A Filipino producer has been credited as one of the driving forces behind Diamond, the latest film by Hollywood icon Andy Garcia, which made its prestigious out-of-competition debut at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, earning a seven-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
Paul Soriano, co-producer and founder of Black Cap Pictures, was singled out by the film’s producers during a press conference at the festival, not for seeking the spotlight, but precisely because he avoided it.
Diamond is a contemporary noir with period sensibilities set in Los Angeles. Its protagonist, Joe Diamond, is a man out of time: an urban legend with a traumatic emotional past and an uncanny ability to solve crimes that even the LAPD cannot crack. When he is hired by a wealthy woman, played by Vicky Krieps, whose husband ends up dead in their hilltop mansion, Diamond investigates a case that also leads him to truths about his own mysterious past. Surrounding him is a remarkable ensemble cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Brendan Fraser, and Bill Murray.
The film is Garcia’s 20-year passion project, one that began as a homework assignment for his daughter. Garcia wrote, directed, produced, and composed music for it, a rare quadruple role that underscores just how personal the film is to him. Diamond has been described as a love letter to Los Angeles and a homage to the great noir films of the past.
But getting it made was no small feat. That is where the Philippines enters the story.
When PAGEONE Media correspondent Arne Gershwin Gogo asked Soriano directly about the extent of his contribution to bringing Diamond to Cannes, the Filipino filmmaker deferred to his team.
“I’m a part of a great team,” Soriano said. “We all did our part. I just believe in the story. I believe in the script. Whatever it is I did, it would be for maybe other people to say.”
Those other people did not hold back.
Producer Jai Stefan interrupted to set the record straight. “This film would not have happened without Black Cat Pictures, Paul Soriano, Simon Hieu, Nicky Romero,” Stefan said. “Your country made Diamond. Just to be clear, your country made Diamond.”
He said it twice. And he meant it.
Stefan further described Garcia as “an icon of cinema” and emphasized the enormous leap of faith that Soriano and his partners took on the project. “For these men to step up and trust us with Andy’s material, it was them who made the movie happen, for sure.”
Andy Garcia, in turn, was candid about the financial risk the Filipino producers absorbed. The production moved forward with no pre-sales and no distribution agreements, only a script and a belief in the story.
“The fact that our movie exists is successful already,” Garcia said. “But there’s risk when you put up money, when you have no pre-sales, you have no distribution. You just have a script and a crazy Cuban.”
Soriano smiled and answered without missing a beat: “And a crazy Filipino.”
The exchange drew laughter from the room. But the underlying message was unmistakable. Diamond arriving at Cannes is not only a milestone for Garcia. It is a quiet but significant moment for Philippine cinema, driven by producers who believed in the film long before the rest of the world had a chance to.
