At the post-screening talkback session on Thursday, 19 February for Barbie Forteza’s new film Until She Remembers, the Kapuso Primetime Princess described her experience working with Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza as a departure from her usual work.

The sapphic drama marks Barbie’s first collaboration with Mendoza, whose directing style involves giving actors only a script outline and allowing them to largely improvise their lines to achieve a sense of hyperrealism.

“Walang script. Outline ng script, mayroon po. Pero masasabi ko na I am proud that I have done a film like this. Kasi ngayon, ’pag gumagawa ako ng proyekto, pelikula o teleserye, parang nabo-bore na tuloy ako sa script. Parang ang dami ko na gustong idagdag. Yes, parang, ‘Ay! Parang masyadong ano ito — may gano’n lang.’ So proud ako, masasabi kong parang nakapag-masterclass ako kay Direk Brillante (There was no full script. There was an outline, yes. But I can honestly say I’m proud that I got to do a film like this. Because now, whenever I work on a project — whether it’s a film or a teleserye — I kind of get bored with the script. I start wanting to add more. Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, maybe it needs something different.’ I’m really proud to say that working on this felt like taking a masterclass with Direk Brillante.)”

Barbie plays a high school student in the film who helps her grandmother, portrayed by Charo Santos-Concio, find closure from a past romance.

She also recalled how the renowned director asked her to return for an additional shoot a retake in October 2025, two months after the film officially wrapped up.

At first, she was anxious that she might not be able to slip back into character. The additional shoot involved a highly dramatic scene, which she later said she was incredibly happy with.

“Ang majority po ng shoot namin natapos na po noong August (2025). Tapos ‘yung eksenang ’yun, parang sinhoot po namin ng... nag-additional shoot po tayo dito, Direk, di ba? Tapos ’yun, yes, naging October po yung eksenang ’yun. So parang sabi ko, napagpag ko na yung karakter, kailangan ko bumalik sa karakter. So isa ’yun sa mga hindi ko makakalimutan kasi sobrang saya ko sa naging resulta ng eksena. Kasi kahit papaano nakabalik ako sa karakter ko (The majority of our shoot was finished around August (2025). Then that particular scene, we shot it… we did an additional shoot for that, right, Direk? And that ended up being in October. So I was like, I had already shaken off the character, and I needed to go back in character. That’s one of the moments I won’t forget because I was so happy with how the scene turned out. Even with the time gap, I was still able to return to the character.”

The Maria Clara at Ibarra actress described the project as a refreshing change from her usual work and said she now finds Mendoza’s filmmaking style more appealing after experiencing it firsthand. Apart from enjoying the “scriptless” role, she also admired the character-driven, emotionally focused and restrained style of Until She Remembers.

“And parang ngayon kasi, bilang avid moviegoer din ako at marami na rin akong napapanood na pelikula, parang lahat, ano eh, parang ano, explosive lahat, di ba? Maingay or party-party, ganyan, or party lang, or di ba, maingay or chaotic masyado. Ito, the beautiful story was told quietly, but full of heart (And now, as an avid moviegoer who’s seen so many films, I’ve noticed that a lot of movies these days are explosive, you know? Loud, party-party, or just chaotic. This one is different. The beautiful story was told quietly, but it’s full of heart.)”

If Barbie’s words are any measure, this scriptless journey may just be the start of a deeper artistic reinvention.

Until She Remembers will premiere in local cinemas on Wednesday, 25 February.