COCO MARTIN SHINES IN "CONDO"

He was first seen on theater screens clad only in a clinical white
brief for practically more than half of the film, massaging a gay
client. The title of the alone film alone, Masahista, would have
anyone assume we're back to the bold era of our cinema. But Masahista
was screened in the country after several critical acclaims abroad.
And thus Coco Martin, even in his nakedness, was immediately taken
seriously.

It is no surprise then that after his breakthrough performance in
Masahista, Coco Martin has become a staple to many of the country's
important independent films. If anybody wants to trace his works
released in 2007, just check out the following titles: Siquijor, Ataul
For Rent, Nars, Tambolista, Batanes, Tirador. Coco Martin was in all
of them, in all important roles.

This year, Coco Martin kicks off 2008 with his new film CONDO, where
he plays a security guard taunted by the unrecognized emptiness of his
own being in the space he inhabits. "It is a role with so much subtext
and layers," he claims, "I had to approach my character with a survey
of my emotional range. `What can I bring to the character that is
true?' was the first question I had to ask myself."

On the first day of shoot, director Martin Cabrera was worried that
the first scene for the day was the last scene in the film where Coco
Martin's character Benjie finally unlocks the answer to the mystery
that has been haunting him. "I envisioned the ending to be very
emotional in a low-key kind of way. I first wanted Coco to at least
experience the character with earlier scenes before shooting the
ending." Cabrera says. "But the scene had to be done right before
daybreak on the first day. Coco came to the set already made-up. All
he had to do was to wear his uniform and when the camera rolled, I
forgot all about my worries." Cabrera adds.

"Coco Martin is an amazing actor," writer/producer Aloy Adlawan
declares. "He is an actor who is very sensitive and creative about his
craft. He is organic. He knows how to use his body, especially his
eyes, to convey his inner demons and conflicts even without saying a
word. His work in CONDO is so far the most impressive, the most
layered I've seen compared to his earlier works."

Coco Martin does feel the pressure of topbilling a film like CONDO. It
is his film after all. He realizes he is no star but he feels very
confident about his work here and especially with the solid
performances of his ensemble support- Arnold Reyes, Diana Malahay, Avi
Siwa, Chx Alcala, Vice Ganda, Jao Mapa, Love Thadani, and Perla Bautista.

CONDO is the story of Benjie (Coco Martin), a security guard assigned
to his new post- a condominium. Left on his own with no family to lean
on, and his girlfriend jilting him for another man, Benjie requests
the building administration to let him stay in the guard's quarters.

Benjie (Coco Martin) encounters a whole new universe of people in his
new post. It is a condominium after all, a small community of
neighbors and strangers all under one roof. But to Benjie, everyone's
just faces attached to door numbers, doors which are always closed and
are rarely open. No one really cares about him. And Benjie only cares
about his job even if it is the same tired routine. The building and
the job have become the perfect refuge.

But when a mysterious intruder and a phone call coming from an empty
unit begin taunting him, Benjie fears for the perfectly lonely world
he's built around himself. In the end, he discovers that the answer to
the mystery lies not very far from his own shadow. Will he embrace it?
Or will the mystery be lost on him forever?

CONDO opens on January 23, exclusively at the Indiesine in Robinson's
Galleria. Indiesine is a theater managed by the Independent Filmmakers
Cooperative (IFC) under the auspices of the Robinson's Movie World
management.