The Trigonal (2018) To Showcase Philippine Martial Arts in Cinemas this September
For the first time in over a decade, a director took steps not only to highlight the martial arts of the Philippines but also, to break the cliche of martial arts in films. With Director Vincent Soberano, a Muay-Thai champion and actor, at the helm of a major martial arts film, The Trigonal (2018) is surely one badass cinematic project you should not miss this September!
Primarily taking place at a triangular fighting arena called the trigonal, the film centers around Jacob Casa who is peacefully living his life with his pregnant wife, Annie, in the paradise that is Bacolod– the City of Smiles.
Taekwondo black belter Ian Ignacio and actress-model Rhian Ramos star in The Trigonal (2018).
Little did he know that no smile would grace his face then when his usually peaceful life, void of all the competition fighting he used to be a part of, eventually turned into a battlefield as he was offered to join the Trigonal event where he could either be a champion of many or a battered corpse of none. Despite Annie’s strong disapproval, a tragedy pushed Jacob to join the Trigonal which is run by drug lord, Henry Tan, the worst of his kind.
The Trigonal is an underground fighting event where combatants fight to the death on the arena.
From here, Jacob encounters a lot of fighters, all of whom are a part of his journey to fight for justice. Among these fighters are the equally fierce fighter and a champion of Chinese Wushu, Mei Li, and her father, Master Li– a Wushu teacher at the Taoist Temple in the film. Mei Li is played by Sarah Chang– a USA National Wushu Team member, who is also the Action Director of The Trigonal (2018).
Sarah Chang, the action director of The Trigonal, also studied at the Jackie Chan Stunt Team training center in Tianjin in Northeast China.
Also starring as Jacob’s martial arts master in the film is Monsour Del Rosario, a Filipino Taekwondo Olympic medalist in real life, and the director of the film himself, Vincent Soberano as Detective Tony Pascual who tails drug lord Henry Tan to extinguish him.
Monsour Del Rosario as Sensei Mike Vasquez (right) trains Ian Ignacio as Jacob Casa (left) at The Trigonal (2018) film.
The Trigonal (2018) highlights the Philippines’ very own lethal martial arts such as Arnis, which uses rattan wood for combat, Sikaran, which primarily uses kicking to attack, Dumog or Filipino wrestling, and Tupado, which came from the word “Tapat”, meaning “to finish” in English, proving its fatal characteristic.
Moreover, foreign martial arts are also exhibited in this film such as Wushu, Karate, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai among others, paving the way for the powerful martial arts film of the decade.
Catch Viva Film’s The Trigonal (2018) in cinemas nationwide this September 26, 2018!
All Images grabbed from Sarah Chang and The Trigonal (2018) Press Release
