Scene from “15:21: The Quest for Love and Freedom”—PHOTOS COURTESY OF INSPIRE STUDIOS Ely Buendia’s little sister Larissa recently made her debut on the big screen as Hara Humamay, the mysterious Queen of Cebu and wife to ruler Rajah Humabon in the historical drama “15:21: The Quest for Love and Freedom.” Inspire Studio head Francis B. Lara Ho said Larissa stood out during her audition, and that no one knew she is the iconic rock singer’s sister.
“This may sound like I’m tooting my own horn, but they said they were so impressed with me because I came prepared. I had memorized my lines and they said I had the presence, the voice and accent of the queen they were looking for,” she told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview. Since the movie is also about female empowerment, Larissa said she researched on the role she was tasked to portray.
“I was surprised that there was not a lot [of material] about Hara Humamay. It seems like the only thing we know about her is what she wore on the day of their baptism. That’s all I could get,” she began.
“That gave me freedom in terms of my portrayal. I naturally gravitated to playing her as a strong woman. She is the queen, so I made her slightly imperious, but there’s also a softness to her because she loves her husband, Humabon,” Larissa explained.
“I also made sure that there’s a certain ambiguity in her personality so people would ask, ‘Is she conniving or does she just love her husband and he.
