Erik Matti unveils black-and-white release of 'Honor Thy Father'

IT HAS BEEN TEN YEARS since Honor Thy Father — Erik Matti's best film, bar none — had been released in theaters. Echoing the film's subjects, that particular release was, in a word, messy, with MMFF opting to disqualify it from winning Best Picture that year.

Based on the real-life 'acetylene gang' in Baguio City, Honor Thy Father follows young spouses who get unceremoniously entwined in their father's Ponzi scheme. The film delivers such a tense and gripping caper, with incisive commentaries on the predacious systems around us: money, religion, and political power. A decade after its initial release, we get Matti's preferred cut of the film remastered in (seemingly) consciously grimy black and white.

Reality Multimedia has released a full trailer for the film here:

Taking to Instagram, Matti shared the film's genesis: "I wanted to pose a question: which is a more acceptable criminal? The ones who have the talent and the skill to steal? Or the ones who, in the guise of kindness, love and righteousness, steal so much more from the people who believe in them?"

Starring John Lloyd Cruz, Meryll Soriano, and Tirso Cruz III, the black and white, 10th anniversary director's cut of Honor Thy Father will be screening exclusively in SM Cinemas this September 17th.