Another landmark win for Philippine Cinema!
Philippine cinema takes home another major award in the 78th Venice International Film Festival. John Arcilla (Heneral Luna) bags the revered Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance as Sisoy Salas in On The Job: The Missing 8.
#BiennaleCinema2021 #Venezia78 pic.twitter.com/87UPdY1ql1
— La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) September 11, 2021
The historic win follows after Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether The Weather is Fine), starring Daniel Padilla and Charo Santos-Concio, won the youth jury award at the 74th Edition of the Locarno Film Festival.
A full-manifestation moment happened to John Arcilla and his award. Hours before his big win, he posted photos of previous Venice Film Festival Best Actor winners, including Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Who knew that his name would be on the very same list in a matter of hours? Then in his recorded acceptance speech, the actor took time to speak about how the art of film brings people from different cultures and languages together, bringing a oneness worth sharing to the world.
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The year 2021 is nothing short of amazing in terms of cinema, films and art. Despite setbacks and additional delays in post-production and shooting, the industry managed to pull through to bring the excellence of Filipino people to the world. Through showing the best our talents can offer, our nation’s stories are also given a platform to unfold in front of thousands and millions of people.
Erik Matti’s newest action film had its world debut at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and received a five-minute standing ovation, which might just be a hint that this film-slash-mini-series is worth watching. The crime thriller follows Sisoy Salas (John Arcilla), a journalist who takes it upon himself to investigate the mysterious disappearances of his colleagues. The assassinations were carried out by Roman Rubio (Dennis Trillo), a temporarily freed inmate-turned-hitman explicitly hired for the jobs. The mastermind? Viewers are yet to discover. Plus, all these disappearances and murders occur leading up to a national election, making the premise and plot all the more ominous. And dare I say timely?
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For its Asia-wide release, On The Job: The Missing 8 will be turned into a mini-series. The first two episodes will feature the original 2013 film On The Job that follows Daniel (Gerald Anderson) and Mario Maghari (Joel Torre). The last four episodes will then focus the story on Sisoy Salas and his tumultuous journey. I don’t know about you, but this is at the top of my watchlist.
Stream On The Job: The Missing 8 on HBO Go.
Art Matthew Ian Fetalver
