The 40-year old Direk Richard is based in Bacolod and trained with Peque Gallaga as production designer and art director. His first acclaimed work as a director was “Yanggaw” (about vampires) that won many awards in Cinema One Filmfest in 2008. He also directed the acclaimed “Lihim ng San Joaquin” episode of “Shake Rattle & Roll 2k5” with Mark Anthony Fernandez and the historical drama “Ang Supremo” about Andres Bonifacio that gave Alfred Vargas a couple of best actor awards in 2012.
“Cry No Fear” is his first project with Viva. “I pitched the script sa Viva and they liked it as a horror movie but not about the supernatural kundi something that can happen to any family in real life,” he says. “They told me, ‘May mga artista kaming bagay sa lead roles dito’, then they showed me the pictures of Ella and Donnalyn sa catalogue. Eventually, I met them and I got excited dahil bagay sila sa roles in my script kasi they look so vulnerable. Na-feel ko agad ang energy nila and enthusiasm to do the movie. I told them it will be very demanding and strenuous kasi we will be shooting in seven days of rain, and okay raw sa kanila. So nag-workshop kami and I was amazed that they’re like fire and ice so magka-match sila.”Why is the title “Cry No Fear”? “Bagay kasi millennial ang sound at dating, di ba? Also, their characters look so fragile but eventually, they have to brave, stand up and fight their tormentors. You don’t just cry na lang, but you have to step up. And I was really surprised sa passion nina Ella and Donnalyn dito, even with the nuances they showed as actresses.”
“Cry No Fear” opens in theaters on June 20. After this, Direk Richard’s next movie is an action-thriller, “We Will Not Die Tonight”, with Erich Gonzales who underwent rigid stunt training to do her own dangerous stunts in various fight scenes with Alex Vincent Medina and Paolo Paraiso.
