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US-based Filipino director Isabel Sandoval returns to the Philippines to shoot her fourth film titled Moonglow.

To be produced by Nathan Studios, Moonglow is written by Isabel, who will also act and direct the film.

“I want to come back home with the project that's exciting and that would be an opportunity to showcase, you know, world-class Filipino talent both in front and behind the camera.

“I wrote it, I'm directing it, and acting as well. And I'm cutting the film as well,” she told select entertainment media, including GMANetwork.com, in an interview held recently at the head office of Quezon City representative Arjo Atayde, who will be its lead actor.

Isabelle is known for her films such as Señorita (2011), which competed in the 64th Annual Festival del Film Locarno; Aparisyon (2012), which was nominated for Best Film in Cinemalaya; and Lingua Franca (2019), which won awards in several international film festivals.

For her fourth feature, Isabelle will offer a noir crime thriller.

"Moonglow is about a jaded female police detective who breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief that she works for. And steal a large sum of money that he accumulated from graft and corruption.

“And so the police chief enlists his nephew, who is played by Arjo, to get to the bottom of the case to find out who stole money from her.

“In a way, it feels like your standard Philippine noir crime-thriller,” she briefly described.

She also mentioned about the title, “Moonglow because I think it's really evocative of the moon and the atmosphere and the tone that I want to create and capture in the film.”

The film will also showcase Isabelle's style of writing and directing.

“You know, as a director, after having directed three films, my style is really more of a marriage of blending of strong political themes, with a visual style and flourish, that's more lush and lyrical and poetic in poetic, you know, think of… if you're familiar with the work of Wong Kar-Wai, for instance, In the Mood For Love. So, it's my kind of doing like a Casablanca, a classic noir from the '40s.

“I'm really, really excited to do it because Moonglow as my fourth film that I work on really represents my most ambitious, my most radical film in terms of style and theme,” she said.

On wearing multiple hats

Aside from her style in directing, Isabel is also known for doing multiple jobs when she's doing a film.

In Moonglow, for example, she's not only directing the movie, but she's also acting on it and then, editing it for the final cut.

“I think of it as one less person to direct,” Isabelle answered with a smile when asked about it.

“At the end of the day, I know exactly what I want out of myself performance-wise, you know, and I can just focus on the other actors. And, for me, the performance of the lead suspect to the protagonists in the film is very, very crucial to creating and maintaining the tone, the emotional tone of the film.

When asked which she prefers between working behind or in front of the camera, the director-actor replied, “My favorite, you know, role is as an editor because I feel like I'm the god of the film essentially. You know, cut out certain shots, certain takes of this actor.

“I mean, also myself, I have had an argument with my cinematographer for Lingua Franca, who's also sitting there, shooting Moonglow, because we shot some scenes that were gorgeous and then, found myself in a position of telling my cinematographer like, 'Okay, I know that this looks amazing, but it doesn't work in the edit of the film.' So, we had to essentially get rid of some really seductive images to be able to cut the film into a story that works.

As she continued, Isabel described how she works as a director and an editor.

“I think maybe I have multiple personalities,” she said in jest.

“Yeah, just because I feel like I have the capacity to really step back and be objective and detached. It's like when I started the journey of making a film, production or shooting it or editing, in a way I feel like I'm under a spell or I'm possessed. And that I'm really just focused on that one thing, especially in production I can really take off my director hat, my actor hat, my editor had, and be ruthless. If like the same doesn't normally work, so that's gonna go out, and that has resulted in my films like Aparisyon and Lingua Franca being less than 90 minutes long. I can be very, very ruthless and unforgiving with my own films.

“I think that may be ironic because I say that I have a very clear sense of my vision. But when you're shooting a film, you'll also begin to realize, especially when you're acting or you're directing performances whether a certain performance works or doesn't or whether a scene plays exactly as you would imagine.”

Isabelle and her team start filming Moonglow on April 9 and target to finish by the second week of May because “we are hoping to premiere the film this fall at the Venice Film Festival on May last week.”

Aside from Moonglow, the US-based director hopes to continue showcasing Filipino talents abroad in her future projects.

“It's not just about the project, but also what we want to accomplish, you know, for Philippine talent, especially abroad and they feel like there has been a kind of Renaissance and a resurgence of interest in Philippine cinema,” she said.

Isabelle also noted in the end, “I want to be able to continue to show what we're capable of as Filipino talents. The only thing that we really lack are opportunities to be able to keep the door open for more people like our job.”

Meanwhile here are other Filipinos who earned recognitions abroad recently: