Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

This documentary is a compilation of archival footage, faded photographs, and intimate conversations with the filmmaker’s twin grandmothers to revisit the memories of a once-beloved resort.

The story comes from the classic novel. The task was to capture the magical Ibong Adarna to cure their father's illness. The one who can bring home the bird will be the heir to the throne.

Amidst the social and political struggles of the "Bagong Lipunan" era, Red grows up with his middle-class family as an ordinary boy. He then finds himself caught between the conflicts brought by his mother's unbending ideologies, and his father's apolitical instinct to protect his family.

A light comedy drama for the family set in Metro Manila and Subic about the plight of children.

Paminsan-minsan: Directed by Dante Javier. With Gretchen Barretto, Gardo Versoza, Edmund Cupcupin, Johnny Delgado.

Starring Dawn Zulueta,Gardo Versoza and Gloria Romero

An Aeta from Baytan village in Zambales makes a living from cutting down and burning of trees and hunting on the foothills of Mt. Pinatubo.

Bunsong kerubin is a 1987 Tagalog-language Drama film written by Pablo S. Gomez and Jose Javier Reyes. The movie is directed by Luciano B. Carlos. Bunsong kerubin features Susan Roces, Matet De Leon, Lotlot De Leon, Ronaldo Valdez, William Martinez, Roderick Paulate and Anzewelle Macrohan. It was released on 1st May 1987.

40 years after having to marry a white man, Angie is deported and reunites with her ex, Badine. As they revisit the places buried by urbanization, they unearth the past and rekindle their love.

Rust is a satirical piece crafted together using found footage of war, sex, and pop culture, revealing the destructive repercussions of fascism.

Two loving gay couple adopted a girl and are living the best of their lives as a family, until one day their daughter asks if she can introduce her boyfriend to them.

Waking up in a nightmare before the sunrise of December 30, 2020, the indigenous community of the Tumandok was suddenly surrounded by fear. Panambi features the stories of bright memories of the past and the despair of having now as a mere memory of the future without a trace of justice; how they lived and what they lived for. A decades-long struggle is shot, one in the lens of a mother paralyzed by fear; another from a mother raged and moved by fear—both looking forward to a better tomorrow.

After discovering a hidden clause in his work insurance, CELSO, a factory worker, goes extreme and faces a life-altering decision, challenging reality to secure his family's future.

A university student learns that it is not so easy to borrow a library book. Martika Ramirez Escobar and Sari Estrada's segment in the anthology "Anatomiya ng Pag-Ibig."

Lt. Palagawad: Mag-uunahan ang paa mo sa Hukay: Directed by Dante Pangilinan. With Chuck Perez, Efren Reyes Jr., Monica Herrera, Lani Lobangco.

A country lass moves to the city and falls in love with her benefactor

Together again for laughs, the nation’s top comedy duo at their craziest, funniest best.

A story about Estelito who went to the province to hunt game, after the hunt he went swimming but upon his return, all his belonging were gone. He then went searching and meets Pilar the person who kept his belongings, after their meeting Estelito goes back to the metro. One day Pilar's grandfather returns from America and opts for Pilar and her family to stay and live with him in the metro.

In this comedy special, Alex Calleja shares his unflinching observations about his family, personal failures and the oddities of life in the Philippines.

Philippine cinema's quintessential kontrabida, Bella Flores, reveals the secret to being the queen of mean. In a wickedly witty step-by-step tutorial, Bella will keep you laughing to the very end. And you might just change the way you feel about cinema's darling villains.

Siblings escape into their imagination to cope with the chaos of their parents constant arguments, as reality seeps into their imagination, they must confront the painful truths of their fractured home.

The story of a boxer and what troubles he encounters when he meets a pretty girl.

Tohru is a scared little kitten when he first enters his new place of residence, unsure of what the future holds. He hides in a pot, scuffles with the territorial tabby Jiji, and destroys his owner’s possessions. But Tohru soon learns the comforts of his new home – birthday celebrations, meals shared, and chin scratches. Over time, Tohru and Jiji become brothers, often gazing out the window together at birds. Tohru becomes ill and his health deteriorates, confusing and worrying his parents who want to comfort him. Through all his ups and downs, Tohru finds his place in a loving family where he will always belong.

Rom comes back home after years away. A creature starts following him as he unravels long-forgotten secrets from his past.

A tale of two male hunks undergoing the different stages of realization and of falling in and out of love. Their story reels off in their minds and is carried out in a rather sensual and provocative manner. What actually goes on...? And what are the complexities in the process of carrying out, staying in and moving on from this kind of relationship? Masterfully crafted as the previous M2M features- this video shows the intricacies and dynamics of male to male relationship.

A couple wakes up and talks about a dream.

The journey of an undocumented Filipino immigrant struggling to survive in the US. Facing homelessness, racism, drug rings, and INS, Andrew seeks to find his place not only in America, but in the world.

A love story

The overwhelming heat, the deafening silence of loneliness, and the fear of losing his livelihood in the wake of the PUV modernization program are just a few of the struggles that Jerry Ramirez and other fellow jeepney drivers face. His journey is to be followed as he's faced with the question, "Aarangkada pa ba, o ito na ba And Huling Pasada?"

The searing story of President Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war - the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum. Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings. The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace - and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue.

Compilation film of shorts from the Toei Manga Festival for 3 Tokusatsu series "Bioman" "Space Sheriff Shaider" and "Maskman. Released in the Philippines and dubbed both into English and Tagalog

Sieg (Joshua Domingo) and Gene (Alvin Notarte) grew up best friends. Gene is courting Ritz (Kathleen Empleo) and requires Sieg’s help to summon the girl’s attention. Inside a dingy pad they call “tambayan” - an empty room with a single mattress plopped down the floor and nothing else – the three characters exchange their awkward flirtations (if you could call it that). Unknown to Gene, Ritz is really attracted to the bashful Sieg who in turn seems more interested with his best friend than with Ritz. Released on compliation: Dose, trese, katorse (2011)

Love story in the midst of politics and contreversy and envy. Two lovers fought through all obstacles of rumors and false accusations.

After a traumatic event, two brothers cope in their own ways, one of them by eating ice cream.

After a massive storm, an endangered eagle builds a new nest despite the threats that lurk around its habitat; coincidentally, an Indigenous community living in the same place struggles with their right to live.

On the rooftop of a seven storey building, Waterina eagerly waits for his gay politician-friend, Gee-Gee. He soon arrives, bearing with him a cheque –the payment for the film rights to the life story of Waterina, the soon-to-be-famous “comfort gay.” As the two mull over the prospects of their newly acquired wealth, they launch into a comfortable tirade of each other's flaws and frailties. In the midst of the teasing and mockery, they are faced with a question: how does one measure his worth?

Maya, a young woman residing on a quaint fishing island in the Philippines, carries the weight of her family's financial struggles, but her life takes a turn when Nilo, a fisherman from a neighboring area, arrives on the island for the squid-fishing season. However, the harsh reality of their precarious financial situation looms over them, threatening the stability of their life together.

A film by Macky Esquibel

To cope with his mother’s death, Anton, a graduating college student, adopts a pet fish - only to slowly discover how his grief and loneliness causes his emotions to grow more intense as strange fishlike traits appear around his body.

A 1962 Filipino action drama starring Vic Vargas and Lolita Rodriguez.

Trapped in a reunion party that never ends, a timid girl searches for what went missing—only to realize the night isn't a memory at all, but a prison built by her own mind.

Jess Huson has a dream like many other struggling Filipinos, he dreams of a better life for himself and his family in America. After he is rejected, Jess embarks on a comical adventure filled with crazy schemes and ludicrous plans that end up in hilarious train wrecks that can only happen, where else, in the Philippines.

Ishmael Dalisay begins to picture his future after graduating senior high school. Little by little, his idealistic principles are challenged by his grandfather’s jaded outlook on the nation’s politics. What spans the lull of a quiet afternoon is a heartfelt conversation over a beloved game of sungka, reigniting a hope that was once lost.

Several cases of killings and human rights violations were not reported because of the stinging climate of fear among victims, families of victims, community members, and even journalists. Still, two young journalists persist in taking on a journey to truth-finding and documentation of how sugarcane farmers in Negros Island assert their land rights and stand up against violence and killings.

A young woman with a monstrous secret desperately longs for a different body. When the new couple in town moves in next door, she sees her chance to finally get one.

A detective enlists the help of a struggling male nursing student to spy on an old lady in order to find out if she murdered her husband.

BEHIND THE GOLDEN CURTAIN is a short documentary that focuses on Ramon Busa, the leader of Home for the Golden Gays, and the organization's current situation and challenges, highlighting its members' daily living conditions and goal of finding their forever home.

A woman lied about her real life when she met a man on a dating app.

EVERYBODY TRIES TOO HARD TO BE SOMETHING. Everyday, we wrestle with the dilemma of existence. Does it matter? What is it all for? These are questions we ask ourselves on the daily. The fear of being forgotten is so instilled into our beings, leading us to do anything and everything to make sure that we’re immortalized in some way. At least, that’s how some of us feel. Not everybody wants to be different. Not everybody wants to be known. Not everybody wants to last. Some of us prefer to remember. ‘KILALA’ is an Ogtonganon-Ilonggo short film that takes this year’s theme of ‘50’ and dives into the metaphorical symbolism of the number rather than the literal of counting. The film is about a boy grappling with idea of simply being. We see his journey of acceptance of his own disinterest and his realization of the fact that he can be whatever he wants to be even if it’s the unextraordinary.

AN EROTIC MYSTERY. AN INNOCENT GIRL BY DAY AND A VAMP BY NIGHT. NENE MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE HERO TO KEEP THE DEVIL IN HIM FROM COMING OUT.

Gloria, a middle-aged seamstress, and her son Bayani live in the House, a structure in constant decay. As Bayani’s birthday approaches, mother, son, and the House are forced to confront their innermost desires.

While documenting the streets of Al-Muhammadiyyah in Jeddah, a Filipino expat unexpectedly unveiled his relationship with the place and his peculiar kinship with the community cats in the neighborhood.

A couple about to get married reminisce their past in their vows.

Kino Kalye was birthed from a desire to show how this sense of alienation, the speed of commerce, and the consequences of the increasingly digital landscape occurred even outside his home, across industries, felt most strongly by those in the margins.