Erik Matti unveils expanded ‘BuyBust’ at Creative Asia forum in Indonesia
MANILA, Philippines — 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.
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.”
Direk Erik also reflected on the warm reception from his peers, especially Joko Anwar who expressed that he was a fan and has watched many of his films.
“Of course, I know Joko (Anwar), his films, and I’ve seen his films. We worked together on several projects. Sometimes you just think, I haven’t been to many festivals lately. Right after Venice, I barely moved from one festival to the next, and I’m surprised how universal films are — that even without you, your films travel, and people see them,” he said, referring to when his “On The Job: The Missing 8” competed in the Main Competition of the Venice Filmfest in 2021.
“People remember the film and the filmmaker behind it. I’m happy that they responded to us.”
Many Filipino fans, he acknowledged, have wondered why it took so long to revisit the “BuyBust” world. Direk Erik explained that when the film was released back in 2018, there was no intention of doing a sequel, let alone a full-blown series.
“The first ‘BuyBust’ was just a movie. That’s it. There was no intention to extend it. We never really thought of opening the doors for another sequel. Then the pandemic happened, and everyone moved into streaming. Suddenly, Netflix approached us about doing a series on ‘BuyBust.’”
Sitting down with his creative team — including his wife Michiko Yamamoto and producer Dondon Monteverde — direk Erik realized the potential for continuation with a fresh approach.
“We realized, yes, it’s possible because all we need is Nina Manigan, the character of Anne Curtis. From there, forgetting about what happened in ‘BuyBust’ 1 — we’re not really continuing it. The only story we’re continuing is her looking for Judas. And just thinking about that, it opened doors to so many other topics, not necessarily about drugs,” said direk Erik of the original film, the timing of which “coincided” with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“This time we were able to talk about class struggle in the country, rich versus poor, powerful versus powerless. When we started thinking that way, we came up with a more original, more exciting ‘BuyBust’ story that we could tell for nine episodes.”
Direk Erik further shared how the new series allowed him to expand the world-building in ways impossible in a feature-length film.
“By changing the world, doing a dystopian story, dividing the capital, having a prison island with characters around it, it became a very exciting world we can explore over and over. Nine episodes isn’t even enough; at the end, we had to take out other plans. Let’s keep it lean,” he said.
Giving The STAR an idea of how intensive the preparation of lead star Anne Curtis for the return of “BuyBust,” he said, “If anyone has seen ‘BuyBust’ the movie, it’s built around an action genre. For this one, aside from a really strong story, strong character story, we also had to make it into an action series — the same experience as the original movie.
“We got ourselves a new fight instructor, Ralph Kayanan. He saw the first movie when we launched it in New York. He trains Hollywood actors for knives, for fighting, but particularly Sayoc, which is a Filipino martial art. Not a lot of people know this, but Sayoc is being used by Navy SEALs,” said direk Erik.
“He stayed (in the Philippines) for more than a year last year, then came back to finish the remaining 20 days. It gave a really fresh martial arts feel, which is what we’re proud of.”
Looking back on the personal impact of the original film, direk Erik compared “BuyBust” to other movies he’s made. “Unlike my other movies, ‘BuyBust’ hinged on a really strong story. With the movie, my only goal was to make an experiential film, something visceral, where the plot is paper-thin. You know, a group of drug agents goes into a barangay, gets attacked from all sides by citizens, drug dealers, etc.
“I wanted it to be non-stop, heart-pounding, pretty much like a zombie movie — but without zombies. With this series, it also has that feel. Even if it’s nine episodes, there are thicker, more layered stories, but the action excitement is constantly there, pushing the story forward. Who doesn’t want to see a new kind of ‘BuyBust’? From the drug story before, now it’s about something else.”
Before concluding The STAR interview, direk Erik further promised audiences: “We’re less than a year away from showing ‘BuyBust: The Undesirables.’... You’ll see a totally different kind of action series. You’ll see Anne and Gerald in a different light, and I hope that people will be proud of this Filipino-made series that we’re sharing with everyone.”
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