RAHYAN CARLOS has been busy these past couple of years giving acting workshops at Star Magic, but now, he returns to being a film director in “The Diary of Mrs. Winters”.
This is a drama-thriller starring Judy Ann Santos and Sam Milby, written by National Artist Ricky Lee.
The movie is produced by Rechelle Everden and Chalen Lazerna of Artist Movement Productions (AMP) of Canada and Rahyan’s own company, Happy Karga Films.
This is Rahyan’s second collaboration with Ricky Lee after “Ringgo, The Dog Shooter”, which starred Janice de Belen and Sandino Martin and won acting awards for both of them.
It also won the second best picture prize at the World Premieres Filmfest in 2016.
Rahyan is a seasoned horror film director. He has previously written “Regal Shocker” and “Third Eye” horror series on TV.
He also wrote and directed the film “Pamahiin” for Regal Starring Dennis Trillo and Marian Rivera, and one episode in “Shake, Rattle and Roll 8”.
“The Diary of Mrs. Winters” is set mainly in Canada and they’re shooting it in Toronto from mid-February to March.
Judy Ann plays Charity, a Pinay overseas worker who is separated from her philandering husband and has one teenage son.
She works as a bio-forensic cleaner and her life becomes complicated when she finds the diary of an old woman named Mrs. Winters, who has committed suicide.
She and her family soon experience a series of misfortunes and this is because Mrs. Winters is haunting her as the dead woman’s diary has a curse on it.
It becomes Judy Ann’s task to defend her loved ones from some malevolent forces that try to mess up their lives and she is assisted by her ex-boyfriend, Sam Milby as Victor.
“To say that this is a dream project is an understatement,” says Direk Rahyan.
“Not only because of the fact that I reunite with Ricky Lee in our second collaboration, but also because we are working with Judy Ann and Sam who are are both artists of world-class caliber.”
“The DIary of Mrs. Winters” is also the first full-length Filipino film to be shot amidst the panoramic beauty of Ontario in Canada.
“We have already chosen the beautiful locations there where we will shoot the movie and we promise to make it a memorable viewing experience for our audiences here and abroad,” adds Direk Rahyan.
What are the most memorable horror movies he has seen so far?
“Sa local films, Mike de Leon’s ‘Kisapmata’ is not about the supernatural but I consider it an effective horror film.
"I also enjoyed the ‘Aswang’ episode of Direk Peque Gallaga in ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’.
"From abroad, I also love Asian horror and from Hollywood, I like ‘The Shining’ by Kubrick and ‘The Changeling’ with George C. Scott.”
Direk Rahyan has assembled a good supporting cast for Juday and Sam in “The Diary of Mrs. Winters”.
Playing Juday’s older sister is TV-host actress Issa Litton, Liza Dino’s as the other woman of Juday’s ex-husband, Lui Manansala as a Pinay psychic who will help Juday.
Then there's Guji Lorenzana as Juday’s estranged husband, Rechelle Everden as Juday’s best friend in Canada, Randy Torres of Los Angeles as Sam’s best friend, Robbie Walche as Juday’s son, plus some Caucasian actors in Canada to play equally important roles in the story, including that of Mrs. Winter.
They intend to release it on the 3rd quarter of the year but first, they will send it to various international film festivals for exhibition.