A crime thriller spotlighting the world of Filipino esports, Friendly Fire looks to be a fresh and exciting offering from the genre filmmaker Mikhail Red.
Well, it’s looking to be a busy year for Filipino genre filmmaker Mikhail Red as another exciting project of his gets the green light this year. Friendly Fire, an esports-themed movie, is the latest addition to his already packed slate of future offerings. Starring Loisa Andalio and Coleen Garcia, Friendly Fire sees the award-winning director venturing into a fresh style and story that will appeal to the current times.
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RAGS-TO-RICHES CAREER FANTASY
Announced via a Variety press release, Friendly Fire centers on a female CEO Sonya (Garcia-Crawford) whose mission is to make Philippine esports known on the global stage. She sees the potential in Hazel, a young female gamer at a random internet café, and invests in her skills. Putting a spotlight on the fading business of local computer shops and the growing world and business of local esports, Friendly Fire is a unique addition to director Mikhail Red’s decorated body of work.
“It’s not your usual crime thriller that most of my films are,” the Deleter director shares. “It’s something fresh for me and exciting. I like to think of it as my most wholesome project, because it’s more inspirational and it’s a genre I’ve always wanted to try–the sports movie and the underdog sports story.”
Described as a “rags-to-riches career fantasy” à la a classic boxing story, Friendly Fire also packs a socio-political layer to it that comments on the problems that plague the Philippine esports. Mikhail Red explains that the film will tackle issues including the stigma attached to local gaming and the lack of support and resources, as well as technical difficulties like unstable and weak internet connection, that esports athletes face.
Friendly Fire will be backed by local production company Ten17p, which also produced Mikhail Red’s Arisaka. It also marks the director’s last batch of few projects (including the Dreamwalker series) before he delves into his creative director duties at the recently launched Evolve Studios, a collaboration venture with VIVA Films. He’s currently part of the international jury of the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France, where a Filipino cinema sidebar is also happening.
Mikhail Red will also start the production of his Nadine Lustre-led horror Nokturno later at the end of 2023. Meanwhile, last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival winner Deleter is coming to streaming via the Prime Video PH on March 16.
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