What’s next for Mikhail Red after MMFF Best Picture Deleter?

MANILA, Philippines — Mikhail Red harbored zero expectations over his movie Deleter sweeping awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Gabi ng Parangal.

The 31-year-old director’s expectation or perhaps wish for his techno-thriller was for it to “travel” after the annual filmfest. That’s what he told The Philippine STAR even before Deleter became not just the dominant award winner, but also one of the box-office frontrunners, if it isn’t the top earner yet.

“Yung expectations ko naman ever since, whenever I make a film, gusto rin naman namin na for export in a way. We also want to reach a global audience with the stuff that I make, yung very Filipino yung story and yet it resonates with the global audience. And we try to put in minsan sa international streaming (platforms) or a film festival,” he said in an exclusive chat with The STAR.

“So may ganun pa rin kaming plan for Deleter. I want it to travel. For me starting point pa lang ito, this MMFF, and I hope maganda ang reception dito para tuloy-tuloy.”

Mikhail also shared the opinion that the current edition of the MMFF is being viewed as a gauge of audience behavior and attitude towards local theatrical screenings after the pandemic dramatically changed movie-viewing habits.

“Ngayon (we have) higher hopes and anticipation. Parang ito na ba yung back to normal?” he said.

“(I agree) all eyes are on this edition and I hope ma-maintain yung theatrical experience and ma-sustain. Even if nag-shu-shoot na tayo for streaming, I think special yung MMFF because let’s say an average audience na siempre kung di ka naman talaga film buff, you wouldn’t watch a movie every week. Magtitipid ka and you’d probably save it for this time, for this season.

“If you were to go out with your family and watch the movie, siguro nga yung best time ay ito and pag-ipunan talaga and may anticipation for this. Different kinds of audiences and social classes go out to see a movie in MMFF. And if you were to release a film, ito siguro ang best time and we’re lucky in that sense.”

Topbilled by Nadine Lustre, Deleter explores the horrors in the “shadowy” and “secretive” world of content moderators. They are the people in charge of taking down abusive and harmful content or, as the director put it, the first line of defense online who is responsible for “filtering all the filth of society” before it reaches the general public.

Asked which part of the filming process did he find most difficult, he said, “Since marami siyang videos, it’s multi-format, iba-iba yung medium namin, like di ba may CCTV cameras, cellphones, camcorders and then meron kang main story camera, so, yung texture, noise and visuals iba-iba. Kahit yung aspect ratio (is different). Perhaps, it’s similar to my very first movie Rekorder (the 2013 crime thriller).

“Besides the multiple formats, first time ko bumalik sa one camera so there’s a certain discipline yung visual language mo, na ‘pag one camera, hindi ka pwedeng coverage, na multi-cam na pang multi-dialogue and multi-characters.

“The shots were very precise and intentional. Para kang nag-pe-paint or gumagawa ng graphic novel, storytelling through different shots, so, it was challenging and we had to be more efficient. And coming from my last film Arisaka (available on Netflix), which was outdoor, parang western na parang survival versus the terrain and elements, ito naman claustrophobic, office setting.

“And if in Arisaka, yung kalaban mo dun is nature, ito naman mas technology and modernity. So medyo may transition kami getting used to it and learning the shooting style and language of this type of film, which is very interior and internal…mas mental space ng tao.”

Deleter stars Nadine Lustre, who won MMFF Best Actress for her portrayal as a content moderator.

The filmmaker also behind such films as Dead Kids, Eerie and Birdshot likes trying new things in every project of his. “Ayokong nasa comfort zone lang. It’s not like, ‘Uy yung movie na ‘to  worked for me, so I’ll keep doing version of this.’ Hindi ako ganun eh. It’s more of nag-e-enjoy ako sa challenge and excitement na iba ito, yung iba naman,” he explained.

“Maybe one day, (it’s) sci-fi or let’s make a movie na puro green screen or gawa tayo ng (film about a) robot, I want to try it. Or de-aging, which is being done by other countries, I want to try that. Anyway, I’m the type of filmmaker na mahilig sa process also. I want something new in the process to motivate myself. (It should be) exciting, para siyang playground for me.”

By doing something novel, he believes it’s going to attract studios and talents to collaborate. “But it’s not always perfect. Ang challenging gumawa ng movies in developing countries, na medyo modest budgets natin and feasible dapat, and then you get compared sometimes to Hollywood. But I think the important thing is the process, you can see it on set. You get excited to shoot or report for the next shooting day because you’re not doing the usual,” he said.

What’s next for Mikhail after Deleter? He hinted at something new, genre-wise and thematically, in his forthcoming projects, which include an HBO mini-series.

“My next project is ma-sports movie type, yung may tournament sa finale. I haven’t seen a lot of those here, so I want to try that,” he said.

Another is a sci-fi film to be co-produced with Japan. “We have stars attached already to that project and we are not allowed to announce them yet,” he said, adding, “may mga projects ako na international route ang financing. And it takes longer because sinasali mo sa mga project markets, grants… so iba siya sa mga studio-produced na faster yung process.”

“So, we’re developing and grooming that, ongoing pa rin siya. In fact, may kakatapos palang na isa pang draft with Dodo Dayao, who’s also our writer and director working on that with Canadian and Japanese producers. Sana matuloy na yun kasi we’re also waiting for Japan to open up.”

Owing to his experience with Deleter, Mikhail is also happy to be doing two more films with Viva. “Very pleasant yung first collaboration with them. OK sila creatively. Nagulat din ako that they let us do our thing. Deleter is an R-rated movie with elements that are quite shocking but they also gave their best talents (to this film). Very grateful and very lucky to have that opportunity.”

The annual MMFF, which has made its full theatrical return in the latest edition, is ongoing until Jan. 7.