When a door closes, a window opens. This, Frencheska Farr has learned, is especially true in show business.

Though her GMA 7 show ?BandaOke! Rock ?n? Roll to Millions? wraps up next month, she has a high-profile movie in the works: the big-screen musical ?Emir,? produced by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, with the assistance of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

?It?s sad that the show will end, but I know I?m lucky, getting a huge break like ?Emir,?? says the winner of GMA 7?s talent tilt, ?Are You the Next Big Star??

Daunted

She?s daunted by the movie, directed by Chito S. Roño and written by Jerry Gracio, with original music by Gary Granada, Rody Vera, Vin and Ebe Dancel. She sings at least six solos off the 20-song soundtrack. She realizes that this is rare for a newcomer like her.

To be sure, her stints on the stage revue ?Wanders? and ?Next Big Star? primed her for ?Emir.? She needs nerves of steel because her director is a perfectionist.

?I?ve learned a lot from Direk Chito,? says Frencheska, who admits she had been scolded on the set. ?He?s strict, but he?s always right.?

Singing live was particularly challenging when the movie moved locations from the sand dunes of Ilocos, to the rice terraces of Banaue, all the way to... Morocco.

?The weather was weird,? recounts Frencheska. ?Freezing cold at night and in the morning, and scorching hot at noontime. I got sick.?

Fortunately, the sights and sounds of the exotic environs?particularly, of Marrakech, Ouarzazate and Essaouira?were ?breathtaking.?

She relates: ?The culture is rich and colorful. And the women proudly wear the national costume.?

Playing Amelia, a nanny, forced her to grow up in many ways, says the 17-year-old. ?In the movie, I?ll age from 25 to 42. In our workshops, I was taught to be aware of how people behave. Now, observing is second nature to me.?

Young costars

The workshops brought her closer to the young male leads?child actors Joshua Hourani (from Lebanon) and Mahdi Varjani (from Iran), who play her wards at ages 7 and 12.

?We?re super close now. Joshua would often lick my face. He?s makulit and talkative. He?s very malambing.?

She?s keeping her fingers crossed that ?Emir? will be entered in international film festivals.

It?s a story that the world should know, she says. ?Not all OFWs have tragic experiences. Some succeed and are happy.?