Interview: Erik Matti – On the Job: The Missing 8

In anticipation for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, I chatted with Erik Matti, whose film On the Job: This Missing 8 is the Philippines’ official submission in consideration for the Best International Feature Category. A follow-up to his 2013 Cannes premiered On the Job, Matti divulges the lengthy process of finishing his crime saga, which took home the Best Actor Prize for John Arcilla at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. Matti speaks to the prescience of his narrative, and how the addition of media censorship to the corruption of law enforcement and governmental officials guided the film’s comprehensive perspective.
Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.
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