Experiencing Interruptions?

MEA CULPA.

Anton, a rookie cop, was assigned an unusual task of guarding a tortured captive criminal. Upon accepting the assignment, he is immediately plunged into the center of a drug-related crime of embezzling three million pesos worth of drug money. Thus, the instruction of holding on to the captive until verification of the location of the loot, is on his hands.
In those fateful 72 hours of wait-and-see scenario, both prisoner and guard discovers an unusual ephemeral sense of connection that both of them refuses to recognize.
The negated odd feelings send them into the oblivious past that either kills them both or suffer a discomfited feeling of guilt that will eventually destroys either of them in any other way.

  • Rom Factolerin
    Director
    Misericordia, Baliw
  • Rom Factolerin
    Writer
    Misericordia, Baliw
  • Tina Estrada
    Writer
  • Tina Estrada
    Producer
    Misericordia
  • Raul Morit
    Key Cast
  • Victor Medina
    Key Cast
  • Alma Munar-Alonzo
    Key Cast
  • Bani Baldisseri
    Key Cast
  • Henrie Enaje
    Key Cast
  • Henry Dela Cruz
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    22 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 5, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    1,124 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Country of Filming:
    Philippines
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Rom Factolerin

Rom Factolerin is a multi-disciplined artist.

The foundations of his art are based mainly on his experiences through his previous employment as animator in Fil-Cartoons Inc., an animation studio subsidiary of Hanna-Barbera productions based in Hollywood California during the late 80's. After Fil-Cartoons he worked as a freelance artist local and abroad, on the side he does mural paintings, digital graphic works, shirt printing designs, comic illustrations, photography, book cover designs, storyboard illustrations and other art commissioned projects.

It was only in the year 2007 that he decided to re-unite with his long time dream of writing fiction stories. The advent of blogging and article writing pushed further his dream of writing stories both in Filipino and English, thus two of his short stories were published locally in FUDGE and Philippines' Graphic Magazine, a well respected publication in the country.

It's only a matter of time that he decided to stride out further of crossing the thin line of visual arts and the art of writing, merge it together and dabble into filmmaking. Utilizing art in the service of his fellow serves as a catalyst for him to produce documentary films tackling the plight of the unheard voices of ordinary people in the Philippines. Post-modern, transgressive and alternative stories in short films, MTVs, public service announcements were among the few that Rom had engage in while treading the digital world of filmmaking.

As an independent filmmaker, he finished a full length film that he directed, wrote, edited and shot, along with numerous short films and documentary films in the past.

Together with this, Rom Factolerin also taught SPED (special education) children arts and had an experience acting in theater.He is an executive committee member of the Freelance Writers' Guild of the Philippines (FWGP).

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Director Statement

Directing MEA CULPA is a challenge, not just because it is made with a low budget production but the artistic test is something every director would submit to, in order to hone his craft perpetually. The single DSLR camera that I used to convey a long shot enables the viewer to feel the illusion of implicating himself and immerse in the film itself. However, the shakiness of the handheld single camera is reduced to a minimum so as not to distract the eye view and doesn’t rob the value of the involvement of the audience.

The dramatic setting of MEA CULPA and its structure were set in a claustrophobic confinement of rooms behind closed doors to utterly feel the captive milieu of the story. However, the fluidity of the camera works panning and shifting focus makes the confinement of the square room more fluid and flowing.

The story itself doesn’t compromise of telling-it-all to the audience, instead it lets the narrative streams naturally with the consciousness and leaves room for thinking and pondering things that varies from whatever culture the spectators might have. We pushed the protagonist as real as possible in a real setting with the real story at hand.