MANILA -- Director Mikhail Red’s award-winning suspense thriller “Deleter” was not originally meant for the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) when the project started filming last July 2022.

“When we started filming, it was not in our plan to make ‘Deleter’ join the MMFF,” lead star and 2022 best actress winner Nadine Lustre told ABS-CBN News.

“Nakalutang pa rin kaming lahat up to now. Hindi pa rin siya nagsi-sink in. Ang dami pa ring nanonood. Ang dami ko pa ring nababasang positive tweets. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala.”

After the MMFF officially ended last January 7, “Deleter” was extended in several other theaters all around the country. The film will also tour around the globe to be screened in several international festivals.

Filipinos based abroad will get a chance to watch “Deleter” as Viva Films scheduled international screenings and premieres.

The best thing Lustre appreciated in “Deleter” was that the audience really supported her film. To date, it became the 2022 MMFF top grosser, edging out the comedy entry “Partners in Crime,” with perennial film fest box-office winner Vice Ganda.

“At least alam ko na nagustuhan ng tao,” Lustre beamed. “Every time I watched ‘Deleter,’ I could hear sumisigaw talaga ang mga tao at pumapalakpak sila after. They really liked the film.”

The award-winning actress wished for “more work” this 2023. “My plan for this year was to really grind and get back into circulation,” Lustre added. “I don’t want to break the stride.

“I don’t want to break the momentum. Baka mawala pa. So habang nandiyan na ‘yan, tutuloy-tuluyin ko na. Sobrang excited akong mag-work. Sana more out-of-the-box projects.

"I’m always up for challenges. It’s so hard to get boxed into one particular genre. I guess for someone like me who has been in dramas and rom-coms for a while, until now, there are still many people who could not believe I did horror.

“Mahirap umalis when you get tagged into one genre. While it is still early, I don’t want to be typecasted into a particular genre.”

She never expected any awards for “Deleter,” although she felt the pressure. “I didn’t want to have any expectations, although others were constantly telling me, ‘Number one ‘yan.’

“Mananalo ‘yan ng mga awards. Mananalo ka ng best actress. Mas na-pressure ako that people were really expecting me to win. Sobrang unassuming ako. That's maybe kind of hard to believe that I never really expected.”

The success of “Deleter” was undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of Lustre’s 2022. That sealed her working relationship with Viva Films again.

“Just like any family, nagkakaroon naman ng misunderstanding,” Lustre said. "I’m happy that I got to work with Viva again. They are open to more out-of-the-box projects. I’m excited.”

After the success of ‘Deleter’ and a horror film in the MMFF, Red, who is known as an indie director, has been in talks with Viva for two more genre projects.

A sequel to “Deleter” also has yet to be decided upon. “We will decide where we can take the success of ‘Deleter,’” Red maintained. “We cannot announce anything officially yet, but expect more diverse, genre films for future editions of the festival or theatrical releases.

“It’s exciting times for local filmmaking, especially that the audience is back to the theaters.”

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