ERIK MATTI UNVEILS EXPANDED 'BUYBUST' AT CREATIVE ASIA FORUM IN INDONESIA

AT THE CREATIVE ASIA FORUM, co-hosted by Netflix and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, top Southeast Asian storytellers gathered to discuss their work and share their expertise with young and emerging creatives.

- By NATHALIE TOMADA

Anne Curtis reprises her role as Nina Manigan, now a former police officer, in 'BuyBust: The Undesirables' set in a dystopian Philippines.

Among them was our very own Erik Matti, who shared the stage with Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar (“Nightmares and Daydreams”) to talk about the delicate balance between taking creative risks and staying culturally specific.

The JAFF Creative Asia Forum also served as the stage to officially unveil his 2026 Netflix series, “BuyBust: The Undesirables.”

After their creator-to-creator conversation, The Philippine STAR caught up with direk Erik on the sidelines of JAFF for an exclusive chat about his forthcoming Netflix series, which expands the universe of his 2018 action hit, “BuyBust,” topbilled by Anne Curtis.

In “BuyBust” 1, rookie agent Nina Manigan (Anne) survives a botched drug raid that traps her team inside a hostile Manila slum area. In “BuyBust: The Undesirables,” the world expands into a dystopian setting as Nina, now a former police officer, enters a lawless zone outside the capital.

Based on the teaser trailer, “The Undesirables” also stars Gerald Anderson, Lotlot de Leon, Sarah Lahbati, Eric Quizon, etc.

When asked about officially presenting the teaser in Indonesia, direk Erik admitted a mix of excitement and nerves.

“You know, it’s both exciting, but also scary. I don’t know how the teaser will be received. There's no story in it, so we just compiled the visuals that could best describe the series.

“Judging from the reception, it felt like they actually responded to it. And they like it, and I hope that it goes beyond Yogyakarta. When the Filipinos see the teaser, maybe they themselves will also be excited and would respond to it.”