Anthony Diaz V’s Break Already Broke Into Manila

"Break 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,” said the writer-producer-director-actor of the film, Anthony Diaz V.

The romantic action flick premiered last Saturday, November 19, at the Cinema 3 of the Powerplant Cinemas, Rockwell Center, Makati City. After its short but sweet screening in the Philippines, Kaizen Studios, its production company, aims to take the film to several international film festivals, one of which is the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

The film’s script took about 2 months, on and off, to be finished. The theme revolves around the concept of fitting in a different culture when you’re a foreigner. “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,” added Anthony.

The Asian premiere took place in Tokyo last April 29 with over 500 attendees. It is a story of a young Japanese-American man who crosses the line with the underworld element in Tokyo, while dealing with his own personal struggle of being an outsider trying to fit in with the Japanese society. The American and Japanese hip-hop and rap scene serves as the backdrop.

Most of the supporting cast have experience in other media like TV and commercials but this film serves as their international feature length debut. They are Namihiko Omura, Kaede Ishizuka, Tohru Watanabe, Ish-One, Crazy-T, Shinya Arai, Kai Yusaku, and Ayaka Sonoda.

So, what’s next for this versatile artist who’s also the youngest graduate of the University of Las Vegas Film School at the age of 20? Well, he will be starring in a Gorio Vicuña film and also be working on another feature film.