The Philippines has finally found its Oscar entry in Erik Matti’s “On the Job: The Missing 8”.
The news was shared by Reality MM Studios via social media, stating, ““On The Job: The Missing 8” has been selected as the Philippine entry to the Best International Feature Film category of the 95th Academy Awards.”
“The film, created by Erik Matti and Michiko Yamamoto, and executive produced by Ronald ‘Dondon’ Monteverde, premiered at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, where it received a 5-minute standing ovation,” it added.
The movie stars Dennis Trillo and John Arcilla, the latter who previously won Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for his performance as the morally-conflicted journalist Narciso “Sisoy” Salas.
“Reality MM Studios thanks the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI), the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), and The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) for this honour,” the company added.
Prior to the announcement, it was revealed that the movie has also been nominated at the International Emmy Award under the TV Movie/Mini-series category.
Back in 2020, the Philippines sent “Mindanao”, the Brillante Mendoza movie starring Judy Ann Santos. It did not send any entry for last year’s awards.
(Photo Source: Reality MM Studios Instagram)