Elevating Filipino narratives

US-based Filipino filmmaker Isabel Sandoval returns to her roots in the Philippines to shoot her fourth feature, “Moonglow,” starring internationally award-winning actor and neophyte Quezon City Congressman Arjo Atayde.

Sandoval, recognized for her directorial prowess in the critically acclaimed 2019 film “Lingua Franca,” as well as notable Filipino works like “Señorita” and “Aparisyon,” alongside several US-based series, is gearing up to start filming on the noir crime thriller this April.

Born and raised in Cebu before moving to the US in 2005, Sandoval brings a unique blend of Filipino storytelling and international filmmaking experience to “Moonglow,” where she will not only direct and write but also take on the role of producer, editor, and actress.

“It feels like coming home in more ways than one. I made my first two films in the Philippines before making ‘Lingua Franca’ in the US. It elevated my profile in Hollywood and the global scene,” Sandoval said in an interview with the Philippine media.

“I want to come back home with a project that’s exciting and would [serve as] an opportunity to showcase world-class Filipino talent both in front and behind the camera. And one of those talents is, of course, Arjo Atayde, who is an award-winning actor.

“So, yes, it’s nice to be back home with a project that I think presents an exciting new vision of what Filipino cinema can be internationally,” she added.

“Moonglow” follows the story of a jaded female police detective who breaks into the mansion of a corrupt police chief she works for and steals a large sum of money almost entirely accumulated from graft and corruption.

The police chief enlists his nephew Charlie, played by Atayde, to get to the bottom of the case and find out who stole the money from him.

Sandoval describes “Moonglow” as her “most ambitious and radical” film to date, pushing the boundaries of style and theme.

“In a way, it feels like your standard Philippine noir crime thriller genre film, but that’s just the premise of the film. It really blossoms into something lyrical and poetic and more like my style,” she enthused.

“As a director, after having directed three films, my style is really more of a blending of strong political themes but with a visual style and flourish that’s more lush and lyrical and poetic — think Wong Kar-wai’s ‘In the Mood for Love.’ So it’s me kind of doing a ‘Casa Blanca’ classic noir in the style of Wong Kar-wai,” she continued.

The film is also set in the 1960s and 1970s, given Sandoval’s desire to explore the era’s distinctive aesthetics and cultural milieu. It presents Filipino characters in a light rarely seen in contemporary cinema.

“I want to set it in a period like the ’60s and ’70s. One is because of how interesting, chic, and arty the production design, our direction and the fashion could be in a way I haven’t really seen in Philippine cinema in a long time — besides, of course, the classics during that time. So I want to go back to that era and show Filipino characters not just living in the slums but being stylish, chic, and fashionable,” she explained.

Sandoval furthered that she chose “Moonglow” as the film’s title because it encapsulates the mood, atmosphere, and tone she aims to evoke in the movie.

“When we think of noir, there are a lot of well-known and iconic noirs from Hollywood, like Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, Casa Blanca, and, of course, Erik Matti’s masterpieces in the Philippines — the tone is always bleak, dark, and gritty,” she conveyed.

“My film acknowledges that we are set in the milieu but gives it more hope, optimism, and romanticism. It’s really my way of looking at the world — that I don’t think of people as irredeemably evil or that reality is hopeless and utterly bleak. I find glimmers of hope, magic, romance, poetry amidst all the bleakness,” she declared.

Sandoval hopes to premiere “Moonglow” this year at the Venice Film Festival, while her agent at Creative Artists Agency is already working on securing international distribution.

Besides Atayde, “Moonglow” will also star Carlitos Siguion-Reyna and Agot Isidro.