Njel de Mesa’s MALDITAS IN MALDIVES wins BEST PICTURE at the 'WuWei Taipei International Film Festival'

DIRECTOR Njel de Mesa made the Philippines proud again—with yet another award in the international scene, this time in Taipei, Taiwan. 

His full-length film, “Malditas in Maldives” (starring Arci Muñoz, Kiray Celis, and Janelle Tee about three quarrelling and toxic vloggers stuck in the Maldives when their plane mysteriously disappears) won Best Picture and was cited as a “an unexpected cinematic gem with a very unique twist” by the critics in Taipei.

The prestigious award was given during the successful WuWei Taipei International Film Festival, Philippine Night Awarding Ceremony at the Westar Theater, Taipei Cinema Park, Ximending, Taipei by the jury of the Filcom Taiwan Network (FTN) who organized the event.

Direk Njel thanked all the organizations and individuals like Senator Bong Go, Surge and 1-PacMan Partylist that supported the Philippine Delegation that was a part of the Taipei film festival. 

“We wouldn’t have done this without those people who believed in is, like Senator Bong Go,” Direk Njel exclaims in his acceptance speech.

Acclaimed director-writer-producer, Njel de Mesa received the award with his wife, Jan Christine and his collaborator/co-producer , Arci Muñoz. 

“Some people did not get the dark humor of our film, its looping slow burn pace to make a point, and the intentions of our social commentary—but you got it!,” Director Njel de Mesa exclaims to the audience at the event while accepting the award.

During the event, the film was cited as a dark comedy de- construction of “Groundhog Day” while making a satirical comment on clout chasing, social media, and social divide between classes. 

DIRECTOR NJEL DE MESA

They mentioned that its crass humor made fun of the evocative element of being in purgatory with a massive pay-off in the end.  The film was also dubbed as an art film disguised as a commercial comedy film. 

The future seems bright for NDMstudios and a lot of Filipinos are really hoping to finally be able to see their film in major streaming platforms very soon.