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Film critic and filmmaker Dodo Dayao noted in an interview that Lav Diaz is surprisingly prolific for someone who is doing films with runtimes longer than the conventional. “Phantosmia”’s release, after not stopping at any point before, during, and after the pandemic, proved just that. This latest work continues Diaz’s exploration of historical trauma and moral reckoning, using his distinctive narrative style to examine the inner lives of those shaped—and haunted—by violence.

Phantosmia is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival

In the film we follow two strands of narratives that collide midway. First, the story of retired Master Sergeant Hilarion Zabala (Ronnie Lazaro) who, in his old age, is looking for a cure for the phantom rotten scent that has been plaguing him for decades. According to his psychiatrist, this is a manifestation of post-traumatic stress and suggested that a certain radical form of therapy...

We’re introduced to the world of renowned Filipino director Lav Diaz and taken on a voyage of introspection with one man’s mission for peace. Diaz has become celebrated for thought-provoking art cinema that lingers contemplatively over society’s deeper troubles. His trademarks include minimalist black-and-whiteinematography forming a solemn canvas and lengthy runtimes that immerse us in lived experiences.

Our guide is Hilarion Zabala, a retired soldier tormented by olfactory delusions reflecting past trauma. Known as phantosmia, these phantom smells transport Zabala back to horrors witnessed as a military and police officer during a turbulent era. Diagnosed with a condition both physical and emotional, he embarks on a non-traditional form of therapy—reliving his career to exorcise demons through writing.

Zabala’s journey leads to a remote penal colony where new injustices are brought to light as old wounds are reopened. But might redemption also be found?

Diaz uses...

Thai sales agent Diversion has boarded Filipino drama Phantosmia by Golden Lion-winning director Lav Diaz ahead of its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival.

The four-hour, black-and-white drama explores the harrowing psychological journey of a retired military officer, who suffers from a recurring olfactory disorder, which affects sense of smell, possibly linked to past traumas. As he revisits the darkest episodes of his life in a remote penal colony, the film delves into themes of violence, memory, and the dark side of human condition.

Shot in Sampaloc, in the Quezon province of the Philippines, the film...

Lav Diaz’s “Phantosmia,” which has its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the out of competition section, has debuted its trailer.

The film centers on Hilarion Zabala, whose mysterious olfactory problem has recurred. A counselor/psychiatrist suspects it to be a lingering case of phantosmia, a phantom smell, and possibly caused by trauma, a deep psychological fracture. One recommended radical process to cure the ailment was that Hilarion must go back and deal with the darkest currents of his past life in the military service. Reassigned in the very remote Pulo Penal Colony, he must also confront the horrific realities of his present situation.

In a statement, the director asks: “Do human beings have the right to kill other human beings? A big part of the story of ‘Phantosmia’ is about this discourse, and other questions about man’s existence.”

He adds: “One of the main protagonists...

Exclusive: Upcoming Filipino crime drama series Sellblock has wrapped principal photography and is headed for MIPTV. You can see four first-look images above.

Slated as a three-season series, Sellblock chronicles the activities of one of Asia’s biggest drug empires operating from inside a Philippines maximum-security prison. LA’s Blue Fox Entertainment has boarded the show and will launch it at the final ever MIPTV next week in Cannes, France.

The series is produced by Manilla-based BlackOps Studios Asia, headed by Pedring Lopez, who is known for Netflix’s Maria, Darkroom and Geisha of Death and also leads Psyops8. Lopez directs all eight episodes of the first season.

Blue Fox is handling sales, including the Philippines, and will be screening the pilot episode for buyers at MIPTV as it moves into TV distribution. Filipino producer Abs-cbn was initially attached to the show, but we hear it is no longer involved.

Following what happened in the US during the last decade or so, the quality of Asian dramas has skyrocketed during the last few years, with a significant surge of talent from cinema towards streaming platforms, with Korea definitely paving the way in the regard, and Japan following. The result is quite impressive to watch, since, frequently, the level of these titles is equal to the one of movies.

Without further ado, here are 20 Asian dramas in random order proving the fact in the most eloquent fashion.

1. Cigarette Girl by Kamila Andini

“Cigarette Girl” is not a typical story of two broken hearts crushed by unfortunate circumstances, a trope over-used in the soap opera format. It also has a bit of history to offer alongside a basic insight into the women's hardships in Indonesia not such long time ago. “Your duty is to clean the house and find yourself a husband...

From the director's statement: A few months before I began developing this film project, I went back home to Zamboanga for a vacation and casually met with my friends and relatives. But one afternoon, much to my surprise, someone close to my family shared his deep, dark secret. According to him, it all started when he accidentally killed his high school classmate during a fight. He was able to run away, only to eventually be trapped in the world of the syndicate. I was startled to hear this. I have known this man all my life as someone who is caring and loving. I never would have thought that he had experienced such things. After that long conversation, we never spoke about it again. Thus began Sheron Dayoc's trip towards “Gospel of the Beast”, seven years after his previous feature, the multi-awarded “Women of the Weeping River”.

The Gospel...

The drama is the latest feature of Sheron Dayoc, known for ‘Ways Of the Sea’ and ‘Women Of The Weeping River’.

Mai Meksawan’s Thailand-based sales agent Diversion has picked up international sales rights to Sheron Dayoc’s The Gospel Of The Beast, which is set to premiere in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

It marks the first feature in seven years from Filipino filmmaker Dayoc, whose titles include Way Of The Sea, which received a special mention at the Berlinale in 2011; The Crescent Rising, winner of best documentary at Busan 2016; and Sundance-backed Women Of The Weeping River.

Hollywood producer Scott M. Rosenfelt has joined Filipino TV crime-action series, “Sellblock,” as U.S.-based Blue Fox Entertainment joins as the show’s sales and distribution representative.

Planned as a three-season series, “Sellblock” chronicles the activities of one of Asia’s biggest drug empires which is operating from inside a Philippines maximum-security prison. Production is scheduled to start in May.

The cast is headlined by Jericho Rosales alongside actors Empoy Marquez, Ronnie Lazaro, Mon Confiado, Sylvia Sanchez, and Ria Atayde.

The show is produced by Philippines-based BlackOps Studios Asia, headed by Pedring Lopez. Lopez will direct all eight episodes of the first season.

“Pedring and I are very pleased to expand upon our growing relationship with Blue Fox Entertainment’s executives, Audrey Delaney and Lisa Gutberlet with ‘SellBlock,’ as we are already involved together in two feature projects, ‘CounterPlay’ and ‘Gi’,” said Rosenfelt. “We appreciate their standing in the...

When President Duterte first began talking about extending police powers and taking his War on Drugs to the streets, horrified onlookers around the world knew what was going to happen but felt powerless to prevent it. In this slowly unfolding Filipino drama, the experience of the viewer is similar. Tragedy is signalled at the outset; horror is almost omnipresent; and yet there is still an awful momentum, a grip exerted by the sense that something worse is to come.

At the centre of it are two troubled men: Hermes (John Lloyd Cruz), a police detective, and Macabantay (Ronnie Lazaro), once his superior officer, who has just completed a ten year spell in prison after Hermes helped take him down for corruption. Naturally, the emergence of the latter is not good news for the former, but this...

Gory, glittery and irresistibly bleak, In My Mother’s Skin represents a stylish, ripe contribution to the folk-horror canon. Not unlike his acclaimed debut, Ma (2018), Manila-based writer-director Kenneth Dagatan’s second feature revolves around a young person who makes a bargain with a malevolent insectoid forest spirit to help her family — with disastrous consequences.

This time round, Dagatan and his team have added a period frame by setting the story on a rural estate in the Philippines during the final days of World War II, just before the defeat of the occupying Japanese forces. Inevitably, that fascism subtext coupled with the creepy-ancient-being stuff strongly brings Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth to mind, at least to a Western viewer’s eyes. But if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. And there’s plenty that’s fresh, frisky and original here. It’s no surprise the global rights were...

When the Waves Are Gone (2022).Over the span of almost two decades, Lav Diaz has established himself not only as one of the most prolific filmmakers working in the realm of arthouse cinema—being perhaps the most acclaimed adherent of the slow expression—but also as a consistent observer of the political landscape of the Philippines. His method of work abounds in slowness, as well as the poetics of excess: long formats, politically-driven allegories, maximized genre capacity. The excessiveness appears in his preference for the independence of the film economy, too. Diaz not only directs and writes his films but oftentimes also designs, shoots and edits them, maintaining control over the final outcome—a whole universe of dark morality tales that encapsulate a gloomy here-and-now and down-to-earth scrutiny of the Philippine milieu. This rigidity in approach to medium translates to the choice of aesthetics. Diaz has embraced his favorite canvas: a grainy,...

Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), a Filipino comprador for the Japanese Imperial Army, harasses a well-to-do family for the whereabouts of gold bars. He suspects the patriarch, Aldo (Arnold Reyes), a “great merchant importer,” of stealing some from the kōgun (Imperial Army) and hiding them somewhere among their cavernous colonial home or surrounding property. Flanked by two armed Japanese soldiers, Antonio leaves the family with a threatening impression and suggests his patience will wear thinner upon subsequent visits. Left alone, Aldo’s wife Ligaya (Beauty Gonzales) asks her husband whether he took the gold. “I will never do anything to put the family […]

The post “We’re Making Cinema Now, a Universal Language”: Kenneth Dagatan on In My Mother’s Skin first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro), a Filipino comprador for the Japanese Imperial Army, harasses a well-to-do family for the whereabouts of gold bars. He suspects the patriarch, Aldo (Arnold Reyes), a “great merchant importer,” of stealing some from the kōgun (Imperial Army) and hiding them somewhere among their cavernous colonial home or surrounding property. Flanked by two armed Japanese soldiers, Antonio leaves the family with a threatening impression and suggests his patience will wear thinner upon subsequent visits. Left alone, Aldo’s wife Ligaya (Beauty Gonzales) asks her husband whether he took the gold. “I will never do anything to put the family […]

The post “We’re Making Cinema Now, a Universal Language”: Kenneth Dagatan on In My Mother’s Skin first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Lengthy running times have largely confined the films of Filipino director Lav Diaz to the festival circuit: His breakthrough “Evolution of a Filipino Family” was shot over 10 years and clocked in at over 10 hours, and subsequent features like “Melancholia” and “Norte, the End of History” followed suit. Diaz has been categorized as a practitioner of “slow cinema,” and this has made his work sound even more forbidding outside hardcore cinephile circles.

But “When the Waves Are Gone,” his current feature, is surprisingly approachable and engrossing, especially in its dynamic first third when we are introduced to our two protagonists: Hermes (John Lloyd Cruz), a cop and instructor at a police academy, and Primo (Ronnie Lazaro), a former cop who has just gotten out of jail after 10 years and is seeking vengeance against Hermes for helping to get him sentenced.

Hermes is known as a master investigator, and he has a...

The 79th Venice International Film Festival has just announced the line-up for the next edition. The 79th Venice International Film Festival is organised by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. It will take place at Venice Lido from 31 August to 10 September 2022. The Festival is officially recognised by the Fiapf (International Federation of Film Producers Association).

The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organises retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Here are all the Asian Titles on the Programme:

Competition:

Love Life

Director Koji Fukada

Main Cast Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama, Atom Sunada / Japan, France / 123’

Shab, Dakheli, Divar (Beyond The Wall)

Director Vahid Jalilvand

Main Cast Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi,...

Philippines star Jericho Rosales has been announced as headlining the cast of “Sellblock” an upcoming scripted TV prison series. The show is hatched by Manila-based Abs-cbn and its production partner BlackOps Studios Asia.

It was first announced last month as part of BlackOps’ genre slate of projects with its creative partner Psyops8, and its coproduction partners Story Arch Pictures and Agog Film Productions. The Film Development Council of the Philippines has also voiced its support for this project.

BlackOps also announced that Hong Kong-based New Asia Ferrell Asset Management Limited is joining as a financial partner.

Other actors joining the cast of “Sellblock” include Tirso Cruz III, Cherry Pie Picache, Ronnie Lazaro, Rosanna Roces, Mon Confiado and Rk Bagatsing. Further acting leads will be announced in the coming weeks.

Former broadcast giant, Abs-cbn is the largest media and entertainment group in the Philippines and is now increasing its focus on content production for global audiences.

Prolific Filipino filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza steps into the boxing ring with the heartfelt if rather thin drama “Gensan Punch.” Inspired by the true story of Naozumi Tsuchiyama, an amputee who was denied a license to box professionally in Japan and traveled to the Philippines in pursuit of his dreams, “Gensan” lands solid punches for the rights of disabled athletes and excels with its depiction of rigorous training and fierce combat. But we learn very little about the fighter’s life when he’s not wearing gloves. Following its world premiere at Busan, where it shared the Kim Ji-seok Award with Aparna Sen’s “The Rapist”, and its November screening in Tokyo, “Gensan Punch” will launch online as an HBO Asia Original.

With his chiseled features and steely gaze, handsome model-turned-action star Shogen (“Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist”) certainly looks the part as Nao, a boxer from Okinawa who has been...

“Gensan Punch,” the upcoming film by celebrated Filipino director Brillante Mendoza, has been set as an HBO Asia Original movie. It will become available on regional streaming service HBO Go in the next few months.

Ahead of that, the film will have its world premiere next month at the Busan International Film Festival, and follow that with an out-of-competition gala selection at November’s Tokyo International Film Festival. In Busan, it appears in the Window on Asian Cinema” section and is also one of seven Asian films nominated for the festival’s Kim Jiseok Award.

The Japan and Philippines coproduction film is a fact-based story about a Japanese man with a prosthetic leg who seeks to become a professional boxer. He did his training in the so-called Gensan Quarter of General Santos City, which has long been known for producing athletes, including former champion boxer and current presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao.

Japan-Philippines co-production tells the true story of disabled Japan boxer Naozumi Tsuchiyama.

UK-based Sc Films International has picked up international rights to Japan-Philippines co-production Gensan Punch, directed by award-winning Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza.

Scheduled to wrap next month, the English-language film tells the true story of Japanese athlete Naozumi Tsuchiyama, who became a professional boxer despite having an artificial leg. The film follows him Japan to the Philippines, where he rose to fame in the ‘Gensan’ quarter, which has spawned boxing stars such as Manny Pacquiao.

Japanese actor Shogen plays the boxer, with Ronnie Lazaro, Beauty Gonzales and Kaho Minami rounding out the cast.

Everyone is imperfect, but not alone.

Support and supported.

Even a dream breaks, he gets up again with others.

What is the value of life? Family, companion, pride, love. And your goal?

Winning more than 500 awards including the world’s three famous international film festivals in the world, and serving as the Chairman of Juries for the Competition Division of the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2018, Brillante Mendoza (Center Stage Productions), the Asia’s leading director has announced that his newest film

would be shot in General Santos City in Phillipines, Okinawa and Fukuoka in Japan. Based on the story of a Japanese boxer with an artificial leg “Naozumi Tsuchiyama” for the first time using Lead Japanese actor “Shogen” in his film. Shooting in mid January 2020 at General Santos City in Phillipines. Scheduled for completion in June. The working title is “Gensan Punch”

Director Brillante Mendoza and actor Shogen

Story...

Female-centric action pic stars Cristine Reyes as a cartel assassin.

Netflix has picked up worldwide rights to Philippines action film Maria, directed by Pedring Lopez and starring Cristine Reyes.

The female-centric action pic, which starts streaming on Netflix on May 17, follows a cartel assassin (Reyes) who refuses a mission only to find herself the target of the cartel’s merciless retaliation.

Produced by Viva Films, BlackOps Studios Asia and PsyOps8, the film was recently released theatrically in the Philippines where it has been garnering strong reviews for its acting, direction, stunts and cinematography. Reyes is making her action debut in the film,...

Four new movies are opening wide this weekend:

Opening in almost 3000 theaters is the horror comedy Fright Night directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Please, David Tennant and Toni Collette. The film’s music is composed by Ramin Djawadi. A soundtrack CD will be released on August 30, 2011 by Varese Sarabande. The album is already available to download on iTunes, where you can also listen to audio clips. Check out our soundtrack announcement for more details.

Also opening wide is the action remake of Conan the Barbarian directed by Marcus Nispel and starring Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Rachel Nichols, Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang. Warner Bros Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the film’s music by Tyler Bates. For more details and audio clips, visit our previous article. Also check out a lengthy audio interview with the composer on Film Music Magazine, as well...

Sayles’ goes in-depth on his new novel. Plus: the trailer for his newest film!

While Amazon has been holding my shipment of John Sayles’ epic new novel A Moment In The Sun for two weeks now (stupid free shipping!), Mr. Sayles himself has been busy out on the press circuit. Just last week he appeared on Kcrw’s bookworm program. While the program might be a little too bookworm-y for some of you, it’s an enlightening conversation with Sayles and really has me wishing Amazon would quit futzing around with my order and get it to my door Asap. You can check out the interview right here.

Meanwhile, in other John Sayles related news, his newest film Amigo (his 17th!) is coming to select theaters this August.

When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Chris Cooper) to help the Americans in...

Amigo from award-winning writer-director John Sayles is set during the Philippine-American War in 1900. The film stars Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Garret Dillahunt, Joel Torre, Yul Vazquez, Ronnie Lazaro. The trailer below is pretty bad, it looks and feels like a TV movie and the editing is terrible. John Sayles is one of a kind; see proof below and on August 19, 2011 when the film gets a release.

When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people, especially his brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro), head of the local Filipino guerrillas. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) learns that ‘hearts and minds’ cannot be won at gunpoint. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) thwarts communications with his spiteful intrigues. Rafael is forced to make the near impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country.

You aren't going to see too many movies about the Philippine-American War, which resulted from the Spanish-American War -- it's an unpleasant piece of American history that's seldom remembered in modern classrooms, and it's certainly not much of a pop culture topic. But leave it to a film maker like John Sayles to take something like that and create something that could potentially be a remarkable and intense experience.

His newest film, Amigo, takes place in 1900 in the Philippines during the uprising, and it looks like another gorgeous, character-driven, unflinching film. The American portion of the cast is spectacular -- Chris Cooper, who was so goddamn brilliant in Sayles' Lone Star (as well as Matewan and City of Hope), plays a hard-nosed American army colonel, and it also features the outstanding Garret Dillahunt, who recently completely wrecked me in Oliver Sherman, as well as, um... DJ Qualls. Ok, sure, why not.

Amigo is the latest film from award-winning writer-director John Sayles, and is set during the Philippine-American War in 1900. It stars Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Garret Dillahunt, Joel Torre, Yul Vazquez, Ronnie Lazaro. When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people, especially his brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro), head of the local Filipino guerrillas. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) learns that 'hearts and minds' cannot be won at gunpoint. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) thwarts communications with his spiteful intrigues. Rafael is forced to make the near impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance and heart-breaking...

There aren't many directors like John Sayles. The man may have begun his career working for Roger Corman, and he has made a living doing studio rewrite gigs (many uncredited) over the years. But he has also carved out a unique career as a director of films that aren't quite like those made by anyone else. He had a great run of films from the mid-'80s to the late '90s (Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Passion Fish, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star and Men With Guns) and has made several films with the great actor Chris Cooper. Their latest is Amigo, set during the Philippine-American war. The film premiered to mixed reception at Tiff last year, and now you can see the latest trailer below. Sadly, this trailer is pretty terrilbe -- the voiceover is awful, and the way the footage is cut underscores...

After a poster debut earlier this week, the first trailer for John Sayles‘ Amigo has landed just as expected. I missed the premiere of the war story starring Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt and D.J. Qualls at Toronto International Film Festival last year, but it has been picked by Variance Films for distribution. It looks a bit like a TV movie and I haven’t heard the greatest of things, but you can see it in limited release later this summer. Check out the trailer below or at Apple in HD.

Synopsis:

Amigo, the 17th feature film from Academy Award-nominated writer-director John Sayles, stars legendary Filipino actor Joel Torre as Rafael, a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War. When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Chris Cooper) to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters.

One of the films I missed at Toronto International Film Festival last year was the world premiere of John Sayles‘ war story Amigo. Starring Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt and D.J. Qualls, I didn’t hear the greatest things about it, but considering the director’s body of work I definitely want to check it out when it hits limited release later this summer. Fandango has just premiered a beautiful first poster, which can be seen below and expect a trailer very soon.

Synopsis:

Celebrated writer and director John Sayles uses America’s occupation of the Philippines at the dawn of the 20th Century as an analogy for several more recent political and military blunders in this period drama. It’s 1900, and Rafael (Joel Torre) is the leader of a village in the Philippine countryside. Rafael is well respected by the locals for his sense of decency and fair play,...

Directed/Written by: John Sayles

Starring: Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, Yul Vázquez, Jemi Paretas and Dane DeHaan

Sayles scripts and directs this period drama set during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the last century. In the remote region of San Isidro, U.S. military forces have been assigned to protect and pacify an area with strong community ties to guerillas hiding out in the surrounding jungle. Stuck together while the powers that be hash things out, the Americans and Filipinos come to an uneasy coexistence. (Variance Films)

Read our review.

Photo courtesy Variance Films

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Directed/Written by: John Sayles

Starring: Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, Yul Vázquez, Jemi Paretas and Dane DeHaan

Sayles scripts and directs this period drama set during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the last century. In the remote region of San Isidro, U.S. military forces have been assigned to protect and pacify an area with strong community ties to guerillas hiding out in the surrounding jungle. Stuck together while the powers that be hash things out, the Americans and Filipinos come to an uneasy coexistence. (Variance Films)

Read our review.

Photo courtesy Variance Films

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“Final Destination 5″ >> << Back to Summer Movie Preview 2011 >> Search Terms Leading to This Post: shari solanis, dane dehaan...

Sneak Peek the first teaser poster supporting the upcoming Philippines-lensed feature "Amigo" (aka "Brother From Another Country") from director John Sayles.

"...An American invasion of a foreign country. A battle for hearts and minds. A pacification programme to quell an insurgency. Guerrilla warfare. Firefights. American filmmaker John Sayles winds the clock back to 1900 and the Us occupation of the Philippines in his new film, 'Amigo', finding parallels behind this event in history and current events in Iraq and Afghanistan..."

Written/directed by Sayles for producer Maggie Renzi, "Amigo" cast includes Garret Dillahunt, Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Yul Vazquez, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, Lucas Neff, James Parks, Dane DeHaan, Stephen Taylor, Bill Tangradi, Jemi Paretas and Brian Lee Franklin.

Click the images to enlarge...

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza is going international. The acclaimed director of Serbis and Kinatay has announced plans for his next feature, one based on the real life kidnapping of foreigners in the Mindanao region. Title Captured, production is slated to begin next year with French actress Isabelle Huppert joining locals Coco Martin, Ronnie Lazaro, Jhong Hilario, Ketchup Eusebio, and Ping Medina.