BACK to work agad ang tinanghal na best director sa katatapos na Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2022 Gabi ng Parangal na si Mikhail Red ng Viva Films entry na Deleter.

Matapos ang tinatawag na “awards night high,” balak panoorin ni Direk Mikhail ang iba pang entries sa taunang pestibal.

“Back to work pa rin ako, eh, like checking ‘yung progress namin sa cinemas, reporting piracy links, ganu’n. Puro ‘yun ‘yung ginagawa ko recently,” aniya sa pocket interview sa Botejyu Vertis North kahapon.

Sa regular na pagtse-check umano ng direktor, may mangilan-ngilan siyang natitisod na parang clickbaity links.

“So parang lagi lang akong checking, ano ‘yung status and progress, number of cinemas, ano ‘yung mga sold out and talking to (Viva) marketing, coming up with ideas to help sustain and I’m supposed to watch a couple of films kasi I just got the MMFF pass. I can’t wait to see the other entries,” patuloy niya.

Gaya ng lead star niyang si Nadine Lustre, na nagwagi namang best actress for Deleter, hindi rin in-expect ni Direk Mikhail na mapapasama sila sa walong official entries at lalong hindi niya in-expect na maghahakot sila ng awards.

Maging ang ranking sa takilya, ikina-shock ng direktor. Sanay daw siyang makarinig ng MMFF horror entry na nasa third or fourth spot, pero ang maging second and climbing, nakakagulat.

Aniya sa mistulang revenge viewing ng Pinoy moviegoers, “Normally you see a plateau or decline, pero sa amin, parang steep pa nga, eh, ‘yung climb. In less than one day, nag-plus 50 cinemas pa nga, eh. So, I’m still processing…

“Ako nga, like ‘yung mga early buzz, I really heard na very good films ‘yung ano, eh, Nanahimik…, ‘yung Family Matters. In fact, ‘yun ang isa sa una kong pinanood, Nanahimik…, kasi very similar ‘yung genre. My type of film, ‘di ba? And kilala ko ‘yung actors, sina Ian (Veneracion) and Mon (Confiado), naka-work ko na and si Direk Shugo (Praico), genre rin ‘yung specialty, so, being a filmmaker myself, parang ‘yun ‘yung isa sa mga una kong chineck out. Tapos ang ganda, nagustuhan ko rin ‘yung film.”

In full force silang dumalo sa Gabi ng Parangal dahil alam nila na very technical ang pelikula’t challenging gawin dahil sa makabagong atake.

“So parang ‘yung team namin, talagang pumunta ‘yung technical team, my brother (Nikolas Red), the editor, ‘yung sound and ano, so, we were really happy nu’ng start ng awards nu’ng we were getting that. So unexpected na lang ‘yung more major awards like film, director, siyempre, very happy for Nadine, ‘no.

“Early on there were buzz about her performance kasi very challenging, ‘no, parang taxing ‘yung role and hindi siya ‘yung typical siguro na parang high drama na ini-expect ng Filipinos when you say parang best actress, ‘no, parang usually hagulgol, sigaw.

“Ito kasi parang ito rin ‘yung risk and challenge, eh, na I explained to her na ‘yung challenge rito is very numb ‘yung character mo (bilang Lyra, isang content moderator). Very apathetic, kasi ‘yun ‘yung point na to be able to handle the job dapat ano, sanay ka na makakita ng horrors and everything is just leaking out of you through mannerisms or eyes, ‘no? So, ibang attack, and I’m very happy na na-appreciate ng jurors and ng audience ‘yung ganu’n naman na style ng acting na hindi mataas. So ‘yun, parang siguro ‘yun din ‘yung difference niya from maybe the other nominees na parang hindi sila comparable kasi ibang styles, parang ganu’n. So very happy na na-appreciate ‘yung mas parang ganu’n na restrained, very modern na take namin, in toned sa character,” mahabang kwento ng award-winning director.

Sobrang in synch daw sila ni Nadine na aniya ay isang “very technical actress.” Naiintindihan daw ng aktres ang mga gusto’t kailangan ni Direk Mikhail at napaka-cooperative at involved nito sa shoot.

“Ganu’n siya kagaling. People must understand na wala siyang kabatuhan na actor, she was just looking at a screen na ilaw lang ‘yon. Actually, ‘yung monitor patay, eh, may lights lang kami na LED,” papuri pa ng direktor kay Nadine, na nagbigay ng authentic reactions at emotion sa bawat eksena base lamang sa kanyang vivid imagination.

“When you do drama or rom com, feeding off the energy lang ng co-actor, chemistry. But si Nadine, nakatingin siya sa rig,” dagdag pa niya.

Marunong umanong pumili ng proyekto ang aktres, may taste at kahit sa labas ng industriya, may reputasyon na classy at glossy.

Kwento ni Direk Mikhail, “She’s very soft spoken on set. She’s there to work, hindi diva, walang kaarte-arte.”