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Treb Monteras: “Any creative work is a group effort”; award-winning Philippines’ director on music, movies and listening
20 March 2023
After making hundreds of music videos and commercials, Filipino director Treb Monteras II arrived on the film scene with an emphatic debut feature, "Respeto". The film swept major awards at the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2017, including Best Film, going on to screen at more than 30 film festivals around the world. Monteras won the 2022 ContentAsia Award for Best Director for "Still" (2021), a Viu original series featuring young musicians. He is currently showrunner and director of Dreamwalker for London/Singapore label, 108 Media.
You made music videos before going into film. Your series for Viu, "Still", revolves around music. How did you end up at this intersection between film and music? “Music has always been a part of my family. I have a sister who is a singer and all our family members sing. If you enter our house, whether you are my friend or a friend of a friend, you are required to sing with us. So I grew up in a very musical environment. When I started high school, I already knew what I wanted to do: make music videos.”
What made you want to explore film? “I guess you can compare it to being a runner: you won’t be content just running 100 metres and might want to try a marathon. I wanted to know if I was able to make films as well.”
What project do you look back most fondly on? “Respeto is closest to my heart because it’s where I found my voice as a filmmaker. I also tried to capture what was happening in our country at that time with the war on drugs, and it was one of the first films to do that.”
How would you describe the process of making "Respeto"? “Very challenging because it took seven years to make it happen. The idea came to me in late-2010, but I didn’t know anyone in the film community at that time. The music video industry was a different planet from the film industry. 2010 was a very important year because it was when the rap battle scene in the Philippines really started growing. I’ve been a lover of hip-hop and R&B and I wanted someone to make a film about this movement. Little did I know that it would be me eventually! In 2015, I was working in television and got bored with what I was doi...
After making hundreds of music videos and commercials, Filipino director Treb Monteras II arrived on the film scene with an emphatic debut feature, "Respeto". The film swept major awards at the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2017, including Best Film, going on to screen at more than 30 film festivals around the world. Monteras won the 2022 ContentAsia Award for Best Director for "Still" (2021), a Viu original series featuring young musicians. He is currently showrunner and director of Dreamwalker for London/Singapore label, 108 Media.
You made music videos before going into film. Your series for Viu, "Still", revolves around music. How did you end up at this intersection between film and music? “Music has always been a part of my family. I have a sister who is a singer and all our family members sing. If you enter our house, whether you are my friend or a friend of a friend, you are required to sing with us. So I grew up in a very musical environment. When I started high school, I already knew what I wanted to do: make music videos.”
What made you want to explore film? “I guess you can compare it to being a runner: you won’t be content just running 100 metres and might want to try a marathon. I wanted to know if I was able to make films as well.”
What project do you look back most fondly on? “Respeto is closest to my heart because it’s where I found my voice as a filmmaker. I also tried to capture what was happening in our country at that time with the war on drugs, and it was one of the first films to do that.”
How would you describe the process of making "Respeto"? “Very challenging because it took seven years to make it happen. The idea came to me in late-2010, but I didn’t know anyone in the film community at that time. The music video industry was a different planet from the film industry. 2010 was a very important year because it was when the rap battle scene in the Philippines really started growing. I’ve been a lover of hip-hop and R&B and I wanted someone to make a film about this movement. Little did I know that it would be me eventually! In 2015, I was working in television and got bored with what I was doing so I decided to make a film, which became "Respeto"."
How do you choose projects to work on? “I always have ideas and wanted to continue developing projects but the pandemic happened and we’re still trying to get things back on track. Streaming platforms are very specific about what they’re looking for. It depends from platform to platform, but one thing I like is that they’re looking for original and very local stories.”
What do you think is your biggest strength as a director?
“I listen. I love criticism from people I look up to and respect. I’m not stuck with my initial ideas. I listen to my producer and creative collaborators and what they bring. For me, any creative work is a group effort.”
– Sara Merican
Published in ContentAsia's eNewsletter 20 March - 2 April 2023 edition
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