While most young actresses find it hard to exercise their tear ducts in front of the cameras, young Filipino-British talent Geraldine Jennings readily cried out in her emotional scenes in her big screen debut, “La Isla Babuyan,” directed by Abdel Langit.

For her crying scene, Jennings looked for something that makes her sad in real life. “You think of that something in your head, as well as think about the character you are playing,” she told ABS-CBN News.

“When you think about something that makes you sad, then you’ll start to cry. You use your own, personal experiences than what’s written on the script and you really pretend that’s happening to you. You trick your mind that what’s happening is real.”

Surprisingly, Jennings does not find it hard to cry. “I find that the easiest thing to do,” she said about her dramatic scenes. “I’ve been practicing that. You can just think of something sad and the tears will come naturally for me.”

Shuttling between Edinburgh (Scotland), London (United Kingdom) and the Philippines is yet another challenge for Jennings.

“I’m wary about adjusting to different cultures,” she admitted. “I know here is the Philippines, you have to say ‘tito’ or ‘tita,’ add ‘po’ and ‘opo’ when you talk to older people. Sometimes, I forget that, but I always have to remind myself that it’s needed.

“Here in the Philippines, that’s a sign of respect. Whatever country I am in, I need to adapt. I should not expect that other people should adapt to me.

“I always look forward to the weather here in the Philippines because in the UK, it’s always cold. I also expect the Filipino food every time I come here, like chicken adobo, sinigang na hipon and even the desserts here like turon.”

Jennings was amazed “La Isla Babuyan” incorporated a number of interesting genres throughout the story.

“Ang daming genres ng film,” Jennings observed. “There is romantic-comedy, there are dramatic scenes, there is comedy. My role is funny. Maganda talaga.”

Jennings plays Anastasia, an 18-year-old girl who grew up in Europe with a Filipina mother. She got separated from her mom for 14 years. So she returned to the Philippines to see her mom and reconnect with her Filipino roots and heritage.

She meets and falls in love with the good-looking Jordan, portrayed by Jameson Blake, the scion and heir of a wealthy family. His stepmother, Margot (Nathalie Hart), however, can’t accept Anastasia and will do everything to keep her and Jordan apart.

Working with her Filipino-American leading man Jameson Blake was an “amazing experience” for Jennings. She agreed to have her kissing scenes with Blake.

“Very professional naman si Jameson,” Jennings said of her leading man. “I am an actor, he is an actor and he was super helpful with me. He was very comfortable to work with. That’s part of the job.

“He was a very good actor and a very nice person. I was really surprised how willing he was to help. He was very nice and very easy to talk to. I was very comfortable working with him.”

“I felt her character and that got easier for me to play my role. Mas mahirap ang physical challenges because we shot in the ocean and there were spikes in the beach. We shot in Batangas, three hours away from Manila.”

Apart from Blake, Jennings expressed her desire to work with Zanjoe Marudo, Alden Richards and Donny Pangilinan in her future projects.

She likewise wants to work with Lovi Poe, Janine Gutierrez in acting, as we as collaborate with Sarah Geronimo in singing.

“La Isla Babuyan” is inspired by director Bigas Luna’s “Jamon, Jamon,” with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem (1992). “It’ll make sense when you watch our film,” Jennings said.

The young actress is thankful that Abdel Langit, was a very patient director. “He was the first director I worked with,” Jennings said. “He took his time in executing the scenes. He didn’t get angry. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he worked on the scenes.”

Jennings added, “Our director is very patient really and very creative. Sometimes, we didn’t follow the exact script. He changed a lot and added his own ideas. He had the initiative to do that. Very creative. We finished the entire film for around 12 days in January.”

Jennings, who stands 5-foot-8, also has dreams of joining beauty pageants. She is willing to undergo rigorous training just to pursue her pageant dreams.

“I want to start with Miss World, not Miss Universe right away,” she said. “I don’t just want to be known as beautiful. I want to show my talent.”

However, she wants to finish her schooling in a year at the University of London. She’s taking up Business Management with Economics and Accounting at the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

“Mahirap, minsan, nalilito ako,” Jennings said. “But I’m business-minded so it was good time-management for me.

“In a year’s time, once I’ll be done with my studies, I will return to the Philippines for good. I’m just finishing my studies now. Singing and acting are my passions. I love doing them. I don’t mind pursuing them for good.”

Jennings displayed her talent even when she was still a child in the UK, where her family moved to when she was only seven. She joined singing contests and got exposed to talent competitions early on.

When she moved to Los Angeles, she took up acting classes in West Hollywood and that was where she learned to love the craft.

“I have to start slow before I try to have Hollywood projects,” Jennings said. “You have to build from small roles and start little before I can go to Hollywood.”

She attended the British School Manila when she was younger before the family moved to the UK in 2009. The Jennings also moved to Edinburgh in Scotland, where she attended Fettes College and Loretto School in her last year in high school.

Even if the family resides abroad, Jennings makes it a point to visit the Philippines at least three times a year during her school breaks. The Jennings have a second home in Manila. Her mom, Gina Cariaga, goes with her whenever Jennings returns to Manila.

She is still in school in the UK. While she is on a break, she made it a point to do an original recording and started principal photography of her launching movie, “La Isla Babuyan.”

“Acting is really challenging,” admitted Jennings. “It was really different from merely studying it. It was really natural to me. I love acting. In September last year, I did an acting workshop before I started ‘La Isla Babuyan’ last January. I also took workshops in Los Angeles.

“I learned a lot from actually being on the set and doing it,” Jennings said. “I got to feel the vibe, feel the scene. You’re actually the character. It’s not acting. I learned a lot from my co-stars.”

“La Isla Babuyan” is bankrolled by Solid Gold Entertainment Production. The screenplay was written by Jessie Vilabrille from a story conceptualized by the late talent manager, Leo Dominguez, Villabrille and Barn Salvani. Co-producers are Gina Jennings and Yohann Soyangco.

Born in the Philippines to a Northern Irish/British father and a Filipina mother, Jennings is the second in a brood of four girls. She has three equally talented sisters.

She finds it hard to choose between singing and acting. “I actually love both equally,” she asserted. “Singing is my first love, but I’m starting to love acting more and more as I do it. I love being versatile. I love learning. It’s hard to choose.”

Recently, Jennings recorded an original song, “If I Will Ever Love Again,” penned by Ogie Alcasid. “It’s a really beautiful, sweet love song,” Jennings said. “The song is now out on Spotify with my music video.”

The song will be under the LBD Music label of Jennings’ talent manager, Leo B. Dominguez and released by Star Music.

Jennings has two upcoming songs, “Pwede Ba?” and “Don’t Go,” written by Viktoria (Agbayani). “Viktoria gave me the song ‘Don’t Go’ and I will add a remix to make it upbeat for my generation,” Jennings disclosed. Viktoria is also under LBD (Management) of Leo Dominguez.