Longshortcinema

The Neon Across the Ocean
Directed by	Matthew Victor Pastor
Produced by	Matthew Victor Pastor Evangeline Lee Vladelyte Valdez
Music by	Corey Reason
Release date	October 22, 2020 (2020-10-22) (São Paulo International Film Fesitval)
Running time	91 minutes

The Neon Across the Ocean is a Filipino Australian feature film set in the not-too-distant future about a post COVID world. It is the first instalment in a 2020 trilogy of feature films on the topic directed by Matthew Victor Pastor. The film had its world premiere at the 44th São Paulo International Film Festival and its Australian premiere at the 24th Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

Synopsis

Set sometime in the not-too-distant future, after the 2020 pandemic, Mandy is a 17-year-old Filipino Australian. In her final year of high school and dealing with her parents divorce, she navigates a world driven by a new normal of isolation and fear. Meanwhile a girl in Manila tells her story.

Cast

• Waiyee Rivera as Mandy
• Chi Nguyen as Serena

Conception

Pastor has said of the film in Folha de S.Paulo “Pastor, who is always working on at least two productions at the same time, had the idea of making “Neon Across the Ocean” five years ago and adapted the narrative to the current context. "I already wanted to talk about two separate people, but the pandemic came and I thought 'OK, so that's the story'. The relationship between past, present and future is something intimate for the director, who says he has the feeling of always experiencing the three moments at the same time. It was this discomfort that motivated him to conceive “Neon Across the Ocean” as part of a trilogy.”

Pastor has also mentioned in an interview with The Swanston Gazette that he is interested in editing a 5 hour version of the trilogy making the future, present and past elements of the three films into a singular vision edit with a runtime of 320 minutes. The 5 hour version of the film may act as a full vision.