EXCLUSIVE: Sundance award-winning Philippine filmmaker Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan has completed the cast for his debut feature Hum, headed by P-pop star Taneo Sebastian and actress Ymeiliza Tabora.

Taneo, the lead singer of Filipino boy band Alamat, is playing his first lead role in the film. Tabora previously starred in Eblahan’s award-wining 2024 short film Vox Humana, which played at Toronto International Film Festival and won the Student Prize at Clermont-Ferrand. 

Eblahan’s previous credits also include 2022 short The Headhunter’s Daughter, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. 

Hum will also reunite him two other actors from Vox Humana who are playing lead roles in his debut feature – actress, dancer and choreographer Sasa Cabalquinto, who won a Best Performance award at Singapore International Film Festival for Vox Humana, and artist-actor Bruce Venida.

Set in mountainous Benguet province in northern Philippines, an area that is home to multiple indigenous communities, Hum tells the story of a renowned animal linguist and a reclusive cowgirl who join forces to unravel a crime committed by a mysterious man who can cause earthquakes. 

“Hum is an arthouse re-imagining of the western genre set against the misty highlands of the Cordilleras,” said Eblahan. “In this atmospheric subversion of the beloved Western, we examine the post-colonial conditions of the Philippines and its impact on today’s youth.”

The film is produced by Alemberg Ang of the Philippines’ Daluyong Studios and Hannah Schierbeek of US-based Prima Materia Pictures. Rounding out the main cast are Karl Medina and Cordilleran actors and artists Jemimah Bogbog, Handiong Kapuno and Ranyag Quitasol. 

Taneo will play the role of Toma, a young cowboy. “What really made me say yes was the story and the opportunity to be part of something different. I was also excited to challenge myself as an actor,” Taneo told Deadline. “I feel like every project teaches you something new and I knew Hum was an opportunity for me to grow and explore a different side of myself.”

Taneo’s previous film credits include romantic dramas and youth-oriented series, so his collaboration with Eblahan will be his most complex role so far. “My character is someone who has a lot more going beneath the surface. He has his own personality, struggles, and motivations. I think that’s what makes Toma interesting to play. I’m excited for everyone to see his journey and hopefully discover the different sides of him as the story unfolds.”

Hum has received support from the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Sundance Institute Native Lab Grant, One House Grant, Creative Capital, the Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Purin Pictures, Polish Film Institute’s Minority Co-Production Grant, Hubert Bals Fund Europe, MOIN Film Fund and World Cinema Fund Classic.  

It was developed through residencies in Locarno, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Moulin d’Ande and won awards at project markets including Busan’s Asian Project Market and Tokyo Gap Financing Market. 

“Don is such a remarkable young talent,” said Ang. “Thanks to the support Hum is receiving, Don’s unique voice as a regional filmmaker from the northern mountain region of the Philippines is amplified and is getting a chance to be heard by the world.”

In addition to The Headhunter’s Daughter and Vox Humana, Eblahan’s short films include Umbilical Cord to Heaven (2019), which screened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art; Hilum (2021), which also won a Student Prize at Clermont-Ferrand; and Cold Cut (2024), a segment of Director’s Factory Philippines, co-directed with Siyou Tan. 

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