Jun Lana releases most personal film

Filipino film About Us But Not About Us will be have its world premiere on 23 November at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which runs from 11 to 27 November in Estonia. It is part of the inaugural competition section of Critics' Picks.

Written and directed by Jun Robles Lana, About Us But Not About Us revolves around just two characters, played by Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas.

"People lie all the time. We lie to each other and we even lie to ourselves to justify our bad behavior. When people start hiding things from each other, relationships become toxic and destructive," Lana, who is known for the films Die Beautiful and Big Night, said about his latest movie in a Facebook post. "About Us But Not About Us tells the story of people wrestling with the truth, where a simple conversation turns into a deadly game that can ruin lives and shatter dreams."

According to the filmmaker, About Us But Not About Us is his most personal work yet, exemplified by the poster which features his own face.

"In the past, I always try to think of my audience every time I make a film. Not with this one. My only goal was simply to save myself. I was going through a lot and was severely depressed to the brink of suicide," he shared on a 27 October Facebook post. "Ashamed to ask for help from anyone, I turned to the one thing that has always given me comfort: Writing. For three straight days, I wrote without a break, remembering and acknowledging many traumas that stifled me much of my life, including being molested repeatedly as a child."

He described the film as both fictional and confessional and it "allowed me to expunge my demons, come to terms with my dark past, and take full control of my narrative."

In making the film, he expressed gratitude to producer Perci Intalan of The IdeaFirst Company "for his support, understanding, and bravery in allowing this story to be told."

Intalan was also his partner for 18 years. They got married in October 2013 but separated on 10 December 2021.

In his 28 October Facebook post, Intalan wrote that About Us But Not About Us "is truly an example of how brilliant he is as a writer and a director."

He also revealed that "[it]was a big feat to convince him that he should be the key image of the poster because of how personal the journey has been for him."