GLAIZA DE CASTRO and Jasmine Curtis Smith are together for the first time in the movie “Midnight in a Perfect World”, an entry in the recent QCinema International Filmfest that gained critical acclaim as a horror film that is loaded with some political undertones about the government’s current war on drugs.
This is a futuristic movie set in a distant time when Manila already has a world class mass transport and drainage system, but where constant blackouts happen nightly.
The government has become authoritarian and imposes strict punishments against people who defy its laws. But still, there is prevalent drug trafficking. Those who are hunted by the cops can go to safe houses where they can hide.
The story centers on four people, two women and two men, who meet when another friend of theirs disappeared mysteriously. Jasmine Curtis Smith is the brainy but cautious Mimi.
Glaiza de Castro is Jinka, very brave but can also be impulsive. Anthony Falcon is Glenn, who is the silent water runs deep type.
Dino Pastrano is Tonichi, the very suspicious and jumpy one. Eventually, they will discover what is the secret that lurks behind the sinister darkness of the blackouts.
Supporting them are Bing Pimentel as a mysterious lady in the safe houses, Soliman Cruz as Jasmine’s stepdad, Dolly De Leon as Dino’s mother and Charles Salazar as the drug dealer named Kendrick.
The movie is directed by Dodo Dayao, who earlier helmed the Cinema One best picture winner in 2014, “Violator”, which is also a political horror flick.
Produced by Globe Studios and Epic Media Productions, “Midnight in a Perfect World” will be available via streaming on Upstream starting January 29.
We ask Glaiza: how does it feel to be part of a movie that will be shown via streaming?
“Well, one thing I really miss is going to the cinemas and watching movies on a big screen,” says Glaiza. “Also attending film festivals and seeing other people talk later about the movies they’ve just watched.
"But we’re in the new normal where safety is of primary importance, so there is great solace in watching a movie right within the comforts of your own home.”
Glaiza just returned from Ireland, still suffering from jetlag, when she attended the movie’s zoom presscon last Monday night. She spent the Christmas holidays there with her fiancee David Rainey and his family.
They just had their engagement or pre-nup pictorial taken by a friend of David. So she’s dead sure he’s the right man for her?
“When I went there, I didn’t know he already planned his proposal along with his sisters,” she says. “On my third day, doon siya nag-propose.
"There was a time that I doubted him, but the Lord always shows me David is the guy na ibinigay Niya sa akiin. Through David, I felt yung blessing, yung love ni Lord sa akin. Through David, He made me feel how special I am to Him.”
So are they planning to wed soon? “We’re not in a hurry to get married. We have to consider first kung paano magtatagpo ang pamilya niya from Ireland and yung pamilya ko na nandito, what with the pandemic going on. But hopefully, with the vaccine, baka magkaroon na ng linaw ang problema about traveling.”
Glaiza will soon be busy as she starts taping for a new soap on GMA-7, “Nagbabagang Luha”, a remake of a 1989 Lorna Tolentino movie and this will be directed by Ricky Davao. So their wedding might have to wait until this show has finished its entire lock in taping.
Meantime, watch her in "Midnight in a Perfect World", the top-selling film of QCinema International Film Festival 2020. You can now book "Midnight in A Perfect World" in advance on Upstream.ph bit.ly/midnightinaperfectworld.
