How great does Martika Ramirez Escobar’s surreal, award-winning film “Leonor Must Die” sound? This first feature transports a retired screenwriter of Filipino action films into the story of one of her own unfinished scripts. The film is the official Midnight Madness closing night Film of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s already won a ton of awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
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We’ve got a first exclusive look at the trailer, and let me tell you, it looks wild, hilariously bizarre, and, yes, massively inventive. The film stars Sheila Francisco, Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, Anthony Falcon. Here’s the official synopsis, but TIFF describes it as the “gleefully offbeat comic tribute to the Filipino action movies of yesteryear,” and boy, does that seem accurate.
Leonor Reyes was once a major player in the Filipino film industry during its ragtag action cinema glory days, but now in her golden years and struggling to pay her bills. When she reads an advertisement for a screenplay contest, Leonor begins tinkering with an unfinished script about a young man avenging his brother’s murder at the hand of thugs. After a falling television knocks Leonor unconscious and sends her into a coma, she finds herself inside her incomplete movie, re-writing and editing on the fly in a fantastical bid to complete the film while her body lies in limbo.
Escobar was born in Manila in 1992; her love for the bizarre is best reflected in her films and photography. After graduating with honors from the University of the Philippines, her thesis “Stone Heart” competed at the 19th Busan International Film Festival and screened around the world. It also won Best Film at Cinemalaya. Her latest work, “Quadrilaterals,” premiered at the 9th DMZ Docs.
“Leonor Must Die” opens November 25 via Music Box Films. Check out this fantastic exclusive trailer below.
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