An Exclusive Inside Look Behind The Juans’ “Ano Ba Talaga Tayo?” Short Film

“Ano ba talaga tayo?”

It’s a question heavy with history, carried by a thousand untold stories and emotions spanning everything from heartache to bliss. Yet the weight of its answer is even greater than the question itself. It can unravel a world of heartache or build a universe of possibilities.

It’s this emotional tug-of-war that lingers throughout The Juan’s short film for their latest single, “Ano Ba Talaga Tayo?” In the 10-minute film directed by John Manalo, we’re taken deep into the world of ex-lovers Ari (Miles Ocampo) and Joms (Elijah Canlas) as they get stuck in a cycle of familiarity and confusion, and struggle to define the blurry space between love, loss, and everything in between. It’s a portrait of two people who can’t seem to escape each other, even when the relationship has already ended.

Led by Manalo and Anton Umali with input from The Juans themselves, the story reflects the confusion, hurt, and yearning of the actual track, all wrapped up in a cinematic visual that thugs at the heartstrings.

“Sobrang relate sa song kasi parang ‘yun talaga ‘yung anchor ng [music video],” explains Manalo. “[Sa music video,] gusto naman malaman ni Ari kung ano ba talaga sila [ni Joms]. [‘Yung ‘ano ba talaga tayo’] asi maraming siyang meaning — pwedeng ‘define the relationship’ or parang bakit hindi mo ko kayang bitawan. So, pinakabubong ni Ari dito sa story is kung paano niya matatapos ang cycle kasi hindi niya talaga matitiis si Joms.“

(The music video really relates to the song cause it’s the main anchor of the story. In the music video, Ari just really wants to know what she is to Joms. ‘What are we’ has a lot of meanings, it can mean defining the relationship or asking why you can’t let me go. So for this, the main point of the story is how Ari can break the cycle with Joms because she can’t resist him.)

The story is as heavy as it is intimate; but bringing it to life was the exact opposite. Filmed over the span of over 18 hours in Quezon City, the set — despite being in constant motion — was light and cheerful. While there was no denying the winding hours and the village that it took to produce the short film, everyone was in high spirits, buoyed by the story they were piecing together.

In this iteration of Billboard Philippines Backstage, we take an inside look into the making of The Juans’ “Ano Ba Talaga Tayo?” short film, getting an exclusive peak on what went on behind the scenes. Check out more photos here.