Fil-Am director looks forward to collaborating with local artists

Diaz (right) with lead actress Kaede Ishizuka on the set of “Break”

Filipino-American filmmaker Anthony Diaz V, whose “Break” hits local theaters today, says he is looking forward to collaborating with Filipino artists in his next film, which will be shot here next summer.

“I haven’t decided yet where the shoot here will be exactly. It will be an action-drama movie similar to the Korean ‘Man from Nowhere.’ I don’t know a lot of Filipino stars but I’ve heard good words about Liza Soberano and my friend Alvin Anson. Maybe I can jam with them,” Diaz tells the Inquirer.

He says it’s unfortunate that he has not had the chance yet to see a lot of Filipino films, but Diaz is all praise for Erik Matti’s work in the action-drama “On the Job.”

“It’s awesome! I’ve seen some local films, but sadly, they offer the same stuff in terms of acting and storyline. The girls are always crying while the men put up this macho facade. The fathers are always the tyrant, and are very brutal. I’ve seen this 50 times in a lot of films, both local and foreign. But ‘On the Job’ showed all these different characters and the acting is very Hollywood, too,” Diaz observes.

Diaz wrote, directed, edited and starred in “Break.” It started out as a 10-minute short film called “Lunch Break” that he made when he was 17 while living in Las Vegas.

“Break” is about a young man who grew up on the ghetto side of California but is forced to live in Japan with his Japanese father after his American mother dies of cancer. “My character’s father falls into depression and he cannot take  care of him anymore. He becomes a rebel. In a place like Japan where everyone is so strict about following tradition, this young man from the ghettos is never really able to adapt. There’s a culture clash here,” Diaz explains. “People are telling my character, ‘You have to choose one over the other. Are you a Japanese or an American? You can’t be both.’ He feels alone. He tries to reach out to anyone. But in Japan, if you don’t speak their language, they simply shake their head and walk away from you.”

Diaz then recalls the challenges he had to hurdle during filming. “You can’t do guerrilla shoots in Japan. The police will turn you away. You have to plan three months in advance if you would be needing a lockdown on a busy street, for example. On that day, if it rains, or snows, or if there’s too much traffic noise, you have to decide to either just make do with what you have, or reapply and wait for another three months. It was fun but challenging. It made me a better filmmaker in terms of how to get around and use my creativity to my advantage.”

Diaz says he hopes the Filipino audience will relate to the movie despite it being shot elsewhere. “When I showed it at a private screening in Japan, I was scared that the Japanese would hate it, or that it would scare them so much because its something that they don’t often see or experience there. The reception was surprisingly way better than what I expected. I am hoping that my being a Filipino trying to show different cultures to my kababayan will resonate, especially with the younger generation,” he points out.

Diaz hopes “Break” will be chosen to compete at the next Sundance International Film Festival. “We are waiting for the announcement in December,” he says of his chance to make it to the prestigious film event. “This is my first submission, but I’ve attended the festival several times, years ago. The event is the perfect place to meet new people I can learn a lot from. Also, most film buyers and distributors attend Sundance more than any other film festival in the world. So if you are accepted into Sundance, it’s the closest to hitting a home run.”

Anthony Diaz V