Forgotten Island Comes Home to the Philippines

Vogue Philippines gathers the cast and creatives of DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island for a Filipino homecoming dinner in Manila, celebrating family, folklore, and the many Filipino voices behind the film.

What began as a dinner meant to be small and intimate grew, as Filipino gatherings tend to do, into something closer to a family reunion. There were more people, more stories, more laughter—and, by the end of the evening, the only thing missing was karaoke.

Vogue Philippines hosted a homecoming dinner on August 24 at Conrad Manila for the cast and creative team of DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, with the Vogue Philippines team led by publisher and AGC Power Holdings Corp. CEO Archie G. Carrasco, AGC Power Holdings Corp. chief business officer Randolf Palanca, and Mega Global Group Inc. (MGGI) president Suki Salvador. They were joined by leads Gabi Wilson aka H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, writer-directors Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford, composer and scorer Nathan Matthew David, and other DreamWorks executives and creatives, many of whom came with their families.

The evening also came as a continuation of Vogue Philippines’ Forgotten Island project. The August special edition featured H.E.R. and Liza Soberano on the cover, with the issue exploring the Filipino mythology, music, and memory at the heart of the animated film.

The team was in Manila for a press preview ahead of the film’s September 23 opening in the Philippines, two days before its US premiere. For some, the visit was a chance to reconnect with Filipino roots; for others, it was an opportunity to share the country and its culture with their families. For the Vogue Philippines team, it was also the first time meeting many of the Forgotten Island creatives face-to-face.

Among the familiar faces throughout the project was Jerry Schmitz, a DreamWorks writer and filmmaker who had been particularly helpful to the Vogue team along the way. He arrived at the dinner with Januel and Joel, all three wearing their own playful versions of the barong.

The barong proved to be an early sign of the evening’s easygoing spirit. In their joint speech, Joel joked about how “two geeks from art school” had somehow ended up in Vogue. Later, he, Januel, and Jerry fully embraced the joke, hamming it up in front of the Vogue letterbox and striking exaggerated, Vogue-style poses. They did the bit again after receiving their gifts from Jewelmer’s chief marketing officer Marion Branellec-de Guzman and CEO Jacques Christophe Branellec, theatrically posing with their gift bags. H.E.R. and Liza also received “a piece of the Philippines” in the form of golden South Sea pearl pendants from Jewelmer.

The Jewelmer family came in full force, with Marion’s husband Martin de Guzman, Jacques’ wife Mia Branellec, and PR manager Hannah Deakin in attendance.

The Filipino spirit extended to the dinner table, spruced up with flowers from Parasyo. SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC), through Conrad Manila, put considerable care and ingenuity into a sumptuous Filipino-themed menu, with SMHCC’s VP for Commercial Melissa Carlos, AVP for PR and marketing communications Nian Rigor, Lanson Place Mall of Asia general manager Nils Rothbarth, and Taal Vista Hotel general manager Sven Toune helping bring the evening together.

At our table, Liza reiterated her love for sinigang, saying it was something she could eat every day. In a separate conversation, H.E.R. shared her fondness for kare-kare and revealed that she can cook it herself. For the Filipino American families in attendance, one of the evening’s biggest hits was dessert: a deconstructed turon.

There was something especially fitting about having families around the table. We met Joel’s Filipino wife, Kathy, and their three children; the couple will soon celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, while Joel marks his 20th year with DreamWorks. Januel’s mother, Arlin, a retired nurse originally from Zambales, was also there, as was his sister Joann Mercado Hicks, who is likely the inspiration for Jo, one of the film’s central characters.

Joann offered a glimpse into the family life behind that character. Her mother used to call her “makulit.” Arlin never spanked her children, she explained, but like many Filipino mothers of her generation, she did pinch. Joann laughingly remembers being on the receiving end.

That sense of family and cultural memory is at the heart of Forgotten Island, which follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa as they are transported to the fantastical island of Nakali, where they encounter the Filipino myths and creatures they grew up hearing about. Their journey becomes a story about friendship, memory, and the folklore that connects generations.

In her remarks that evening, Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief Trickie Lopa spoke about what excited the magazine about Forgotten Island from the beginning: the world it brings to life, shaped by Filipino mythology, music, and memory, and the way it brings what is familiar to Filipinos to a global audience.

She also acknowledged MGGI chief content officer Bea Valdes, who spearheaded the Forgotten Island project in its early days as Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief, making the dinner another chapter in a relationship with the film that began during Bea’s tenure.

“At Vogue Philippines, we believe that our culture does not have to be less Filipino to speak to the world,” Trickie said. “It is the things that are deeply rooted in who we are that travel the furthest.”

The sentiment felt particularly apt that evening, when Filipino culture was present not as a backdrop but in the food, family stories, humor, jewelry, mythology, and the many personal connections to the country around the table.

The night ended with a conversation with Januel, Joel, and Jerry about Siquijor. The Vogue editors encouraged them to visit the island when they return to the Philippines, swapping stories about its mysticism and folklore—a fitting recommendation for three people behind a film so steeped in Filipino mythology.

And the Filipino voices behind Forgotten Island extend far beyond those gathered at the dinner. The film’s voice cast includes Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon, alongside Manny Jacinto, JoKoy, and others. Its music similarly brings together Filipino and Filipino American talent, including BINI, SB19, and Katseye’s Sophia Laforteza.

By then, the evening had long stopped feeling like a formal dinner. It had become what it was meant to be: a gathering of families, friends, creatives, and collaborators, celebrating a film that carries Filipino stories and imagination far beyond the shores of the country.