ERIK MATTI

AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR

You might know Erik Matti best for directing On the Job, the gritty crime thriller about Manila prisoners who serve as hit men for powerful officials. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and has been praised worldwide for Erik’s clever storytelling and fearless approach towards a morally ambiguous theme. He’s even brokered a deal with Universal Studios to remake the film (think The Departed to Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs).

Given its warm reception in North America, Europe, and East Asia, you might also assume that On the Job is the reason Erik makes this year’s Pinoy Pride list. After all, his films feature local characters, settings, and colloquialisms, but have a strong dramatic quality that transcends national borders. “Human drama, emotions, and characters are universal,” he says. “You may be a native from the Cordilleras or a vendor in Quiapo, but if the concerns are universal—losing a kid, finding meaning in life, revenge—then it can cut through other cultures.” Though previous attempts to crossover fell flat with the comedy-horror Tiktik:

The Aswang Chronicles and adult drama Rigodon, Erik finally scored a hit with crime. “Crime is very universal,” he notes dryly.

What you might not know is that On the Job is not Erik Matti’s greatest achievement. Or so he says. The movie merely affirms that he is on the right track to possessing what artists consider the highest achievement of all: creative freedom. Freedom from the whims of producers and studios. Freedom from the daily grind or the financial pressure to provide. “I don’t have a lavish lifestyle. There’s a give and take there,” he admits of his chosen career. “But this lifestyle allows me to be the director I always wanted to be.”

Erik Matti is one of the rare directors—in this country or the next—who can conceptualize, finance, and produce a film with minimal dependence. Aside from production company Reality Entertainment, he and his partners run a lighting, editing, and effects company to support his movies. “I’m in the best time of my life working films. Everybody wants to be in a place where you work, but you don’t consider yourself [to be] working. Five years, three years ago, I would not have been able to say that.” Creative liberty as the ultimate luxury: what could be more universal than that?—BP