''Apocalypse Child'' is a 2015 Philippine

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

directed and co-written by Mario Cornejo, set in the Philippine coastal town of

Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configured ...

and featuring aspects of local

surf culture Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish ...

. It stars Sid Lucero,

Annicka Dolonius Annicka Dolonius is a Filipina character actress best known for her award-winning performances in Philippine New Wave films such as Pisay (2007) Ang Nawawala (2012) and Apocalypse Child (2015). She has also appeared in various commercial film an ...

, Gwen Zamora,

RK Bagatsing Ramon Khino "RK" S. Bagatsing (born May 9, 1988) is a Filipino film and television actor. Bagatsing is most notable for the role of Arnaldo Ardiente Torillo in the ABS-CBN primetime series ''Wildflower''. Early life Bagatsing is the son of ac ...

, Ana Abad Santos, and Archie Alemania, and was co-written by Mario Cornejo and

Monster Jimenez Maria Coreen T. Jimenez, better known by her screen name, Monster Jimenez, is a Philippine screenwriter, director, producer and editor best known for her work on ''Big Time'' (2005), '' Kano: An American and His Harem'' (2010), '' Apocalypse Child' ...

Production

Development

''Apocalypse Child'' initially had a different title and a different story, still written by Mario Cornejo and

. The film's original plot revolved around four middle-aged women who went on to learn about surfing because they fell in love with a young surf instructor. But they changed the plot as soon as they went to

, Aurora to do further research and learn more about the history of surfing in the Philippines. Surf culture in the country, according to an a legend, began because of a Hollywood film. '' Apocalypse Now'' shot some of its scenes in Baler in the 1970s and allegedly, the crew left a surfboard floating in the sea. The surfboard was later used by five local boys who taught themselves how to surf and became the first Philippine surfing champions. Cornejo and Jimenez played around with this myth and incorporated it in their film. What if the ''Apocalypse Now'' production team left behind some children as well? This was how the Ford's character came to be, who was led to believe his whole life that he was the son of ''Apocalypse Now'' director

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

. While writing the script, they already had Sid Lucero in mind to play the part. They also explored

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...

s such as the favorite daughter, sacrificing mother, the "worst fault", and the father's son. The final script was submitted to the QCinema Film Festival after which they secured partial funding.

Principal photography

The film was shot in

, Aurora within 20 days with production firm, Filmex helping Cornejo and Jimenez in scheduling the principal photography. The production staff had a four-day break.

Release

''Apocalypse Child'' had its premiere at the QCinema Film Festival in October 2015, about seven months after the script was submitted to the organizers. The film was later screened in film festivals in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in the United States, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It had its commercial release in Philippine cinemas on October 26, 2016.

Reception

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 5573164 2015 films Films directed by Mario Cornejo Films by Monster Jimenez Philippine independent films Philippine New Wave Films set in Aurora (province) Films shot in Aurora (province)