Moro

 Brillante Mendoza helms latest film for VOD streaming

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte 

Multi-awarded filmmaker Brillante Mendoza recently screened his newest opus "Moro" for his actors at the Victoria Sports Tower Cinema. The 55-seater intimate theater format has lazy boy seating.

"The challenge, when working with big name actors, is their work schedules. Syncing all their available dates is a juggler's act.

"While shooting, we had a dialogue coach for accuracy in saying the lines, like intonation and pronunciation. This movie is based on a real story of a mother in Mindanao during the SAF 44 incident.

"Moro tells the other side of the Mamasapano story. The situation is always the truth. I opted for the streaming platform because theater reception after the MMFF festival in December is still not that good. Besides, distribution and promotion is expensive if you take into consideration the short time of the theater run," intimated the decorated filmmaker.

Born in San Fernando, Pampanga in 1960, Brillante Mendoza is one of the most famous directors in the Philippines. 

Mendoza has won awards at the Cannes, Berlinale, and Venice international film festival circuits.

He received the Golden Leopard at Locarno for his feature debut, "Masahista" (2005) and became the first Filipino director to win Best Director at Cannes with "Kinatay" (2009). In 2014, he was honored with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Letters from France.

Some of his notable works include "Ma Rosa" (2016) and "Mindanao" (2019). His "Gensan Punch" (2021) received the Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

"Moro" his latest movie is currently streaming on the Netflix platform for the Philippine and Asia-Pacific markets, opening last July 19.

"While I contemplated of screening this movie in cinemas, I opted to have it streamed on Netflix so that a lot of viewers can watch it at a very affordable price, when compared to a cinema ticket," he revealed.