Director Erik Matti takes a closer look at the gritty reality of the Philippines in On the Job: The Missing 8. Inspired by true events and presented in Venice’s main competition, it shows a corrupt journalist seeking justice for his missing colleagues, as well as crime syndicates that temporarily release prison inmates to carry out political assassinations.
Originally intended for the big screen, this film and Matti’s 2013 thriller On the Job – shown at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight – have been reworked as a six-part HBO Asia Original series, which bows on Sept 12 on HBO GO in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.