(From left) John Arcilla, Erik Matti. Images: Instagram/@johnarcilla, Instagram/@erikmatti
Erik Matti has accused John Arcilla of “gaslighting” after the actor earlier shared a compilation of himself acknowledging the director’s film “On the Job: The Missing 8” on social media, while the actor said that the issue is a “result of misunderstanding.”
On February 25, Matti called out the “Dirty Linen” star and Star Magic’s failure to acknowledge the 2021 crime thriller film in their Instagram posts after the Senate hailed Arcilla’s Volpi Cup award at the Venice Film Festival in 2021.
The actor uploaded a compilation of his award speeches thanking the director and the film’s producer Dondon Monteverde in response, saying that he remained “grateful for two years now and I still am.”
However, the filmmaker said Arcilla’s alleged private messages and “constant posts” made him feel like he overreacted to his “deliberate remiss” on Instagram on Thursday, March 2.
“Please stop gaslighting me in your private messages making me feel like I overreacted on your deliberate remiss to mention our film ‘On The Job: The Missing 8’ that gave you the Volpi Cup in the Venice Film Festival.
“Your constant posts mentioning me in gratitude for the award over and over again already feels like a sarcastic insulting mention (even if you probably mean it by heart), as if my issue is that I needed you to recognize and thank me in your posts, which is not really the whole point of why I called you out. I don’t need you to thank me. Stop patronizing me,” the director said.
Matti then said that the actor’s performance as Sisoy Salas in the 2021 crime thriller film is his, as he described the latter’s compilation posts as a form of “damage control.” He added that his “bastos” remark is a reminder that a “team of hardworking staff and crew” made the film’s recognition possible.
“Your Volpi Cup is not just about you and your talent. That in a lousy movie without the blood sweat and tears of talented and skilled filmmakers, John Arcillla’s performance will not be recognized. I hope that with this, you start to realize that anything we get out of the movies we make, no matter how talented we are, is really not just about us but because of the hard work of everyone involved in the making of it,” he added.
The director also hoped that this would be the last time that the issue would be brought out into the public, saying, “You are not the film. I am [not in the] film. A film is the sum of everyone working on it, not just you and me.”
‘Result of misunderstanding’
Hours after Matti’s post, Arcilla clarified on his personal Instagram account that since his earlier post was referring to the Senate Resolution, he wanted to thank the senators who authored the resolution.
“It was not a speech. It was a post. The film was mentioned in the Senate, televised. Then it was on the news that night. So it is [already common] knowledge that the Volpi cup is On the Job the Missing 8, Erik Matti and me, and long before even the Senate Resolution was made since it is already common knowledge,” he said. “The first post is to thank the authors of the resolution. The honorable senators.”
The “Heneral Luna” star noted that he apologized for not acknowledging Matti on his Instagram posts, and explained that his posts thanking the production team of “On The Job: The Missing 8” were meant to be shared within “three days.”
“I apologized to you at once @erikmatti on my text personally. I even said ‘mea culpa’ even if the plan was to have a three day installation of posts, that could easily be mistaken as an alibi now. The second day will be thanking the gift givers. And [the] third day is to post the RESOLUTION itself and that means we and the film are all mentioned in the Resolution and definitely everything will be [in the] caption,” he explained.
The actor also explained that his compilation video and follow-up post are his ways of expressing his gratitude to Matti, and that the issue is “totally unintentional” and a “result of misunderstanding.”
“The pictures of friendship are for you and our colleagues to realize we have a good relationship, [we are] not even enemies and we can actually talk about things like friends, colleagues or at least a team because [that’s] how I see us. Why are we exchanging words on social media,” he said.
“The repost of speeches is to remind you Direk and everyone that I never failed to recognize the Film which means the issue about the post is totally UNINTENTIONAL and a result of misunderstanding,” Arcilla further added.
To end his post, Arcilla apologized to Matti once again in hopes of building their “valuable” friendship after the online debacle. He also added that none of the posts were his “intention”, noting that he also personally said sorry behind the scenes.
“I apologize once again. And yes, I am not the Film and You are not the Film. It is not even the producers, the crew or the production staff per se, we do it to live literally and purposely to dream for a better life. We create films and we tell stories to make this world a friendlier and a better place even if [it’s] too IDEAL, we still wish it to be, where friendships and forgiveness are more valuable than anything, unless someone [committed] a crime or a mortal sin,” he said.
Arcilla bagged the Best Actor award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September 2021 for his portrayal of Sisoy Salas in the Erik Matti-helmed film. He is the first Southeast Asian artist to receive the coveted award.
Years later, Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid introduced Senate Resolution 490 to commend the veteran actor for the notable achievement. Actors-turned-senators, including Robin Padilla, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Jinggoy Estrada also expressed their support for the resolution. EDV