Atom Araullo acts in a scene from "Citizen Jake," a movie that was pulled out of this year's Cinemalaya Film Festival. "Citizen Jake" Facebook page

Organizers of the 2018 Cinemalaya Film Festival have cancelled a screening of Mike de Leon's movie, "Citizen Jake."

The statement was issued on Facebook, without explanation.

It was originally scheduled to screen Sunday night, but it will now be replaced by a free screening of the documentary "Beast Mode," about Baron Geisler and Kiko Matos's social experiment.

The announcement added that those who bought tickets for "Citizen Jake" can exchange them for another movie.

The crime drama made news back in May when De Leon aired his disappointment over his lead star, Atom Araullo.

"I only realized later that Atom’s journalism was not exactly the kind of journalism I had in mind," he said. "It's not the gritty kind but more of the celebrity-centered schlock that sometimes verges on entertainment, even showbiz."

In the movie, Araullo plays journalist Jake Herrera, an estranged son of a powerful senator. He is confronted with the reality of corrupt politics while investigating a murder of a young female student from the university he teaches in.

It is De Leon’s first movie following an 18-year hiatus.