Honor Thy Father (film)

Honor Thy Father (originally titled as Con-Man) is a 2015 Filipino thriller crime drama film directed by Erik Matti and starring John Lloyd Cruz. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It was an official entry to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Plot
The film is about a family who find themselves in a Ponzi scheme. Edgar (John Lloyd Cruz) and Kaye (Meryll Soriano) seek to pay their family's debt to Kaye's co-parishioners. The couple fears that the parishioners may hurt their daughter.

Cast

 * John Lloyd Cruz as Edgar
 * Meryll Soriano as Kaye
 * Dan Fernandez as Manny
 * Tirso Cruz III as Bishop Tony
 * Perla Bautista as Nanang
 * Yayo Aguila as Jessica
 * Khalil Ramos as Emil
 * William Martinez as Pastor Obet
 * Krystal Brimner as Angel
 * Lander Vera Perez as Cedric
 * Boom Labrusca as Erwin

Development
The film was directed by Erik Matti. The film's lead actor, John Lloyd Cruz alongside Dondon Monteverde are producers of the film. Agosto Dos Pictures, was originally planned to be co-producer of the film along with Reality Entertainment. The film was originally titled Ponzi.

Casting
John Lloyd Cruz was chosen to portray the lead character of the film. The actor shaved his head for the role despite warnings from his big studio handlers that he might lose endorsement contracts, especially for a certain shampoo product. The actor sought to break away from the leading man role that people are familiar with in his mainstream films and also explained that his acting work isn't confined to his home television network, ABS-CBN, stating that he "refuses to be typecast". He sought to project a different image from the one audiences have gotten accustomed to by playing a lead role in an indie film.

Originally, Dingdong Dantes was also offered to portray John Lloyd's role but it was the latter that ultimately played the role.

Filming
The film was shot in Macabebe, Pampanga, Baguio and nearby towns. About 16 hours of shooting was spent inside the mines of Camp 6 along Kennon Road.

Release
Honor thy Father was first screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also screened in the Cinema One Originals Film Festival in November 2015. The film was accepted as an official entrant to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival after Hermano Puli, a historical biopic directed by Gil Portes, withdrew from the festival on October.