Documentary will be made of Vanessa Hudgens’ first trip to the Philippines

Vanessa Hudgens and her mother, Gina.

Like many other Filipino Americans, actress Vanessa Hudgens is proud of her family roots. She will be traveling to the Philippines for the first time this month and her trip to her mother's homeland will be filmed and turned into a documentary.

The star of High School Musical and the three Princess Switch movies will be accompanied by her mother Gina Guangco-Hudgens and her younger sister Stella on what promises to be be an emotional journey of self-discovery as she meets her mother's family, visits the part of the Philippines where her mother is originally from.

"My mom is from the Philippines, and growing up, there weren't really that many women who looked like me and my mom and my family on screen. It’s so important to share all the different stories because America is a massive melting pot, [just like the] world," the Hudgens told Glamour UK.

The yet-to-be-named documentary will showcase her close relationship with her mother and family. The film is being produced and directed by Filipino filmmaker Paul Soriano.

“We are honored to work with Vanessa for this film project,” says Soriano. “It’s inspiring to note that with everything she has achieved in life, she wants to discover her Filipino roots and pay homage to her mother’s country. Hopefully, this opens doors for many more collaborations to come.”

Hudgen's mother immigrated to the US at the age of 25 and married Greg Hudgens, a firefighter who died in 2016. 

The singer-dancer-actress did her first feature in the film, Thirteen, but her breakout role as Gabriella Montez was in Disney's High School Musical series. 

Filming of the untitled documentary is slated for later his month and so far, will include shooting in Manila and the island of Palawan.

In the past, Hudgens has expressed the hope that her mother's immigrant story is worthy enough to be made into a movie. 

“I feel like ours is such a relatable story to so many women all over the world,” Hudgens said. “The more that we can share, the more we can lift each other up.”

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