Erik Matti‘s upcoming film ON THE JOB: The Missing 8 will have its world premiere at the main competition of the Venice International Film Festival. And will have an Asia-wide release as part of a six-episode series this September 12 as an HBO Asia Original series on HBO Go. Reality Entertainment drops the trailer of the film earlier today.
On the Job: The Missing 8 is Matti’s sequel to his acclaimed film On the Job that premiered at the Director’s Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.
The upcoming sequel is inspired by true events. It tells 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 a 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 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.
Director’s Statement by Erik Matti:
“This film is an ensemble piece that attempts to explore, through the disappearance of eight people, the reality in the Philippines that is never shown on the news. Politicians as gangsters. Journalists as paid hacks. Prisoners as assassins. This ensemble of crazy characters intersects to represent a deep-seated culture of impunity and non-accountability in a country like the Philippines. It may seem paradoxical that I find the criminal mind extremely fascinating but also something to loath in disgust. But I am never judgmental. I am interested in understanding what makes them think, to see the human side of them, not to glorify them but to really see how they became who they are.”
Academy award-winning director Bong Joon Ho was appointed president of the jury for the Venezia 78 Competition along with Chloé Zhao, the director of 2021 Oscar-Winning Best Picture “Nomadland“.
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