Filipino moviegoers in the Emirates will soon get their turn with one of the most talked-about local dramas of the year. Life After You, the Viva Films film pairing Diamond Star Maricel Soriano with actress-director Bela Padilla, comes to the UAE for a special screening on September 22, 2026, at 7 PM at Star Cinemas Al Ghurair—just weeks after opening in Philippine cinemas nationwide on September 9.
Written and directed by Marla Ancheta, the filmmaker behind the 2022 Netflix drama Doll House, the movie follows two women bound together by grief and by a child they both love. Padilla plays Joey del Mundo, an assistant director and choreographer about to leave for further studies in Canada when her elder sister Dianne (Ryza Cenon) dies suddenly in a car accident. Forced to shelve her dreams, Joey takes in her orphaned niece Denise (Dani Zee)—only to reach out, in desperation, to the one other contact on the child’s school records: Bella Concepcion (Soriano), the girl’s estranged grandmother on her father’s side.
What begins as a reluctant, rocky alliance grows into something deeper. It is a story, as its makers describe it, of motherhood, friendship, and forgiveness—themes that resonate especially with the diaspora. Padilla has likened Joey’s situation to that of overseas Filipino workers who leave their children in the care of relatives, a reality all too familiar to the community here in the UAE.
The film also marks the first major screen collaboration between its two leads, who first crossed paths back in the 2007 comedy Bahay Kubo: A Pinoy Mano Po! Padilla, who calls Soriano “Inay,” has been open about how much the partnership meant to her. In a media conference reported by The Manila Times, she said she was feeling sad and heavy when she entered the project, and credited the veteran actress with reminding her why she fell in love with acting in the first place.
Since its Philippine release, Life After You has drawn a warm if qualified critical reception—praise for its performances, tempered by notes on an uneven script. In its review, LionhearTV called it a messy but heartfelt story whose strong ensemble—led by Bela Padilla and Maricel Soriano—gives the movie the heart it needs to survive its uneven storytelling. The outlet’s chief reservation was dramatic restraint, observing that the film creates several situations that could have resulted in powerful confrontations, yet it often pulls back just when the emotions could have exploded. Even so, it concluded that the cast is the film’s saving grace: when the screenplay becomes messy, they keep it grounded, and when the drama isn’t strong enough, they find humor.
Padilla earned strong notices for a raw, grounded turn. LionhearTV noted that she still holds the title of being “mapanakit”—only this time she doesn’t need a complicated love story to hurt you, with the ache instead coming from losing the future you imagined for yourself and being forced to build another from circumstances you never chose.
Soriano, for her part, drew the review’s warmest words. LionhearTV wrote that when Maricel Soriano enters a scene, you remember what genuine star presence looks like, adding that she has the kind of presence that can make an ordinary scene suddenly feel important simply because she’s in it. The film critic behind the “Fred Said” blog similarly singled out her effortless tears in a key confrontation scene.
Reviewers also flagged the understated, more mature chemistry between Soriano and Gardo Versoza, and the believable sibling rapport between Padilla and Cenon—though several wished Cenon had more screen time. Tagalog-language coverage skewed even warmer: in its premiere-night write-up, Bandera reported that the drama isn’t over the top, and that it struck the right balance for the audience that night at SM Megamall.
For the film’s veteran lead, the material also cut close to home. In an interview with Philstar, Soriano shared that Life After You reminded her of her late mother—another layer of the loss-and-love story that anchors the film.
Beyond its two stars, the ensemble includes Jeric Raval, Marlo Mortel, Krissha Viaje, MJ Cayabyab, Peach Caparas, and Andrea Babierra.
Life After You screens in the UAE on September 22, 2026, at 7 PM at Star Cinemas Al Ghurair. Details on the premiere-night photo contest for tickets are being shared separately.
Watch the trailer below:
