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Isa na namang karangalan ang hatid ng award-winning director na si Erik Matti matapos magwagi sa second edition ng script incubator na Seriesmakers.

Ito ay isang mentoring program ng Series Mania, kung saan iniimbitahan ang full length feature filmmakers na naging bahagi na ng mga prestihiyosong film festivals tulad ng sa Cannes, Venice, at Toronto.

Si Direk Erik ay kabilang sa 10 directors na naimbitahan para mag-pitch ng istoryang gagawing series sa pamamagitan ng isang deck. Katuwang ang kanyang kaibigang producer at business partner na si Dondon Monteverde, isinumite ng kilalang direktor ang istorya ng The Squatter noong noong January 2023.

Matapos ang mahigit isang taon, nagulat si Direk Erik na isa ang The Squatter sa tatlong top prize winners sa the Seriesmakers, na iginawad sa kanya sa 2024 Series Mania International Festival in Lille, France, noong nakaraang March. Kaugnay nito, makakatanggap si Direk Erik ng grant na nagkakahalaga ng 50,000 euros para i-develop ang The Squatter.

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Sa isang online interview kamakailan, bahagyang inilarawan ni Direk Erik ng The Squatter, na isang eight-part crime series.

Sa panimula, aniya, “There's a dead body that is found in a rural town in London. Simultaneous na may lumabas doon na patay, na nahanap ng Ukranian detective, a Filipina immigrant also arrives in London and is looking for a job.

“Yun yung dalawang kuwento na nagsimula--yung Ukranian detective is investigating the crime that happened to a British old man; and eventually, he discovers that the old man is married to a Filipina pala before.”

Ayon kay Direk Dondon, isa sa challenges na naranasan nila habang binubuo ang kuwento ng The Squatter ay ang pagre-research sa lifestyle na mga tao sa magiging setting ng series sa London.

Ito raw ang napili nila dahil, “Inisip namin na rather than setting it in here in the Philippines, why not set it in another country like, London, where a Filipino story could happen.”

Dagdag pa niya, “We ended up in London because gusto lang namin mag-hint ng homage to crime series. Di ba, ang BBC ang dami nilang crime stories na ginagawa? Our story is also a crime story. So it would be nice to bring that kind of influence, the British crime stories, into our story.”

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Kilala na si Direk Erik sa mga crime story sa pamamagitan ng kanyang mga nakarang pelikula tulad ng OTJ (On The Job) (2013), Buy Bust (2018), at On the Job: The Missing 8 (2021).

May pagkakaiba daw ang The Squatter sa mga ito dahil, aniya, “It has weirder tone to it. Di ba, yung crime stories usually tungkol siya sa mga evidence, finding proof, medyo kailangan investigative. With this one, minix namin yung pagka-Pinoy natin. There's an angle to the story that doesn't look like what it seems. Medyo may angle siya na feeling mo may supernatural na nangyayari pero actually wala.

“Parang subversive lang siya sa genre. Ang genre na 'yan may pulis, may interview, pagbalik sa opisina, ililista na yung mga na-prove niya sa sarili niya. We wanted to change that up a bit by giving it a sort of supernatural angle, making the story more refreshed.”

Pag-alala pa ni Direk Erik, “Sa pitch deck nga namin, sinabi namin na it's a good mash-up of European sensibility and Filipino sensibility together. Europeans tend to be quiet, contemplative, reflective yung mga scenes. Ang Pinoy, maingay and magulo. To put that all together in one show makes it a little more exciting.”

Sa ngayon, uumpisahan pa lamang ng grupo nina Direk Erik at Dondon ang pagbuo ng The Squatter.

“We're still going to develop it. After developing it, we'll come up with a package on who's gonna be part of it, who's gonna produce it or finance it. That's gonna be coming from the Beta group, the one that gave the grant and from there, we're gonna start pre-producing it. Maiksi na siguro yung one year,” pagtatapos ni Direk Erik.

Samantala, narito ang ilang pang showbiz personalities na umani ng papuri abroad: