Antony Diaz V hopes to "Break" into Sundance Film Festival

For Antonio Diaz V, movies have become a big part of his life since he was a child. “When I was a kid, my family had movie night every Friday. After every film I would ask my parents..."what motivated the characters actions?" At age 8 my dad let me watch The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, El Mariachi, The Shawshank Redemption etc. Films that many kids my age at the time wouldn't be interested in. Also, for as long as I can remember, I along with my brother and sisters would always re-enact movie scenes and quoted movie lines everywhere we went.”

At 15, he was already making short films and by age 20, Anthony already graduated with high honors from the University of Las Vegas Film School (UNLV) with a degree in Film, making him the youngest alumnus with such a distinction.

His love for movies has led to the creation of Break, his debut movie which he wrote, directed, produced and starred. Now he takes his dream higher after submitting Break to the Sundance Flim Festival—perhaps the most prestigious film festival s in the world.

Fil-American actor-filmmaker Anthony Diaz V has seen too many movies, one of those that left such a big impression on him was “The Passion of the Christ,” a 2004 American epic drama that primarily covers the final twelve hours of Jesus’ life. The film was a controversial hit written and directed by Mel Gibson, an artist and a non-conformist. “He has a terrific visual style,” says Anthony whose first full-length feature “Break,” a Hollywood style independent movie, is Sundance-bound.

Taking after Gibson and Ben Affleck, Anthony also writes, directs, and acts in the projects he produces under Kaizen Studios. With the rise of cinematic rebels in Hollywood, Europe, and Asia who are redefining the rules of making movies and tackling subjects that very few would touch, Anthony is a talent to watch for.

He chose to do “Break” which was inspired by “Lunch Break,” a short Anthony made when he was 17 years old. “The characters in the short were actually based on each of my friends’ personalities who acted in my film. I took those character traits and gave it to the Japanese actors playing the roles.” He also transferred the setting to Japan, a country that has always fascinated him. “When I was younger, I used to travel with my father a lot, Japan in particular,” shares Anthony. “I always remember falling in love with the lifestyle and the culture because it was all new and fresh to me. As I got older and fell in love with cinema, naturally you want to move into making a feature film.”

Japan was his obvious choice of a locale. Portraying the Japanese ghetto scene, Anthony proceeded to blend American storytelling with Japanese cinema and infuse it with the elements of hip-hop. He changed some dialogue from English to Japanese, hired Japanese actors and thought that he was good to go. The actual filming proved otherwise. “It was not easy. I had a Japanese translator on the set and having to communicate through him with the actors was really tough. It cuts into a lot of production time.”

Guerilla shoots are also not allowed in Japan. “We have to lock down a location one day ahead of time. On top of that, you only get a certain number of hours to shoot in that location. If it rains, you’ve no choice but to apply for another permit (to shoot).”

But Anthony persevered through it all even when what was supposed to be a three-week shoot stretched on. Because that is, after all, the essence of making movies. From its inception, cinema is meant to beguile. It weaves magic no matter the apparatus with which you create it. Advances in technology have taken over but a great film at its very core does what it is supposed to do --- take audiences to a rollercoaster ride, surprise them, baffle them in the same manner that the creator, the filmmaker experiences the same vicarious journey, that of continuously being surprised and falling deeper into loving the art of making movies.

The story of a Japanese-American youth named Johnny, confused and rebelling against circumstance and the norms, “Break” is more than worth a peek. It is thrilling and yet dramatic, intense and introspective in turns. “Acting and directing at the same time, it’s a natural process for me. Being in front of the camera and being behind it is all a natural process for me,” says Anthony Diaz V, cinema craftsman at heart.

He is out to conquer, leave a mark, and pave the way upon which next generation Anthony Diazes 15 to 20 years from now will tread. “If there is one lesson I learned and have proven to myself, it’s ‘If you’re gonna dream, dream big because it’s free.’ It’s amazing how when dreams are put into action, life opens up the possibilities.”

“Break” also stars Namihiko Oomura, Kaede Ishizuka, Tohru Watanabe, Japanese rapper Ish-One and American rapper Crazy T.

Diaz’s film was received warmly, with a jam packed crowd composed of fans and friends in the Philippine entertainment industry, who all watched  the private screening at the Power Plant Mall’s Cinema 3 held last November 19, 2016.

Prior to the private screening, a press conference in Mamou was feted for Diaz and his team, which was attended by reporters from the major TV networks, entertainment writers and bloggers.
To these, Anthony Diaz V gratefully enthused, “Thank you Philippines for all the love! You all are so great and thank you for making the premiere of BREAK in Manila an experience I will never forget! I will cherish this memory forever! Thank you for being such great fans! More great stories and films are coming soon from Kaizen Studios and I can't wait to share it with all of you again! Stay tuned!  From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much ”

Anthony Diaz V: Fall for a new kind of screen hero in “Break”

Who would have imagined how far a China-made digital 4MB SD card palm camera could take a young dreamer’s film making dreams?

In the case of Filipino-American actor-director-producer Anthony Diaz V, it is quite far indeed. “When I was a kid, my family had movie night every Friday,” Anthony recalls. “After every film, I would ask my parents, ‘What motivated the characters’ actions?’”

That sort of set Anthony off on an early film education with his father encouraging his then ten-year-old son to lap up with glee movies like “The Godfather,” “Taxi Driver,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “El Mariachi,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” the list goes on. These are films that Anthony admits “many kids my age at the time wouldn’t be interested in.”

He was, in a manner of speaking, a normal kid whose growing love for films made him a misfit.

Before he was 20, the brawny Anthony Diaz has completed dozens of short films. The independent film making spirit has been evident early on with Anthony multitasking, taking on screen writing, directing, producing, acting, and editing duties. By the time he reached 20, he has already graduated with high honors at the University of Las Vegas Film School (UNLV), making him the youngest graduate in the history of the program.

Anthony has received acclaim for the early short films he made like “Delusion” and “Forgotten Heroes.” In 2012, he put up a film production company called Kaizen Studios in Las Vegas, USA. The following year, he established a satellite of Kaizen Studios in Shibuya, Japan.

Japan is close to Anthony’s heart, having been a frequent visitor to the land of sashimis, cherry blossoms, and top-tier car brands since he was 8. Little wonder then that when he embarked on his first full length feature, Anthony chose to make “Break.”

“Break” can be described in many ways depending on how the viewer sees it but at its core, it is a story about alienation and angst as a young Japanese-American lad is thrown into the underworld while he deals with personal issues as an outsider trying to fit into Japanese society.

It is, in a way, a throwback to Anthony’s childhood when he was watching movies that wouldn’t strike a chord with children his age. He was like a misfit then, as his character in “Break” is. There is a need to find his place in an environment that isn’t very welcoming. Then he loses the girl he loves and the downward spiral begins.

On screen and in photos, Anthony Diaz strikes you as a kind of millennial James Dean, but this time a rebel with a cause, and with a more relatable Liam Neeson-ish vibe. In the movie “Break,” he even does breakdancing in one scene. Clearly, Anthony is the new kind of screen hero who has a good head to match the well-toned physique. And somehow you sense that there is a tenderness that lies beneath the swagger and the action star gait.

But Anthony assures that the similarities between him and his movie character end there. “The movie is not autobiographical at all,” he points out. “Break,” according to him, “was actually inspired from a short film I made when I was 17 years old called ‘Lunch Break’ which I shot with my high school friends in Vegas. The premise of the story is similar, but I expanded the universe and characters against the backdrop of Japan.”

Why should Pinoy audiences not miss “Break?” “This film is really unique as it blends American storytelling with Japanese cinema infused with hip-hop. It’s the first time to my knowledge that a film has simultaneous English and Japanese language throughout the movie with supporting subtitles. But most importantly, the overall theme is of a foreigner trying desperately to fit in. It is what most of us have experienced in some form or another.”

“Break” has had a private screening in Japan last April and its second stop is the Philippines before it heads off to Sundance.




To find out more about “Break,” go to thebreakmovie.com or visit the Kaizen Studios FB page @Facebook.com/KaizenStudios