Julia Montes revealed that she accepted the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry Topakk (English title: Triggered) because of its focus on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an often-overlooked issue in the Philippines.
The action-packed thriller, produced by Nathan Studios, Fusee, and Strawdogs, marks its homecoming premiere at the 50th MMFF after being screened at international film festivals in Cannes, Austin, and Locarno.
Directed by Richard V. Somes, Topakk tells the story of a former special forces operative struggling with PTSD whose journey intersects with a brother and sister fleeing from dangerous criminal forces. Starring Arjo Atayde and Julia Montes, the film explores “themes of redemption, mental health and corruption, as told through intense action sequences and emotional depth.”
Julia shared that the film’s storyline immediately resonated with her when direk Richard explained its focus on PTSD. “It’s about time that PTSD will be discussed here in the Philippines because it’s not being talked about here,” she said during a press conference.
She added that many Filipinos may unknowingly experience symptoms of PTSD. “For sure, some of us have already felt it. Sometimes, it would cause palpitation, feelings of loneliness na wala namang currently na nangyayari but you feel something. But we, us Filipinos, got used to thinking like, (especially) old folks, ‘Tulog mo lang yan,’ or no one listens to us when we want to say something.”
What further attracted Julia to the project was its message of understanding and compassion. “We need to be more open because every character in the film has a story,” she shared.
“If you watch it, every character may hugot. All of us have hugot and are going through something,” Julia continued, expressing hope that audiences will reflect on the film’s themes. “Be more kind sa mga nakakasalamuha natin because we don’t know what their struggles are every day and kung may nakikinig ba sa kanila.”
Direk Richard revealed that the story of Topakk was born during the pandemic, a time when people were overwhelmed by news of death, war, and famine. “We were all bombarded by the news on TV, pandemic, death, war, famine, away ng lahat,” he recalled.
Reflecting on that period, Richard realized the script was deeply personal. “And at the same time, looking back on the time that I wrote the script, I realized that it was my topak after all. Sarili kong multo ang sinusulat ko na sa lahat ng mga takot. And then I just realized that I needed to make it into a film.”
For direk Richard, addressing PTSD is crucial as it remains under-discussed in the Philippines compared to other countries. He noted that while Filipinos are often celebrated for their resilience, the collective nature of dealing with problems sometimes masks the deeper effects of mental health struggles. “The reason why Filipinos are collective if one is suffering from mental illness, PTSD or anything, that causes harm to you (because) we are more of a community,” he explained.
“That’s why if you have problems, if you have something na may dinadala ka, we are used to (like) gather everyone and then we’re OK. We’re like that. We’re very collective (in nature) like, ‘Tol, let’s drink, I have a problem.’”
Arjo Atayde, who plays the ex-soldier in the film, spoke about portraying PTSD symptoms, particularly the “twitches” experienced by his character. “The twitches that I had (for my role), direk actually helped me with it,” Arjo shared.
He recalled discussing with the director how to embody the bottled-up anger common in PTSD sufferers. “I remember since we started the film, I said, ‘Paano kaya ako yung parang pigil na galit na?’ Yun kasi obviously, especially the people who are very aware of the condition, ‘pag nag-spa-spark, they try to get out of it because it’s very traumatic.”
Arjo added that the character’s calm demeanor was intentional, reflecting a man who had already lost everything. “Definitely every angle of the character was thoroughly thought about. And of course, with the guidance of direk Richard and the whole production,” he concluded.
The film also stars Sid Lucero, Enchong Dee, Kokoy de Santos, Levy Ignacio, Bernard Palanca, Paolo Paraiso, and Vin Abrenica, among others.
(Catch Topakk in cinemas nationwide starting December 25.)
