Mikhail Red

{{Infobox person

| name = Mikhail Red

| image = Mikhail Red (2021).jpg

| caption = Red in 2021

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|12|11}}

| birth_place = Manila, Philippines

| education =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = {{hlist|Filmmaker}}

| years_active = 2013–present

| known_for = {{ubl|Birdshot|Eerie|Dead Kids|Deleter}}

}}

Mikhail Red is a Filipino filmmaker and storyteller. He is best known for his films Birdshot (2016), Eerie (2019), and Dead Kids (2019), which was the first ever Netflix original film from the Philippines.

A prolific director whose professional career started in his early 20s, Red's films traverse a variety of genres and combine genre elements with social commentary.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Early life

Mikhail Red is the eldest son of Raymond Red, who won the Short Film Palme d'Or for his film Anino at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite news |last1=Kotzathanasis |first1=Panos |title=Interview with Mikhail Red: I decided to deconstruct corruption and present it in its most primal form – the extinction of innocence |url=https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/08/interview-with-mikhail-red/ |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Asian Movie Pulse |date=3 August 2019}}{{cite news |last=Tariman |first=Pablo |date=March 9, 2019 |title=Mikhail Red on Charo Santos-Concio & Bea Alonzo: Intimidating... at first! |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2019/03/09/1899801/mikhail-red-charo-santos-concio-bea-alonzo-intimidating-first |work=The Philippine Star |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} At the age of 15 Red studied filmmaking under Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and directed his first short film, called The Threshold.{{cite magazine |last=Watford |first=Joy |date= |title= On The Dot: Interview With Filmmaker Mikhail Red |url=http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/on-the-dot-interview-with-filmmaker-mikhail-red |magazine=Positively Filipino |location= |publisher= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} The film took Red to his first international film festival, in Germany.{{cite web |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2013/11/tokyo-2013-interview-film-rekorder-mikhail-red-talks-cinema-pirates-and-pioneers.html |title=Tokyo 2013 Interview: Film REKORDER Mikhail Red Talks Cinema Pirates And Pioneers |last=O'Keeffe |first=Christopher |date=November 11, 2013 |website=Screen Anarchy |publisher= |access-date=August 30, 2021 |quote=}} Several more short films would follow, such as Kamera, Harang, and Hazard, with Harang winning the Grand Prize at the Seoul International Youth Film Festival and Hazard winning the Special Jury Prize at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in 2010.

Career

Since his childhood days, Red was a gamer and the role-playing games are reflected in the ethical dilemma of his characters.{{cite news |last1= Demayo|first1= Mark |title=Filmmaker by day, gamer by night: Director Mikhail Red draws inspiration from gaming|url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2024/12/26/filmmaker-by-day-gamer-by-night-direk-mikhail-red-and-gaming-1039 |accessdate=December 27, 2024 |work=ABS-CBN |date=December 27, 2024}}

Red was 21 years old when he directed his first feature film Rekorder, in 2013.{{cite magazine |last=Ortiga |first=Kara |date=June 1, 2021 |title=Inside the Wild Mind of Mikhail Red

|url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/profiles/mikhail-red-a1520-20200601-lfrm2 |magazine=Esquire |location= |publisher= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} The experimental film, about film piracy and voyeurism, took 13 days to shoot. After screening at Cinemalaya, the film won Red the Best New Director award at the 2014 Vancouver International Film Festival.{{cite news |last=de Jesus |first=Julianne|date=October 3, 2014 |title=Young filmmaker Mikhail Red named best new director at Vancouver film fest |url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/153935/young-filmmaker-mikhail-red-named-best-new-director-at-vancouver-film-fest |work=The Philippine Daily Inquirer |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}}

In 2016, Red directed the film Birdshot, a police procedural and coming-of-age drama. The film won Best Film in the Asian Future section at the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival.{{cite news |last1=Alpad |first1=Christina |title='Birdshot' hits big for Mikhail Red |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/birdshot-hits-big-mikhail-red/344452/ |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=The Manila Times |date=14 August 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://iffr.com/en/persons/mikhail-red|title=Mikhail Red at IFFR|website=International Film Festival Rotterdam}} It was also the Philippines' submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, and was the first Filipino film to be released worldwide by Netflix.{{cite news |last=Chu |first=Karen|date=March 18, 2019 |title=Filmart: Filipino Wunderkind Director Mikhail Red on Why His Latest Thriller Is a Cautionary Tale |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/mikhail-red-talks-confronting-past-errors-we-cannot-keep-truth-hostage-1193607/ |work=The Hollywood Reporter |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Dimaculangan |first1=Jocelyn |title=Birdshot to represent the Philippines in 2018 Oscars |url=https://www.pep.ph/guide/movies/26795/embirdshotem-to-represent-the-philippines-in-2018-oscars |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Philippine Entertainment Portal |date=26 September 2017 |language=en}}

Red's first film with a major studio was the horror film Eerie, released in 2019. The film was an international co-production involving Star Cinema and Aurora Media of Singapore.{{cite magazine |last=Manio |first=Donna |date=March 28, 2019 |title=EXCLUSIVE: "Eerie" Director Mikhail Red On Pushing Boundaries And Combining Different Ideas To Create Something New

|url=https://metro.style/people/society-personalities/direk-mikhail-red-eerie/12458 |magazine=Metro.Style Magazine |location= |publisher= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} The film starred Charo Santos-Concio and Bea Alonzo.

In 2019, Red directed the heist film Dead Kids which was the first Filipino Netflix original film.{{cite news |last=Tomada |first=Nathalie |date=December 2, 2019 |title=Mikhail Red: From 'frustrated audience member' to sought-after filmmaker |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2019/12/02/1973404/mikhail-red-frustrated-audience-member-sought-after-filmmaker |work=The Philippine Star |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} This was followed by the zombie film Block Z (2020), a return to mainstream filmmaking and Star Cinema.

Red's latest film is Arisaka, a revenge Western film produced by Ten17P, a release date for which has not yet been announced.{{cite news |last=Asilo |first=Rito |date=February 15, 2020 |title=Red alert! |url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/364557/red-alert |work=The Philippine Daily Inquirer |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Limos |first=Mario |date=October 2, 2020 |title=Mikhail Red Spills the Beans On His Latest Film, Arisaka |url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/movies-and-tv/arisaka-movie-mikhail-red-a00293-20201002-lfrm |work=Esquire |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}} He has also completed production of season 3 of the HBO series Halfworlds.

Prospective projects

Red has a number of films planned or in development. He has been developing The Grandstand, a hostage drama based on the Manila hostage crisis written by Ricky Lee and to be produced by Globe Studios. He also plans to direct a science-fiction film called Quantum Suicide which will be co-produced with Japan; he has stated he wants Daniel Padilla to star in the film.

Red is also planning to direct a prequel to Eerie titled Eerie Zero and a remake of Magic Temple (1996), both for Star Cinema.{{Cite web |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/12/07/18/new-magic-temple-movie-in-the-works |title=New 'Magic Temple' movie in the works |last=Bunoan |first=Vladimir |date=2018-12-07 |website=ABS-CBN News }} He also has a thriller planned, to be written by his brother Nikolas Red and set during the pandemic, his first film for Viva Films. Other projects that Red has mentioned include a film about the Black Dahlia serial killer (which has been greenlit after being in development for four years), a Star Cinema hacker-heist film featuring a young cast, and a period horror film.{{cite magazine |last=Limos |first=Mario |date=July 1, 2019 |title= Exclusive: Filmmaker Mikhail Red Talks About Zombies, Serial Killers, and Hollywood |url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/arts-and-entertainment/mikhail-red-block-z-interview-a00293-20190701-lfrm3 |magazine=Esquire |location= |publisher= |access-date=August 30, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Mallick |first=Rom |date=February 7, 2021 |title=Direk Mik: Sustaining his art and passion in uncertain times

|url=https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/07/direk-mik-sustaining-his-art-and-passion-in-uncertain-times/ |work=The Manila Bulletin |location= |access-date=August 30, 2021}}

On February 1, 2023, Variety announced that Red is set to be the series director of "Dreamwalker", a live-action book-to-series adaptation of a story about a monster-slaying vlogger.{{Cite web |last=Frater |first=Patrick |date=February 1, 2023 |title=Filipino-American Fantasy Universe 'Dreamwalker' Set at 108 Media, With Mikhail Red as Series Director |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/filipino-american-dreamwalker-mikhail-red-director-1235509191/ |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} The series is based on the graphic novel by Mikey Sutton and Noel Layon Flores, and is also set to have Kate Valdez in the lead role.

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+ {{sronly|Table featuring feature films directed by Mikhail Red}}

style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"

!scope="col"| Year

!scope="col"| Title

!scope="col"| Director

!scope="col"| Writer

!scope="col"| Editor

!scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}

2013

!scope=row|Rekorder

| {{yes}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2016

!scope=row|Birdshot

| {{yes}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2017

!scope=row|Neomanila

| {{yes}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2019

!scope=row|Eerie

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2019

!scope=row|Dead Kids

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2020

!scope=row| Block Z

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2021

!scope=row| Arisaka

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|style="text-align:center;"|

2022

!scope=row | Deleter

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

{{Citation |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Naman |last2=Frater |first2=Patrick |title=Nadine Lustre in 'Deleter': Watch First Teaser for Mikhail Red's Techno-Horror Film (EXCLUSIVE) |date=26 September 2022 |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/asia/nadine-lustre-deleter-mikhail-red-teaser-1235383049/ |website=Variety |access-date=27 September 2022}}

2024

!scope=row |Friendly Fire

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2024

! scope="row" | ''Nokturno

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/film/mikhail-red-nadine-lustre-for-new-horror-movie-nokturno-3400049|title=Mikhail Red and Nadine Lustre reuniting for new horror movie 'Nokturno'|last=Ng|first=Scott|date=February 17, 2023|access-date=August 18, 2023|website=NME}}

=Television=

class="wikitable"
scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| Title ! scope="col" \| Role ! scope="col" \| Network
2021 \|Halfworlds \| Director (season 3) \|HBO Asia
2024 \|Dreamwalker \|Director \|

class="wikitable"

scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Role

! scope="col" | Network

2021

|Halfworlds

| Director (season 3)

|HBO Asia

2024

|Dreamwalker

|Director