Cheyenne Suarez

'Incognito' director to take a break after series ends

Article (news)

Leah C. Salterio

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1752033154827IMG_0576.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Director Lester Pimentel Ong (center) with his &#x27;Incognito&#x27; cast"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Director Lester Pimentel Ong (center) with his &#x27;Incognito&#x27; cast</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- Working with seven “superstars” in an action series is a major challenge for its director, Lester Pimentel Ong, who works at the helm of “Incognito.”</p><p>The star-studded action series, which started airing last January, lists Richard Gutierrez, Ian Veneracion, Daniel Padilla, Baron Geisler, Anthony Jennings, Maris Racal and Kaila Estrada in the lead cast.</p><p>“The biggest challenge for ‘Incognito’ is raising the bar for Philippine action series,” Pimentel pointed out to ABS-CBN News. “We wanted to close the gap between a Filipino action series and internationally produced series in other countries.</p><p>“Gusto kong ilapit kahit papano with our own limited resources, but the quality, story-telling and entertainment value, we want to make it closer to them. The ones made by Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong.</p><p>“At least, we have modest goal, although I know, Koreans don’t have modest goals. Sobrang layo na ang productions nila sa atin. Sobrang laki ng budget nila. But I believe that if we somehow keep on improving, the money will come soon.</p><p>“The opportunities will come soon. The whole industry will benefit soon. We have to start somewhere.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1752021408895IMG_0574.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Director Lester Pimentel Ong " style="width:633px"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Director Lester Pimentel Ong </span></span></span></div><p>Pimentel made it clear: the money won’t come first, hoping good projects will follow. “We cannot complain with what we have.”</p><p>Pimentel also expressed concern that if they don’t deliver a quality action series, the industry might not get another chance at a well-funded project.</p><p>“Considered locally, for ‘Incognito,’ we are working on a drama budget,” shared Pimentel. “But we are shooting action. That’s the difference.”</p><p>They shot in Matera, Italy last September, before the series even started airing. Last February, they shot at the Yamagata Prefecture in Northern Japan.</p><p>“Very, very cold part of Northern Japan,” shared Pimentel. “We shot during the peak of the winter, last February. We purposely wanted to shoot in the snow.”</p><p>The director brought along his main cast to Japan, minus Geisler, whom they shot in Manila. “So we made the Philippine scenes intercut with the ones in Japan,” Pimentel said.</p><p>It’s difficult to bring together the cast. “They need to be given different highlights,” said Pimentel. “You got together seven cast members.</p><p>“You have to tell a story about them collectively and you also have to tell their stories individually. So it’s a big challenge for us – the creative, the production, the directorial team.”</p><p>The director works “very, very closely” with his writing team led by Henry Quitain, with Jay Fernando, Reese Fernandez and Maan Fampulme.</p><p>“Normally, we would meet several times for them to create concepts,” disclosed Pimentel. “Then they would lock themselves to be able to write the story. Then me and the show runner, the head of Star Creatives, Des de Guzman, we would sit down read all the scripts and give feedback and input.</p><p>“The writers revise the script and we would go on the process back and forth. The writers go to the location with us and the producers. So the writers can revise the script according to where we are to fit the storytelling to the location.”</p><p>There are a lot of moving parts which are very challenging to Pimentel. “We have to keep the script grounded, realistic, believable, engaging and timely. Dapat makatotohanan at napapanahon.”</p><p>The last destination that “Incognito” visited was the Islamic city of Marawi in Mindanao only last June.</p><p>“I had to convince each and everyone in the series to join us in going there,” Pimentel said. “We had to convince the production staff, the lead stars, the management of ABS-CBN.</p><p>“We went there first for pre-production before the actual shoot. We made preparation for an advanced party to go to Marawi. We had to get security clearance from ABS-CBN. We stayed in Marawi for 18 days. It’s a very, very safe city to visit.”</p><p>“It has the most soldiers around in Mindanao or in any city in the Philippines. The place is very well secured and being developed, too, other than the ruins we see. Marawi is a very well-run city.”</p><p>“Incognito’s” schedule per month is two weeks on location, when they would be locked in a certain place out of town. “The schedule is four days shoot, one day rest, four days shoot, one day rest, four days shoot, then we go home,” Pimentel said. </p><p>“When I return home, that’s the time I attend to the family business. I will be doing store visits or store openings.”</p><p>Pimentel’s journey as a filmmaker started as a stuntman in 1998. When piracy proliferated, with fake VCDs and DVDs being sold everywhere, all the action films came to a halt.</p><p>“In the Philippines and around the region, there was no one producing action films,” Pimentel lamented. “It was expensive and the films were not making money. People were so excited about the pirated DVDs and VCDs. So, there was no project for me.”</p><p>That was when he started his journey as a filmmaker. He later became an action choreographer in 1998, then an action director in old films and series, like director Joel Lamangan’s “ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh” (2006), where Pimentel was the stunt director.</p><p>“That was my first action directing job,” said Pimentel. “I also directed the action scenes in the old series of Vhong Navarro like ‘Lastikman’ and Jake Cuenca in ‘Palos’.”</p><p>Pimentel later worked as a second unit director and lead director. Today, he shuttles between directing and managing his family’s business.</p><p>Although there are plans for Pimentel to direct another series or even a film after “Incognito,” he opts to rest when the series ends on July 11. </p><p>The family – Lester, wife Rosette and their five sons – plans to take a vacation in Japan or Singapore. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/7/8/tv-patrol-mga-direktor-ng-incognito-tiniyak-na-pasabog-ang-finale-2117" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TV PATROL: Mga direktor ng &#x27;Incognito&#x27; tiniyak na &#x27;pasabog&#x27; ang finale</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6-BusM7hW9A?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xItTI2B5ig0?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q6npOFxZcKw?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Director Lester Pimentel Ong pushes the limits of Philippine action TV with the star-studded series 'Incognito,' juggling international shoots, tight budgets, and seven leads — all in hopes of proving the genre’s worth and securing its future.</p>

Director Lester Pimentel Ong pushes the limits of Philippine action TV with the star-studded series 'Incognito,' juggling international shoots, tight budgets, and seven leads — all in hopes of proving the genre’s worth and securing its future.