EXCLUSIVE: Janine Gutierrez says she feels ‘honored’ to portray as queer in ‘Balaraw’
Janine Gutierrez expresses pride in taking on roles that bring queer representation to the screen. The actress is set to star in the upcoming Netflix original series Balaraw, portraying the role of Sabina who is in a relationship with Bulak, portrayed by Charlie Dizon.
Speaking exclusively with PUSH ABS-CBN, Janine shared her appreciation for being part of stories that represent queer couples without treating their relationships as something “unusual.”
“I feel honored to be able to share stories that show queer couples and queer stories without making it a big deal na parang it’s unusual,” she said. “Parang, it’s just normal. It just so happens na we’re together, but there’s a deeper story.”
The actress explained that although Sabina and Bulak’s relationship is part of the series, the story’s main focus lies on mystery.
“We’re together. Girlfriend ko siya in the show. Pero hindi siya necessarily GL (Girl’s Love). Horror talaga ‘yung [genre] niya, it just so happened na we’re together,” Janine said.
“It wouldn’t be the pinaka-main classification pero we’re happy that we’re together in the show. It shows that aspect of the story,” she added.
This is not Janine’s first time portraying a queer character. In 2022, she starred opposite Lovi Poe in Sleep with Me, an iWantTFC original series centered on the relationship between two women.
In Balaraw, the relationship between Sabina and Bulak unfolds within a much larger mystery. Sabina sets out to find her missing mother, Rebecca (Agot Isidro). Alongside Bulak and her godfather (Ronnie Lazaro), she ventures across the seas in search of Babang Yawa, an island surrounded by stories that few people know about and from which no one is believed to return alive.
While Balaraw brings the two actresses together as an on-screen couple, it also marks their first project together.
“Super happy to work with her kasi matagal ko na rin talaga siyang gustong maka-trabaho,” Janine said of Charlie.
Janine also shared how fulfilling the experience of filming Balaraw was, noting the years of preparation that went into developing the series.
“Sobrang saya. Ang ganda nun experience kasi years in the making talaga and years ‘yung paghahanda nila para sa production design, for the script…so ang lalim nung layers nung kwento at nung mga characters.”
She continued: “Exciting kasi it’s the first Netflix original na Filipino pero global release. So ‘yung themes niya of folklore, ‘yung mga characters na kinalakihan natin, medyo maipapakita siya sa Balaraw.”
During the series’ press conference on October 13, Janine recalled how quickly she became interested in the project after learning about the team behind it and reading the material.
“When I heard that the team of Balaraw was basically the same group of Babae at Baril, kahit ano pa ‘yan game na ako. And then when I saw the deck, when I saw the script, parang yung script even it was episodes of scripts tatapusin mo siya in one reading kasi sobrang exciting, super page-turner, napaka-epic nung kwento. All of that, easy yes!” she said.
Charlie also offered a glimpse of Bulak, describing her character as someone whose determination is matched by her devotion to Sabina.
“I play the role of Bulak, ang girlfriend ni Janine dito. Very stubborn pero very supportive. Iri-risk niya ang lahat para sa love niya,” Charlie said.
Directed by Rae Red and produced by Epicmedia Productions, Balaraw is Netflix’s first Filipino original series set for a global release.
The mystery thriller will premiere worldwide on Netflix on October 29.