Isabel Sandoval , the Hollywood-based Filipino filmmaker behind the critically acclaimed “Lingua Franca,” is putting the finishing touches on her latest feature “ Moonglow ,” a romantic noir set against the backdrop of Marcos-era Philippines in 1979. The film is selected for the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum ( HAF ), the project market that operates concurrently with Hong Kong FilMart . The Filipino-language thriller follows Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide who steals money from the safe of her corrupt police chief boss, distributing it to slum dwellers whose homes were destroyed.
Unaware of her actions, the police chief assigns Dahlia to investigate the theft alongside his nephew Charlie — who happens to be Dahlia’s former lover. “I’ve always been enamored with the methodical, slow-burn thrillers of Jean-Pierre Melville,” Sandoval told Variety . “The idea of marrying those sensibilities with the lyrical camerawork and romanticism of Max Ophüls is how the film started.
” With a budget of $1.08 million, the production is currently seeking additional financing of $100,000-$150,000 to complete post-production work, including a film transfer to achieve “that grainy look befitting the period,” according to producer Alemberg Ang. “After I saw Isabel’s Cinemalaya film, ‘Apparition,’ I was a fan,” said Ang, whose credits include Chie Hayakawa’s “Plan 75” and Petersen Vargas’s “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking.
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