I had never met a man who could match my energy until I met this director, writer, and producer, but he still insists that he gets overwhelmed with mine. Readers meet Njel de Mesa, a critically-acclaimed multi-Palanca award-winning writer, published author, songwriter, arranger, musician, vice-president of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, and now writer-director-producer of the new movie "Malditas in Maldives" starring Arci Muñoz, Janel Tee and Kiray Celis.

I decided to pick the brain of this renaissance man by getting an exclusive interview to get a glimpse of what is going on in his prefrontal cortex. 

“Making movies has always been my dream, Giselle. After working hard as your co-host during the Uniteam campaign, I decided to pursue my creative side by writing, directing, and producing movies independently," Njel said.

Njel added: "Creating something has always been my first love. I am glad to announce that I will now launch not just one but 10 movies under my production at NDM Studios. The first of 10 movies to be launched is 'Malditas in Maldives.' I am so blessed that my favorite actress, Arci Muñoz, became this project's producer and creative director. 

"In the film, three rival vloggers (Anais, Kimble, and Padma) are set to feature the atolls of Maldives when they find themselves in a time loop, where the days are always repeating themselves. Caught in this quirky predicament, they try to find solutions to get out of the loop. 

"I am also proud to announce that 'Malditas in Maldives' is the Philippines' official selection entry to the 2024 Jinseo Arigato International Film Festival in Nagoya, Japan. The film will hold international screenings first and world premieres by joining international film festivals in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Canada. We’re also set to go back to Maldives and premiere it there! I want to thank South Palm Maldives and Meuyag for supporting our project," he said.

Direk Njel told Gossip Girl that filming "Malditas in Maldives" was difficult. 

“Most technical equipment, including Arci’s luggage, didn’t arrive in the Maldives. It all got lost in the airport transfer en route to our filming location, but we needed to shoot whatever we could, so Arci ended up borrowing clothes from everyone so that we could finish the job. 

"But we did it! Hats off to Arci for being such a trooper. You will also be impressed with Vivamax Royalty Janelle Tee’s acting because this time, she is doing a comedy movie with no steamy, sexy scenes. Lastly, I am truly grateful to GMA Network’s Sparkle for allowing Kiray’s comedic talent to shine in this movie."

The hilarious trailer of Malditas In Maldives can now be viewed on YouTube and other social media platforms.  For further updates, visit www.facebook.com/NDMstudios and www.youtube.com/NjeldeMesa