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Metro Exclusive Interview with Director Mae Cruz-Alviar for "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" PH

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<p><strong>Mae Cruz-Alviar </strong>is the renowned <strong></strong>director of more recent mega hits like <strong><em>Rewind</em></strong>, <strong><em>Can’t Buy Me Love</em></strong>, <strong><em>Crazy Beautiful You</em></strong>, and <em><strong>Four Sisters Before the Wedding</strong> </em>and co-director of much beloved <em>teleserye</em> classics such as <strong><em>Magkaribal</em></strong>, <strong><em>Maging Sino Ka Man</em></strong>, and<strong><em> Pangako Sa&#x27;Yo</em></strong><em></em><em></em>. Now, <em></em><em></em><strong><em></em></strong><em>Direk</em><strong> </strong>Mae<strong></strong><strong></strong> is at the helm of the current no. 1 show on <strong>Netflix Philippines</strong>, the Philippine adaptation of the groundbreaking healing K-drama<strong><em> It’s Okay to Not Be Okay</em></strong>. She sits down and chats with <strong>Metro.Style</strong> to share her own stories behind the scenes of this new blockbuster hit show, which stars <strong>Anne Curtis</strong>, <strong>Joshua Garcia</strong>, and <strong>Carlo Aquino</strong>.<strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong></p><p>“I didn’t even watch it the first night it came out!” acclaimed director Mae Cruz Alviar confesses when asked how she felt when her show dropped on Netflix. “I was too nervous! And the next day, I really wasn’t looking at my phone. I didn’t want to see the social media. But of course, eventually,  I saw it and I thought, whew! What I really felt changed everything for me. It was when we had our private screening. It was my first time to see it all together since I had just been seeing it in pieces, and it was on a big screen <em>pa</em>. We [the cast] and some ABS-CBN executives were together, and wow, I’m glad we did that, we got to see it all together.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754304304549director mae cruz alviar with its okay to not be okay cast members anne curtis, joshua garcia, and carlo aquino.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Director Mae Cruz Alviar with <em>It&#x27;s Okay to Not Be Okay</em> cast members Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino | Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Experi/mental</strong></div><p>While she admits that being no. 1 and maybe eventually winning awards will always feel good, <em>Direk</em> Mae has her eyes on the bigger picture. She said, “It’s really more about getting the message across—that’s my ‘award.’ That it’s really okay to <em>not</em> be okay. Those comments from people, like, I got one a few days ago from a psychiatrist who’s based in Honolulu. She wrote me that she was happy that a show like ours was being made for the Filipino audience because she knows that mental health still isn’t so (openly) discussed in the Philippines.”</p><p>Unlike most Netflix viewers and local reviewers who have been posting glowing reviews on the Filipino adaptation of this Korean megahit, <em>Direk</em> Mae didn’t immediately fall in love with the original show herself. She doesn’t even consider herself a fan of adaptations! “I am a K-drama fan myself, and when I see or hear of one, I think, ‘<em>Bakit pa</em>? <em>Kailangan ba</em>?’ But I realized that not everyone has seen the original. And we really know that, based on our research, Filipinos are still not yet aware of mental health issues, so there’s that balance that we are not ramming it down their throats, so that it becomes uncomfortable.” </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u8GU1Hf4jPw?si=zm8Zldtqzgt9n9nt" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Of her own history with the material, <em>Direk</em> Mae revealed, “&#x27;<em>Di ba</em>, it was showing during the pandemic?  So, my mood at that time was for a rom-com. I had just watched <em>CLOY</em> (<em>Crash Landing on You</em>), so <em>parang</em> I was looking for something that would replicate the feeling of what I watched.  And so when I first watched this, it was interesting.  It was very captivating visually because of the animation, the visual treatment.  But when it was getting deep into the mental issues or what was behind the characters’ traumas, I was not ready for it.  And I didn’t continue watching it, honestly.  But because  I was doing this project, I revisited it, and  I was on a different plane.  So, I was ready to accept the theme.  And I have a different, a higher appreciation of the show after watching, re-watching it, and continuing it and finishing it.” </p><p style="text-align:left">And then after all that, she quips, “But when we began, I had to forget it all and have my own attack on it! How do we own it? How do we make it Filipino? That was one of the key things to remember. The biggest learning curve was just accepting that there will always be comparisons. There will always be purists who have something to say; you can’t stop them from loving the original.”</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754305344482direk mae cruz alviar on its ojay to not be okay ph 1.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Direk Mae Cruz Alviar | Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Team Okay</strong></div><p>The process of adaptation is akin to a tug-of-war. One must know the original work inside out and capture its essence. But on the other hand, one can’t be a slave to the original material. <em>Direk</em> Mae was always aware of that dichotomy. “It has a beautiful message and a beautiful story. But what I would always tell Anne, because she was such a big fan of the show (and the character), we are doing an adaptation—we are not just copying it. So you can’t love it too much. That’s detrimental to the making of the adaptation. We just have to find the core of the story. We have to respect the major aspects of the show. But we have to make it our own.”</p><p><em>Direk</em> Mae has been in the industry for thirty years, starting as a production assistant and being mentored by such great directors as <strong>Marilou Diaz Abaya </strong>and<strong> Olivia Lamasan</strong>,<strong></strong> but she still approaches her cast members as if she has never worked with them. “What I do with my cast, even if I have worked with them many times before, is I sit down with them. I ask them how they are doing, where they are in their career, and I make sure that everyone is on the same page.”  </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754305706221521305643_18520037233035165_7643285167606423661_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Director Raymund Ocampo, Joshua Garcia, Anne Curtis, Carlo Aquino, and Direk Mae Cruz-Alviar | Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Of her own cast, <em>Direk</em> Mae says, “All of them—from the main characters to the support—they were so humble, open, and generous. There would be times I would be in such awe that I would just stop and watch them, or think, &#x27;Wow, this is a casting coup!&#x27; I would have to stop and remind myself, &#x27;Hey I have to direct them. Like, with Caloy (Carlo Aquino), he has been winning awards ever since he was a child. But he told me, ‘<em>Direk</em>, <em>sa‘yo ako kakapi</em><em>t</em>.’ Imagine! But he’s an empath, <em>ang galing niya talaga</em>. We did immersion, working with autistic people, from all different levels, and we interviewed people with autism from all parts of the spectrum. Then we worked with our acting coach,<strong> Ana Feleo</strong>, and the actor who plays the young Matmat, Noel Comia, Jr. I would join him in some, but he went on his own, more times. When they are in a class, he would participate in the class. When they sleep, he would nap with them.  On set, I wouldn’t call him Caloy, I would call him Matmat. And as soon as he’s in his costume and he arrives on set, he is Matmat. Sometimes, his wife (Charlie Dizon) would call me and say, &#x27;<em>Nasaan ang asawa ko</em>?&#x27; And to think, he never watched the original because his wife kept on telling him how good the original actor was, so he didn’t want to see his performance. He said that it would be a nagging feeling and a nagging thought.”</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754306796362525125262_18522491938035165_5513902264739288473_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Carlo Aquino as Matmat in <em>It&#x27;s Okay to Not Be Okay </em>| Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left"><em>Direk</em> Mae is all praises for how meticulously detailed her main star,<strong> Anne Curtis</strong>, approached her character.  They explored how the costumes, which are so integral to the character, could be customized to Anne herself and the local, tropical setting.  The Korean original was set in winter, and so the costumes were heavy and layered. </p><p style="text-align:left">“Here, we showed more skin,” <em>Direk</em> Mae concedes. Another tweak added to Joshua’s character, Patpat, was also cultural.  “At first, Joshua was being stiff, stoic, formal, because that was how the Korean actor originally did it. But we talked and I said that we, Filipinos, we smile through our problems, even if we are already so weighed down by them. So, he became less stiff, more smiling.” There is also a mysterious twist to the characters of <strong>Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan</strong> and<strong> Agot Isidro</strong>, which is unique to this local version.</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754307629150anne curtis its okay to not be okay 1.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Anne Curtis in<em> It&#x27;s Okay to Not Be Okay</em> | Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754307691494joshua garcia its okay to not be okay 1.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Joshua Garcia in <em>It&#x27;s Okay to Not Be Okay</em> | Photo from Star Creatives</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754308979052503418742_18519287659020484_9032394311972931221_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The OK Hospital staff: Alyssa Muhlach, Agot Isidro, Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, Mark Oblea, Kaori Oinuma, and Joshua Garcia | Photo from @agotisidro</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Location, location, location</strong></div><p>A big part of the impact of the original <em>It’s Okay to Not Be Okay</em> was the innate drama of the locations, and the family mansion of the female lead in particular could be elevated to a character in and of itself.</p><p>“We really went south. We filmed first in Iloilo, second in Dumaguete, and thirdly, in Bacolod.  I joke with my friends that I can be a tour guide <em>na</em> in the Visayas region,” <em>Direk</em> Mae reminisces with an open, wide smile. “And you are right in saying that the characters are locations. For example, OK Hospital, at first, it’s as if you’re in a resort since you’re beside the sea. But when you get inside the rooms and the corridors, you can feel that there’s something darker there.”  </p><p>The atmosphere of dark mystery reaches its peak when the action moves to the family mansion, which also intersects symmetrically with <em>Direk</em> Mae’s journey into storytelling. “<em>Kailangan kasi,</em> <em>doon ang</em> mansion that’s tucked in the middle of some faraway place. But it has to have that character, like a storybook. It has a haunting feel, and yet it can transform. A home is a metaphor for the self. So the mansion has that feeling of, <em>gusto mo ba siya pasukin</em>? <em></em>Like Mia, do you want to get to know her?” </p><p>And in a particularly prescient way, <em>Direk</em> Mae once made a wish that she could film in that very same house. “I’m a big fan of <em><strong>Oro, Plata, Mata</strong></em>. This is the house that the family escapes to when the war begins, and when I first saw it onscreen, I really thought, &#x27;<em>Sana</em> I can film there.&#x27;”  </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754308480843464916762_18462877366015068_6211678786653352792_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The cast and crew of<em> It&#x27;s Okay to Not Be Okay</em> | Photo from @maecruzalviar</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>That&#x27;s where the story goes</strong></div><p>This ancestral home is not the only parallel that Mae Cruz-Alviar has with her show’s main character, <strong></strong>Mia Hernandez<strong></strong>. <em>Direk</em> Mae is the first to admit that she grew up in a sheltered home, with loving and, for lack of a better word, normal parents. Through the magic of storytelling, she not only learned more about life, but of what her purpose is. In the same way as children’s book author Mia explores her childhood trauma in gory stories, <em>Direk</em> Mae found a platform and voice in her stories.  </p><p>The prolific author Joan Didion once said, “We tell stories in order to live.“ This is how <em>Direk</em> Mae tracks her own journey: “When I first became a director, I wanted a job where being a woman was rare. <em>Parang</em> I want a unique job. And then, <em>habang tumatagal</em>, this career really opened me up to the realities of life, so I really want to tell stories for the Filipino audience. This is more than a career; this is a mission. For example, this show is about very sensitive issues, and it’s not every day that you’re given a chance to tell a story about mental health. You can speak to so many, and you can influence and shape society. It makes all the hard work worth it; the blood, sweat—especially the sweat, because all our locations were extra extra hot! And although I did work hard, I know that, in a spiritual sense, it is by God’s grace that I am here.”</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMUTDRcyFCx/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A29917005.2%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Lead photos from <strong>Star Creatives</strong></p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div>

<p>"This show is about very sensitive issues, and it’s not every day that you’re given a chance to tell a story about mental health," director Mae Cruz-Alviar said of the opportunity to tell relevant stories that make all the hard work worth it.</p>

"This show is about very sensitive issues, and it’s not every day that you’re given a chance to tell a story about mental health," director Mae Cruz-Alviar said of the opportunity to tell relevant stories that make all the hard work worth it.

From Heartbreak to Healing: What Director Mae Cruz-Alviar's Adaptation of 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' Means for Her

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From Heartbreak to Healing: What Director Mae Cruz-Alviar's Adaptation of 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' Means for Her

Leah Puyat

Published Aug 04, 2025 10:30 PM PHT

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