jo and Raissa (protagonized by H.E.R. and Liza Sovereign, respectively) are transported to the mythical island of Nakali, an important part of the folklore and mythology of the Philippines. There they make friends with someone who is half human, half canine, Raww (Dave Franco) and guides them across the island full of dangers.

“ Whether you like it or not, I am very much like Raww’s personality,” Dave Franco said at the press conference. “In certain scenarios I may seem more confident than I am naturally,” he said, explaining that he also has a very strong loyalty to the people he likes.

“In the background, I am introverted and what I really want is to stay home, in my bed, with my wife and my two cats, watching a documentary” joked. “I feel comfortable in my own bubble, surrounded by people I love, who love me and who really care about me. I think this is very Raww’s face.”.

Franco, who has roots on the island of Madeira through his paternal grandfather, imprinted his style on the character by adding quarts and sayings typical of the area where he grew up, in northern California.

The animated film took six years to be written and produced and includes many details of the personal life of the co-writer and Filipino correlator Januel P. Mercado.

“ We know that mythology is so rich that we barely scratched the surface and so we chose our favorite stories, that our families told us”, said the filmmaker. “The details of the culture were easy because they come from our authentic experience,” he continued. “Esthetically, the overalls, the elastic hair and that’s like my sister Jo wore it in the nineties.”.

The action takes place precisely between the 1980s and 1990s and therefore does not include mobile phones or social networks. “It’s a love letter to the Philippines, families and friends and the value of memories,” Mercado described.

The two actresses chosen for protagonists are also of Filipino origin and identified with their roles.

“I knew that I had a personal connection to this story,” said Liza Sovereign, who has dual nationality and lives in Los Angeles.

H.E.R., known for her career in music, is a Filipino mother's daughter and grew up with this culture at home in the United States.

“I love the grandmother’s relationship with Jo and Raissa and how she encourages them to live adventures and to be curious,” H.E.R. said. “I hope that parents, Filipinos or not, absorb this from this story and realize that anyone can be family.”.

“The Forgotten Island” also has Jenny Slate in the role of Batiba and Manny Jacinto as Bungi. It is a story of the same duo that performed “The Puss of Boots: The Last Desire”, in 2022.