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The new Filipino-produced action thriller “Topakk” aka “Triggered”, directed by Richard Somes, stars Arjo Atayde, Julia Montes, Sid Lucero and Kokoy De Santos, available May 13, 2025 on digital platforms and DVD:

“…’Miguel’ is an ex-special forces operative suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“In his bid for redemption as a security guard, he attempts to save the life of a woman who is being hunted by a corrupt police death squad working for a drug cartel…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

It may not seem like the most obvious choice for a Christmas movie – a brutal action film with a protagonist traumatized by a failed mission in the jungle – but Triggered (Topakk) is one of the ten films selected for this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (Mmff) and is opening across the Philippines on December 25.

Starring Arjo Atayde and Julia Montes, the Tagalog-language film had its world premiere at Locarno film festival in 2023 and has been touring other festivals over the past year. Atayde plays a former special forces operative, now working as a security guard and struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (Ptsd), who tries to save a woman being pursued by corrupt police and a vicious drugs cartel.

“Filipino families tend to go out together over the holidays, but I guess this is one for the dads and their sons, while the mums and daughters go to watch a romcom,...

Billie’S Bedtime Story

Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish is joining the roster of celebrity readers for the CBeebies Bedtime Story slot on BBC pre-school network CBeebies. Eilish will read “This Moose Belongs to Me” by author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers. The story follows Wilfred, a young boy who believes he owns a moose named Marcel. Eilish introduces the tale by sharing her love for both music and nature.

The narrative takes a turn when someone else claims ownership of Marcel during a woodland adventure, teaching Wilfred a valuable lesson. Eilish summarizes the moral, stating: “We need to look after beautiful, wild creatures like Marcel, but we also need to let them do their own thing.”

Eilish will make her debut on the popular children’s program on July 19. CBeebies Bedtime Story, a staple of British children’s television since 2002, airs weekdays on CBeebies and is available on BBC iPlayer. The...

by Epoy Deyto

Brillante Mendoza, Best Director laureate from the Cannes Film Festival, dropped his latest film, “Pula,” quietly on Netflix earlier this month. The film marks one of the two reunion projects between Mendoza and actor Coco Martin years after their last collaboration in “Kinatay” (2009). This small-town crime thriller seems to bridge more than just the two figures.

Follow our tribute to Netflix by clicking on the image below

The film navigates a fictionalized version of the small town of Pola depicted as a devout catholic fishing community where citizens live far from the town center and from each other. The title of the film is a wordplay of several layers. The first layer is the word “pula” being the literal translation of the color “red” associated with the red tide plaguing the town’s fishing industry at the brink of a typhoon. From this setup, we are introduced...

Philippines auteur Brillante Mendoza’s film “Pula” has set a world premiere on Netflix.

The narrative unfolds in the devoutly Catholic town of Pula and examines themes of faith, fanaticism, and vigilante justice.

In the film, the tranquil life of Senior Master Sergeant Danilo Faraon (Coco Martin) and his family get upended by a tragic event that shakes the foundations of their close-knit community. A teenage girl’s murder propels Faraon into a vortex of deception, betrayal and guilt, leading him down a path of retribution against those he perceives to have wronged him and the townsfolk of Pula.

The cast also includes Julia Montes, Raymart Santiago, Lotlot De Leon, Alan Paule, Elizabeth Oropesa, Christine Bermas, Ina Alegre and Vince Rillon.

Mendoza, who won best director at Cannes in 2009 for “Kinatay,” is a festival regular and continues to explore societal issues via his films.

“The premiere of ‘Pula’ on Netflix...

Stars: Arjo Atayde, Julia Montes, Sid Lucero, Kokoy De Santos, Vin Abrenica, Gerard Acao, Rosh Barman, Kayley Carrigan, Enchong Dee | Written by Jim Flores, Will Fredo, Richard Somes | Directed by Richard Somes

A Special Forces operative suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is discharged from the army due to his extreme medical condition. Finding employment as a security guard, his world is turned upside down when he finds himself embroiled in a different kind of urban war after a young woman seeks protection from a corrupt police death squad working for one of the most brutal drug cartels. As the pair continues to fight for their lives, the man must confront his inner demons and earn the redemption he desperately craves…

Set in the Philippines and opening with the kind of jungle-based action not scene since the 80s heyday of filmmakers like Teddy Page and Cirio H. Santiago – filmmakers who capitalised...

"War isn't the world's fault. War is man's making." Raven Banner has revealed an official US trailer for an indie action film titled Triggered in English, from Filipino filmmaker Richard Somes. This trailer doesn't hold back! It's insanely gory and brutally violent. The film is premiering at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival underway now in Switzerland, with an expected release later this year in the US. Here's the festival's intro: Discharged from the army due to post-traumatic stress disorder, Miguel gets embroiled in a different kind of war when a drug peddler seeks his protection against a vigilante death squad. All the while he must confront his own demons in order to earn his redemption. Arjo Atayde stars as an Ex-Special Forces security guard who attempts to save the life of a woman who is being hunted by a corrupt police death squad working for a drug cartel. The Filipino action...

Raven Banner Entertainment continues to rack up sales for Richard V. Somes’ action spectacle “Topakk.”

“Topakk”(“Trigger”) has been sold to Aud (South Korea), Superfine Films (India), Kinologistika (Cis and the Baltics) and Lighthouse (German-speaking Europe).

It’s not the end of good news, as the film – debuting its trailer and produced by Fusee, with Strawdogs Studio Production and Nathan Studios co-producing – is also set to bow at Locarno next week.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I have never imagined it,” admits the director.

In “Topakk,” which he co-wrote with Jim Flores and Will Fredo, Somes shows a man struggling with Ptsd. Discharged from the army, he finds himself in the middle of a different kind of conflict when a drug peddler seeks his protection against a vigilante death squad.

“I am really inspired by the 1980s action films. It all started with ‘First Blood’ or even [Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer] ‘Commando.

Action thriller, “Trigger” from writer-director Richard Somes has wrapped production and is beginning sales at the European Film Market.

“Trigger” (aka “Tokakk”) tells the story of a lonely security guard (portrayed by Arjo Atayde) previously discharged from the military due to his post-traumatic stress disorder. He finds himself embroiled in a different kind of war when a young woman (Julia Montes) seeks his protection against a corrupt police death squad. While the pair fight for their lives, the man must confront his inner demons to earn his redemption.

The film also stars Arjo Atayde (“Cattleya Killer”), Julia Montes (“Brothers”), Sid Lucero (“The End of History”) and Kokoy De Santos (“Game Boy”) and is produced by Wilfredo C. Manalang of Fusee (the company that co-produced Cannes Camera d’Or prize-winner “Plan 75”), Somes of Strawdog Studio Production, Ria Atayde and Sylvia Sanchez from Nathan Studios and Michaelangelo Masangkay, co-owner of Toronto-based...

Exclusive: Raven Banner Entertainment has boarded action thriller Trigger (Topakk), directed by the Philippines’ Richard Somes, to executive produce and handle international sales.

Currently in production, the film stars Arjo Atayde (Cattleya Killer), Julia Montes (Brothers), Sid Lucero (The End Of History) and Kokoy De Santos (Game Boy).

Wilfredo C. Manalang of Philippines production house Fusee is producing the film with Somes’ Strawdogs Studio Production, Ria Atayde and Sylvia Sanchez for Nathan Studios and Michaelangelo Masangkay and Fernando Henna for Toronto-based post sound house, Theo & Atlas Productions Inc.

Atayde plays a security guard previously discharged from the military due to post-traumatic stress disorder. He finds himself embroiled in a different kind of war when a young woman (Montes) seeks his protection against a corrupt police death squad.

Fusee previously co-produced Japanese drama Plan 75, which is Japan’s submission to the best international feature category of the Oscars. The company also...