MANILA, Philippines -- Young actress Jasmine Curtis will appear in her second independent film this year as a troubled teen caught between the clashing cultures of her heritage -- being both Filipino and Israeli.
After appearing in the CineFilipino Film Festival entry "Puti," the 19-year-old actress joins another film festival in a project directed by Hannah Espia and produced by Paulo Soriano.
Competing in the New Breed category of this year's Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, "Transit" tells the story of Israel-based Filipinos who find out that the country's government plans to deport children of foreign workers.
Aside from Curtis, the film stars Ping Medina, Irma Adlawan, Mercedes Cabral and child actor Marc Justine Alvarez.
Speaking with ABS-CBN News at the sidelines of a press conference held Thursday for Cinemalaya 2013, Curtis said she considers the film a "big break."
"'Transit' was such a pleasure to work on. It's so deep, the storyline, and also the preparation that we had to do for the film," said the young actress, who was recently in Israel to shoot on location.
Explaining her role in the film, Curtis said, "Ako po 'yung anak ni Ms. Irma Adlawan na lumaki sa Israel. Half-Filipina, half-Israeli, so there's a battle between cultures for my role, na kung Filipina ba ako o Israeli ako."
For her part in the project, Curtis said she understands not being given a "substantial fee."
"It's a whole different environment, so we can't apply what we do in mainstream to the indie world," said the actress, who has starred in three TV series so far, and has several product and brand endorsements to her name.
"And that's fine, because at the end of the day, it's all about the experience and learning more about this industry," she said.
Cinemalaya 2013 kicks off its 10-day run on July 26 in cinemas at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City, Greenbelt 3 in Makati City, and Trinoma in Quezon City.
