Philippine Theater Star Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan Lands Title Role in Sonny Calvento’s ‘Mother Maybe’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Philippine theater actor Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan has secured the title role in director Sonny Calvento‘s “Mother Maybe,” joining previously announced star Anthony Jennings, Southern Lantern Studios revealed.

The horror-comedy-drama, a tri-national co-production between Southern Lantern Studios (Philippines), E&W Films (Singapore) and Volos Films Ltd. (Taiwan), follows Marco (Jennings), a young man who reunites with his long-lost mother during a high-stakes Asian game show, only to discover she transforms into something monstrous at night. Nuevo-Tadioan will play Minda, the mother at the center of the supernatural narrative.

Related Stories

Golden Globes Presenters Include George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Charli xcx, Snoop Dogg and More

In the role, Nuevo-Tadioan portrays a parent who communicates minimally and keeps much of her emotional life hidden. The character required a performer who can build tension through what goes unexpressed – through hidden truths, contained feelings and deliberate physical choices. The film uses supernatural horror to examine the overseas Filipino worker experience and the emotional toll of migration.

The casting represents just Nuevo-Tadioan’s second film project – after her screen debut in “Phantosmia,” a film by director Lav Diaz that premiered at the Venice Film Festival – though she brings extensive stage credentials to the production. A veteran member of Tanghalang Pilipino – the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ resident theater company – Nuevo-Tadioan has built a reputation for performances requiring both emotional depth and physical discipline.

Her work in “Anak Datu” brought her dual honors: the Gawad Buhay Award for Outstanding Performer and the Aliw Award for Best Featured Performer. Playing the character Potri Loling without any spoken lines, Nuevo-Tadioan demonstrated an ability to convey complex emotional states through physical performance alone.

That particular skill caught Calvento’s attention. “In theater, Lhorvie carries an extraordinary authority,” Calvento said. “What moved me most was her ability to hold an audience even in silence. She doesn’t need dialogue to be felt – her body and stillness already speak.”

The director also praised Nuevo-Tadioan’s natural screen presence. “There’s something deeply cinematic about her,” he added. “The smallest shift in her movement, the way she holds a pause. Those nuances already tell a story. That’s essential for this role.”

Calvento believes Nuevo-Tadioan’s stage training has prepared her to maintain the role’s understated intensity and emotional complexity.

Production on the film resumes in February. The project has secured significant industry recognition, winning the TAICCA Development Grant at Full Circle Lab Philippines and the Malaysian Development Lab for Feature Films in 2022, followed by the TAICCA x CNC Award for Best Project and the MPA Grand Award at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in 2023.