Spotlight: Southeast Asian Shorts
In this edition of SPOTLIGHT, the festival features a carefully curated selection of Southeast Asian short films.
Thriller, Crime | 3 hr 28 min | 2021 | Philippines
Language: Filipino
Subtitles: English
Inspired by true events, the film chronicles the story of Sisoy Salas, a corrupt journalist seeking justice for his colleagues, and convict Roman Rubio, a hired gun who is regularly brought out of prison to perform assassinations. Sisoy has always been staunch defender of the government and the popular local mayor Pedring Eusebio. But when his colleagues from the local newspaper—including his long-time friend Arnel Pangan and his innocent son—go missing, Sisoy is forced to rethink his allegiances and confront his own political beliefs. Meanwhile, the prisoner and occasional assassin Roman gets sentenced to life imprisonment for a crime that he did not commit. Unwilling to spend the rest of his life as a hired killer, Roman begins plotting to take back his freedom by any means possible. Battling against dirty bureaucracy and a surge of fake news manufactured against the victims, Sisoy persistently investigates about the fate of the Missing 8. Slowly, he inches closer to the truth, earning him the ire of Mayor Eusebio and his powerful political machinery. Sisoy and Roman’s paths are set on a deadly collision course when Sisoy becomes Roman’s next target.
Erik Matti was born on 21 December 1970 in Bacolod, Western Visayas, Philippines. He is a director and producer, known for On the Job (2013), BuyBust (2018) and On the Job 2: The Missing 8 (2021).
In this edition of SPOTLIGHT, the festival features a carefully curated selection of Southeast Asian short films.
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