METRO Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2016 Best Director Erik Matti thanked the moviegoers for the overwhelming support "Seklusyon" received during the its holiday run.
In a Facebook post, Matti said he's grateful because the audience was able to appreciate his movie even without the biggest names in show business in it.
"Salamat at may nagkakagusto sa aming mga kwento kahit na sa tingin ng iba ay hindi popular ang aming mga tema at kwentong pinipili," he said.
The director said they sometimes think of pursuing other genres but the moviegoers have a way of pushing them to create more meaningful movies.
"Matapang ang pelikula namin alam nating lahat. Pero pinaniwala ako ilang dekada na walang puwang ang dark, malalim at creepy na mga pelikula sa puso ng ating manonood. Kaya natuwa ako na parang tanggap naman ng manonood yung lahat ng dilim, lalim at creep ng pelikula namin."
"Pero masaya na kami sa nakukuhang manonood para sa movie na 'to. And to think wala pa kaming Piolo (Pascual), Gerald (Anderson), Dong (Dantes) at JLC (John Lloyd Cruz) dito. Veterans moves lang ang puhunan. Jerry O'Hara at Lou Veloso lang ang poste."
Matti said the support they received in this year's MMFF gave them hope that the audience is ready for unconventional films.
In the recent MMFF Awards Night, "Seklusyon" won seven trophies including Best Director for Matti, Best Supporting Actress for Phoebe Walker, Special Jury Prize for Rhed Bustamante, Best Cinematographer, Best Sound Design, and Best Production Design.
As of this posting, the movie is still being shown in selected cinemas nationwide. (Sunnex)