In producing films, a director often influences the story on how they want the story to be told, from the screenplay, the lighting, production design, special effects, music scoring and cinematography. each director wants to be different from one another, and to do that they follow their instinct and goals in achieving their desired film, most directors in the Philippines focuses on the genre that they know more about, some are always using the same his/her favorite actor/actress, some choose to produce trilogy films, and some chooses to produce long duration films.
Filipino directors are keen on telling stories that resemble the daily life or dream of any given Filipinos around the world. Supported by their production crew that consist of great talents and artists that had proven themselves to be qualified for the job and they are challenged by misfortune, lack of resources, health problems and many more, but they still move forward everyday to produce films and provide entertainment and information to all audiences. Their daily hard work shows how their role as filmmakers are important for the community by means of content and product innovation that generates economic progress for the Philippines.
photo of director Erik Matti courtesy to IMDB
Erik Matti
started directing when he was 29 and has been directing and writing movies that deals with action and horror, he directed on the job, tiktik: the aswang chronicles, ABC’s of death, and buy bust, known for his love in the industry of Philippine cinema by announcing its current status and how important Philippine cinema is. He also won 8 awards including 3 best director.
Movie poster of On The Job courtesy to IMDB
ON THE JOB
"Politicians secretly hire convicts to conduct hits, then quickly return to prison"
The film deals with how powerful a government official can be and how they can do their bidding without dirtying their hands. The film also resembles the life of Filipino citizens by using 4 characters who want to change something in their lives, the role of Mario Maghari a.k.a. Tatang played by Joel Torre, a prisoner hired by politicians to secretly get out of jail, kill a target and go back to prison, the role of Daniel played by Gerald Anderson, also a prisoner and the successor of Mario Maghari, the police officer roles Francis Coronel Jr. played by Piolo Pascual and Sergeant Joaquin Acosta played by Joey Marquez in charge of the case that involve Daniel and tatang. The conflicts are as if natural to the environments of the characters, and deal with problems of the country or the society.
Movie poster of Honor Thy Father courtesy to IMDB
Honor Thy Father
"A family loses everything after it falls victim to a Ponzi scheme"
The film shows the different perspective of Filipinos to religion and money, showing the limitations of being faithful and rational as the film shows how Filipinos approach religion and money concerns. Director Erik Matti uses the characters of the film to resemble their situation and as the film go’s so as the incline of misfortune in the story and the characters. The conflicts of the story are as if natural to the environment where it concerns the social norm in religion or the norm in proper utilization of money and the cinematography was meant to create a dark feeling for the audience and be serious about the scenes.
Movie poster of Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles courtesy to IMDB
Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles
"Makoy, a soon-to-be-father, is suddenly forced to protect his pregnant wife from an onslaught of hungry aswang monsters. He must not just fight for his love, but fight for their very survival in trouble with a group of gypsies who transform into Tiktik"
The film is about how the main character adapts to the situation in order to survive with his family. Showing the resiliency of Filipinos when struggling with life, the film is filled with CGI and special effects to fully represent the vision of director Erik Matti. The conflict in the story was used by the director to be a bridge to connect the relationship between the main character and his family. Furthermore the film resembles a Filipino family struggling to survive.
The Signature
Director Erik Matti's signature in film making is dealing with the horrors of Filipino cultures and environment. His stories resemble the lives of struggling Filipino people to survive in the challenges of their environment, by using cinematography techniques such as lighting and framing the director shows how bad the situation of the character may be, he uses music to emphasis the emotion of the scene, the natural problems are emphasized and works as the conflict in the stories and he tells the story of the film by having the main character dive in to the problem and sharing the main characters experience through the audiences.
For more information you can visit us on our social media accounts and be sure to comment your suggestions and recommendations.
written by Ramon Louis A. Mendoza
Ramon Louis A. Mendoza is a digital marketing intern of PS Media Enterprise and a third year college student pursuing Bachelor of arts in communication at Batangas State University Lipa Campus
