CEBU CITY, Philippines — Christian Paolo ‘Kid’ Lat is a storyteller.
Lat is popular because of his award-winning films that made a buzz both in the Philippines and in international shores.
But this Cebu-based filmmaker wants to share more stories in a different medium — this time, through music.
He is now a certified singer and a songwriter as he ventured into music.
His latest achievement is his latest single, “SAFE” which first premiered on MYX Philippines last Saturday, July 27.
This August 2, Friday “SAFE” will be publicly available on YouTube.
“Some stories are better told on music. “SAFE” is something personal because it is a story that I wanted to tell,” he told CDN Digital on July 30, Tuesday.
He felt inspired to write “SAFE” back in June 2019 after his latest script has been picked up to be made into a 10-episode series from a production company based in the United States of America (USA).
Listeners can relate to “SAFE” especially on the idea of being focused on making dreams happen.
“Most of the (SAFE) inspiration comes from working your way to the top, and, now, that I work for a streaming platform based in Los Angeles. I felt like nothing is impossible if you put your mind and effort into it,” he said.
Produced by LBJ, “SAFE” has a dark sound and melodically inspired by Atlanta and Toronto rappers.
“When I first heard the beat, the words came out naturally,” the 25-year-old filmmaker-turned-singer and songwriter said.
Lat started his music career for almost a year now. His first two singles are “Grab” and “No Need” which were released on September 2018 and May 2019, respectively.
Read more: CHRISTIAN PAOLO LAT: On top of his game
Filmmaking plans
Lat was born and raised in San Pedro, Laguna and grew up in Canada.
He moved to Cebu City in 2013 to study film at the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT).
He then produced, directed, and acted 30 short films and won more than 20 awards in Canada and the Philippines.
One of his award-winning films was “Ginhawa” that won big during the Sinulog Short Film Festival 2018.
Read more: Movie about boxing leads winners of Sinulog Film Festival
It bagged Best Short Film, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.
Lat who portrayed the role of a boxer was also named as Best Actor.
The Cebu-based filmmaker was also recognized for the short film, “Red Lights” which was named as Best Film in Ottawa Digital Film Festival 2015 in Ottawa, Canada.
The same year, “Red Lights” was screened in Facine International Film Festival in San Francisco and Cine ROMA DC in Rome, Italy.
“Red Lights” was also recognized in the country when it bagged the Silver Award for the first Philippine Viddsee Juree Awards in 2017.
Although he now ventures into music, Lat still has time to continue his filmmaking career.
Lat confirmed that he would work on two films to be shot in the Philippines.
He will also co-write and direct two television series — one a Filipino show, and second is an American show.
“This is the most I can share about my upcoming projects since most of it are on the pre-production stage,” he said. #End