He then made a name for himself doing the acclaimed indie film about internet scammers for Cinemalaya, “Babagwa”, in 2013, and in 2014, the best picture winner, “Magkakabaung”. The latter won for him a couple of best director awards and for title-roler Allen Dizon, a total of nine best actor awards, both here and abroad.
But he’s not leaving his indie roots. He has just finished shooting the comedy, “Ang Taba Ko Kasi”, starring real heavyweights Cai Cortez and Ryan Yllana, with Mark Neumann, to be shown as part of Cine Filipino Filmfest next month. He’s also doing two more indie films, “Mercury Rising” with Pokwang and Bret Jackson, and “Nuclear Family” which has yet to be cast, about an aging woman and her affairs with younger men.
So how was it directing Derek, Solenn, Kean and Kiray? “They’re all cooperative. Derek asks a lot of questions, which is good, kasi challenge for him to do a comedic character. Pero nakaya naman niya. He doesn’t mind making fun of himself. Solenn plays dual roles, the real character and the imaginary one and she did great in both of them. Si Kiray, what you see in the movie, siya yun. Game siya kasi first time niya mag-bathing suit on screen and to do kissing scenes, with both Derek and Kean. I really enjoyed doing the movie with all of them.”
