WILL SANDINO MARTIN BE THE NEXT COCO MARTIN?

The soon-to-be-released teen drama “UNFRIEND” from Solar Entertainment Corporation showcases up and coming young actor Sandino Martin, who shares the same screen surname as one of today’s most bankable mainstream actors, Coco Martin. They are completely unrelated to one another though. But this early, many movie observers are asking whether this hunk of an actor may yet soon be the next Coco Martin.  

 

Photo courtesy of Centerstage Productions

In “UNFRIEND” Sandino portrays a gender-confused teenager named Jonathan, who battles depression after he is dumped by his male lover David (Angelo Ilagan).  Continuing to track and follow his ex-lover on social media, he is unable to contain his uncontrollable obsession with hauntingly fatal consequences.  The role called for him to perform intimately and in the nude with his male lover David, and then again in a passionate one night stand with a party goer he meets anonymously (Jay Enriquez).  Exposing skin, butt and everything else in the film’s R-18 Directors Cut version , the sizzling and sensuous role recalls then indie actor Coco Martin in similar portrayals in celebrated sexy films “Serbis, “Masahista” and many more.  

Could the same route be exploited by Sandino to eventually land mainstream? Sandino answers only with a smile at the thought of this career path.  But on the comparison to Coco he is more open “Of course I don’t mind the comparison with Coco.  In fact it’s very flattering” he mentions.  And  after  “UNFRIEND” was premiered a few weeks ago at the 64^th Berlin International Film Festival the young actor is very hopeful his career will take to high gear.  “I surely have a long way to go to be likened to him and am just very, very happy now that we premiered in Berlin.  The film was actually finished early last year and I was waiting for some time for the local release.  But imagine the big surprise ----- the Berlin Film Fest!  It was an experience of a lifetime for me” he said.  Sandino flew to Berlin, Germany with the film’s director Jay Altarejos. 

UNFRIEND was among the first films selected among hundreds of global entries in the non-competitive,  Panorama section of the film festival.  It received rave reviews from German film critics. It was described as  “powerful” , “stylish”, “compelling”,” a great story of the unraveling of a wanting soul in the face of the loss of a loved one”.  It is at best a social commentary on the ills of disturbed and struggling teenagers whose lifeline is disconnected from absentee parents and hooked instead to fleeting, non-permanent and false sources of nurturing.   

UNFRIEND also stars Boots Anson Roa in the role of Ester, Jonathn’s grandmother.

It is a production of Solar Entertainment Corporation and Centerstage Production.

UNFRIEND: HIGHLIGHTS SAME SEX LOVE AND THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Not so long ago, a 13-year old boy killed his boyfriend then killed himself inside a mall. The video was uploaded on popular social media and became viral. This became a sort of crusade for indie film director Joselito Altarejos who promised himself he would do something about it to show people how this new technology has so affected our lives, both in a negative and a positive way.

 

Photo courtesy of Solar Entertainment Corp.

Now, Director Altarejos film Unfriend, which took the Berlin film festival by storm, takes viewers on a nightmarish journey with the film’s principal character David, jilted by his lover just before Christmas, to turn to the screens of his mobile phone, iPad and computer in a desperate attempt to extend his affair with his 17-year old love, Jonathan. Altarejos masterfully relates a gay teenager’s heartbreak and obsession with the social media and makes for a grappling tale of how the Internet can drive fragile minds into a dangerous world. As David’s phone calls, text messages and Skype calls go unanswered, he becomes more and more detached from reality and wanders through the crowds and chaos of Manila with a fatal plan forming in his head.

The film Unfriend vividly portrays life in the Philippines, where poverty forces millions to work abroad, and cheap phones and free WiFi make social media all-pervasive. It has a universal message in showing the perils that the ready availability of unfiltered information online can hold for young people-putting them in touch with shady characters and online materials instructing them how to commit suicide, assemble bombs or commit crimes, and an infinite variety of self-destructive topics.

Unfriend boasts of a mixture of veteran and upcoming actors in the persons of Ms. Boots Anson Roa, Sandino Martin and Angelo Ilagan. It is distributed by Solar Entertainment Corporation. Showing on February 26, 2014 at your favorite theaters.                                                – EMY ABUAN

‘UNFRIEND’ highlights power of media

The narrative is seen through the perspective of David (played by Sandino Martin), who is openly gay as observed in his account in the famous social networking site FACEBOOK. Through this site he also professes his love for his on-line boyfriend Jonathan (Angelo Ilagan), a Facebook subscriber, too.

David, whose parents are working abroad, lives with his grandmother who is always busy doing household chores and watching religious programs on television. The lack of familial physical and emotional contact has led him to find solace in Jonathan.

 
On Christmas day, he finds out that Jonathan has taken another lover. The discovery brings him on the brink of depression making him think of ways to get him back at all cost. He has invited David to see him on this day for the last time. And, through the frenzy of his preparation before meeting up with Jonathan; we will discover his traits and personality, the “worlds” he lives in - virtual and real, and we will witness how he prepares for his most unique shout-out that he will make not only in Facebook wall, but, on his life.

 
In the end, like shout-outs or posts, likes and comments on Facebook, we will realize that David and Jonathan’s story is one big performance in the hyper-reality sphere. But, unlike in the cyber world, it is not only our virtual friends who see and get affected by these posts but the entire community, as well.

‘UNFRIEND’ is released and distributed by SOLAR ENTERTAINMENT CORP. SHOWING FEBRUARY 26. NATIONWIDE