Director Brillante Mendoza summarizes his eagle’s view on his masterpiece “SAPI” as follows: Just as we live by our own beliefs, we are confronted by our many horrors as well, with the strongest ones able to transcend from our personal lives to the bounds of our family, work, and relationships. But what is even more dreadful to realize is that we do not seem to be terrified of the horrors right in front of our eyes, but instead, we are preoccupied with frightening ourselves with what we cannot really see or prove.
“Sapi” chronicles the lives of individuals for the media, consumed by the pressure of TV ratings and network rivalries, and later obsessed with their coverage of a woman possessed by a spirit. It is a story of the people who do not just have a fervent faith in God, but recognizes Evil just as well.
But more than being a multi-character sketch, this film is an essay of a culture severely dependent on a decaying mass media, whose integrity is hereby put under scrutiny.
The story: With the rival station Philippine Broadcasting Channel (PBC) eating up the TV audiences’ major share, Sarimanok Broadcasting Network (SBN) needs a miracle to stay alive in the competition. In these mad and fearful times, SBN’s news team finds that documenting an actual spiritual possession would be their only hope.
Tasked to head the documentary production is Meryll Flores (Meryl Soriano), a trainee TV Executive producer, along with Dennis Marquez (Dennis Trillo), the reporter. Needless to say, the success of the project will also secure their eventual promotion in the company.
However, the miracle seems to evade Meryll’s team. They go to distant places, schools, provincial areas, religious groups, and faith healers, just to cover the case of mass possession, but to no avail. They simply cannot find a single incident of possession.
Worse, Baron Valdez (Baron Geisler), cameraman of the rival network PBC, is the one who was able to capture the isolated case of demonic possession that involved a high school teacher (Ruby).
To fulfill her task, Meryll enters into a deal that is more profoundly horrifying than the harrowing scene of paranormal possession. To acquire the needed footage, she buys the outtakes of the Ruby possession case from Baron. But at the point where Meryll imagines to be the turning point of her new career, an exorcising reality dawns on her with a spiralling effect that mirrors the political system governing the TV network.
The cast is led by My Husband’s Lover star Dennis Trillo, Baron Geisler and Meryl Soriano with several non-actors to highlight authenticity of the documentary-style of story-telling embraced by the film.
“Sapi” is a film presentation of Solar Entertainment Corporation and Center Stage Productions directed by Brillante Mendoza and distributed by Solar Entertainment Corporation. Coming soon at your favorite theaters and cinemas.
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