Brillante Mendoza, Samuel Jamier Film Projects Heat up Fire and Ice Production Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

Brillante Mendoza and the directorial debut of New York Asian Film Festival director Samuel Jamier adorn the 2025 production slate of Philippines label Fire and Ice Media. The company is headed by Liza Diño-Seguerra, a former actor and previous head of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. The company’s recent collaborations include a minority stake in Nicole Midori Woodford’s “Last Shadow at First Light” (a collaborative project spanning Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Slovenia) that premiered at the San Sebastian festival, and co-production “Blue Imagine,” by Urara Matsubayashi which had its world premiere at the Rotterdam festival.

Mendoza’s project “Cocoon” is a story inspired by the director’s relationship with his daughter and was written by Rocky Fajardo and Angel Mendoza. The film follows a Philippines American veterinarian and her African American fiancé as they navigate the intersections of family, culture, and identity. French producer Raphael Gindre, known for “Funny Birds” and “We the Coyotes,” which premiered at Cannes’ ACID in 2018, is also a co-producer.

“This film hits close to home and parallels my own journey as a father. It’s a personal exploration of love, identity, and family that connects across cultures,” said Mendoza. Jamier’s “Huntress on the Plains,” is a set in WWII-era Leyte.

The film follows a young Filipino woman, Mayari, and a Korean sniper, as they form an unlikely alliance to liberate women from a Japanese camp. “’Huntress’ represents a natural evolution—from showcasing others’ visions to crafting my own narratives, blending visceral tension with the emotional depth of a wartime thriller. It’s an opportunity to showcase the rich history and complexity of national identity in Asia through a universal tale, proving that local narratives can captivate audiences worldwide,” said Jamier.