Dannyka Manangan

Director Lester Pimentel talks about shooting his favorite scenes in Incognito

Article (news)

Rhea Manila Santos

Push Team

<p>With his hugely popular action series <em>Incognito</em> now on its last three weeks, director Lester Pimental admits the show has been one of his biggest challenging projects in the course of his career. The Kapamilya director revealed which scene he considered the most unforgettable for him during its six-month run and why it was a crucial moment for their cast of characters.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLM6yVGzTa1/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A2254345.7%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="874" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“There are several scenes talaga na tumatak sa akin. Pero ang naisip ko agad na unforgettable was when they were on a mission to get Timor and then nung idi-deliver na sana nila si Timor, ina-assassinate si Timor,” he recalled during the <em>Incognito: Final Mission </em>presscon. “So that shows that they’re not perfect. They’re not super humans. Mga tao sila nanatatalo. That’s their first defeat eh.”</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DHuUzAQTOsi/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A2277890.2%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/6/26/maris-racal-reveals-how-doing-the-series-incognito-actually-saved-her-0848"><strong>READ: Maris Racal reveals how doing the series &#x27;Incognito&#x27; actually ‘saved’ her</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>The <em>Incognito</em> director also gave a behind-the-scenes look on the conditions the cast and crew had to deal with while filming scenes outside Metro Manila, especially in the most harsh weather conditions. “For example, in Japan we were shooting in negative ten degree weather. And then in Itogon, we were shooting in 42, 45 degrees under the sun. So it was basically draining. I’d like to thank the whole of the production staff for keeping us alive (laughs),” he said.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-6" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DK-sDLyTFTQ/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A6%2C%22os%22%3A2335618.9000000004%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-6" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/4/21/exclusive-kaila-estrada-on-working-with-her-incognito-co-stars-they-re-all-such-gentlemen-1237"><strong>READ: EXCLUSIVE: Kaila Estrada on working with her Incognito co-stars: ‘They’re all such gentlemen’</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>Having also brought the team to Italy, direk Lester pointed out how they encountered a different challenge there because of the mandated work hours for the foreign actors.</p><p>“In Europe, we would shoot for 12 hours, but our 12 hours doesn’t include a break. It doesn’t include the travel time. Pagdating sa Europe, iba na ‘yung working conditions nila. Basta lumabas ka sa hotel, kasama na yun sa 12 hours. It’s part of their working hours once you take off from the hotel. And kasama na rin ‘yung pabalik sa hotel and ‘yung lunch. So, sa Europe we only shot practically nine hours a day. But the workload is exactly the same as what we have here. So kinailangan ng matinding preparation, planning. And we have a strict schedule because we had very, very few crew members with us,” he explained.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-8" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLUrXvvy0V6/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A8%2C%22os%22%3A2380730.4000000004%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-8" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-10" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLUhtXjytdV/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A10%2C%22os%22%3A2412516.8%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="665" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-10" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/6/26/baron-geisler-proud-of-his-work-in-incognito-natapos-ko-na-hindi-ako-nagkalat-0938"><strong>READ: Baron Geisler, proud of his work in &#x27;Incognito&#x27;: ‘Natapos ko na hindi ako nagkalat!’</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><p>As he looked back on the show that will air its final episode this month — an episode which was shot in the war-torn town of Marawi in Mindanao — Direk Les talked about his admiration for everyone he worked with in <em>Incognito</em>. “Lahat sila, sobrang high level ng skill nila, from the actors to the staff to the cast, to the camera crew, technical crew, lahat magaling. I really give my salute and appreciation to everyone for making this happen,” he said. </p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-12" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DITVIlazx90/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A12%2C%22os%22%3A2484511.2%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-12" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Watch the finale run of <em>Incognito</em> weeknights at 8:45 PM on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, TFC, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Advance episodes are also available on Netflix and iWantTFC.</p>

<p>Incognito director Lester Pimentel talks about his most unforgettable experiences while working on the hit action series this year.</p>

Incognito director Lester Pimentel talks about his most unforgettable experiences while working on the hit action series this year.