Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

Filipino horror movie from 1954.

A Black Beret entry by Katyana Floresca in partial fulfillment for their directing class under John Dalog Torres.

At the brink of their 30s, two gay exes fight for the ownership of their small apartment. As they reunite for this conversation, old memories challenge the future of their relationship.

Memories shot from an iPhone to 往事只能回味 by You Ya.

A story about a student struggling with his problems

The true-to-life story of a bootblack who worked his way up to become a college president.

Gus, a Filipino guy who grew up in America and migrated to Manila, got disturbed when his mother told him that she was going to adopt a 13-year-old girl. The two siblings were uncomfortable at first, until Gus learned to accept his adopted younger sister even though they were not "magka-dugo".

A young man searches for his father and encounters natural and supernatural forces, which ultimately lead him to unveil his true identity.

Two individuals having a friendly game stumbles upon a very mysterious man and faces the unexpected.

A disgruntled fast food worker finds himself stuck inside his mascot costume.

A gardener who works at a resort owned by siblings brings trouble with his charm and good looks. The siblings all compete for his affection, and the gardener is caught in the middle of their conflict.

“Traslacion: Ang Paglakad sa Altar ng Alanganin” focuses on four LGBT couples and their stand on equality and the right to marry. This documentary addresses their complicated quests in defining themselves within a conservative society.

Relive the bittersweet memory of first love in this classic Snooky-Albert team up.

This is a tale told in four parts. The story begins with an unreliable narrator's take on an urban legend about a fetus flushed down the toilet of a fast food restaurant, followed by a guide on how to effectively clean up a literal bloody mess. The remaining parts deal with the uncertainty in identifying the remains of a departed friend and a conversation between two absentee mourners about the art of death that ties everything together.

Admist the magnificent landscape of Montalban lies the silent anguish of nature — examining the impact of quarrying on the communities closest to the danger.

Estranged friends Kia and Maria face an unexpected reunion in the chapel of their old all-girls' Catholic school, where they are forced to redress feelings left unspoken in their mutual fixations on the Virgin Mary.

In the final days of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, a young Filipino seeking to provide for his family by identifying traitors, finds a young insurgent living in his home, leaving him to choose between his family or dignity to survive the Second World War.

Through phone call conversations, an aspiring Ilocano filmmaker relates to his mother working in Italy about his dreams and struggles while documenting the invisible betweenness of their language and distance.

Rocky and Rolly are notorious swindlers but they use the money to support an orphanage. When they need more money to prevent the orphanage from closing, Rocky has no choice but to fight a syndicate's champion boxer in a match.

Ed Gerlock, Romeo Mariano, and DJ De Guzman shares their experience in documenting a range of events in the decades of media censorship.

Alex recalls a night filled of emotions after waking up to a nightmare about lumpiang shanghai -- in her boy best friend's bed.

Benjie's obsession with long-dead Filipino movie star Jaime Reyes leads him to the rooftop where the actor killed himself. Here, he summons Jaime's ghost for a conversation.

In the brief hours of the morning, two strangers strike up an unexpected connection with the spaces between them sharing a language far too familiar.

A dream come true collaboration of Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez and Asia's Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo, Unified is a concert

Miming and friends show us the beauty and importance of coral reefs as they call to conserve their friend's home as it faces destruction.

Lam-ang is an ethno-epic musical that re-imagines and reinterprets Biag ni Lam-ang, the oldest among the folk epics of Luzon. This play, which aims to rediscover a significant portion of Philippine culture and heritage, is inspired by the published Ilocano version of Isabelo delos Reyes and Tagalog translations of Angel Acacio and Ariel Tabag.

Magic returns to his hometown of San Antonio, hoping to learn how to surf by his 18th birthday. His brother Joel introduces him to the local surf instructor Tony, and a story of identity, love and brotherhood begins to unfold.

A look inside the Batanes traditional house and how the Ivatans preserve their custom of constructing their vahay (house).

Maita spends her last moments with her daughter, Mika before undergoing a process which will tamper with her emotions and change their relationship forever.

Alone at home during a seemingly ordinary morning, a young man is haunted by a mysterious doppelgänger ghost, proving that terror does not need darkness to exist.

Regina, 75, takes every opportunity to line up in the government's arduous medical assistance dole out program just to secure mitigating financial help for her sick husband's increasing hospital bill. In the last two hours before she reaches the end of the line and receive help, Regina bears with her own debilitating illness due to old age, confronts a fixer condoning corruption, and temporarily leaves the line to look for her missing granddaughter who wanders off.

Set in the year 2121, Chase, a celebrity-turned-beauty queen, answers rapid-fire questions inside her luxurious residence for this year’s episode of Quick Questions with the Queen. As she responds to lighthearted questions about fashion and lifestyle, her answers expose the environmental collapse beneath her home. As the interviewer’s questions grow more probing, Chase’s polished facade begins to crack, revealing the chilling effects of privilege in a world on the brink of climate impacts.

A year after her grandmother’s death, Isla, a graduating literature student, comes back to Mindoro and reckons with the void her grandmother left as she finds and listens to her “nanay’s” recorded poems and songs when she cleans up her nanay’s untouched bedroom, in line with a Mindoreno tradition.

A teenage girl faces her obstacle in her love for a talented boy.

In a darkened room, a man commits a murder, an act of madness that leaves him emotionally crippled with guilt and paranoia. Beside him, a dead body lies face down on the bed, blood staining the white bed sheet. But it seems the dead body has its own agenda—haunting him again and again, taunting him. A cycle of guilt, paranoia, shame, and fear cuts through the man’s senses, driving him closer and closer to madness struggling to atone for the sin of violence to no avail.

Michael, a DVD vendor, spirals down after being kicked out from his own house by his wife due to financial difficulties.

In the shores of Sulu lives the sea-faring tribe that is ruled by Datu Tanbuong. His granddaughter, Minda is betrothed to be married to Danao, who is a handsome young pearl fisher who presents a handful of impressive pearls to the datu. However, a visitor to Danao and Minda's wedding celebration is Hadji Razul, a chief of another tribe who has feelings for Minda.

While rehearsing for their next performance, a ballet dancer is haunted by echoes of the past.

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Glorious… as his love! Inspired… as his Music!

A father spirals into depression when his young daughter accidentally drowns while on vacation.

The movie is about a former fashion model who turns to professional photography. She is wooed by twins who eventually become her lovers, though she believes that she is only dating one man. Upon discovering that her lover is actually two different men, she develops emotional and psychological problems.

CK is a college dropout who deals weed to get by. Years before, he was casted out by his father, and was left behind by his mother. He is being held captive by his Boss for stealing money from him. He escapes with the help of his friend, Wise. Calvin is a middle-aged taxi driver with a bad temper who is trying to save up money every day for a hopeful future. In a desperate attempt to get away from Boss and his henchmen, CK lets Calvin get him and Wise to the sea, the place constantly appearing in his dreams. Tides turn when Boss and his henchmen finally catch up. With CK pinned down and in trouble, Calvin steps up and faces them, offering them a lump of cash that was meant to restart both him and his son's life together. Having rekindled their relationship with one another, the father and the son face yet another test of faith as Calvin finally confesses the true reason of their journey: to attend CK's mother's funeral.

During one of the hottest days in the Philippines, a desperate young waitress in a Chinese restaurant is denied a day off to see her ailing son in the province. When she discovers he is in the hospital, she faces a searing dilemma, pushing her to the brink of desperation and visual hallucination.

A man with a troubled past set out to work in a new town to turn over a new leaf but trouble seems to follow him.

An environmentally conscious movie about Butanding, or whale shark.

During her husband’s short visit before his deployment on a peacekeeping mission, a homemaker prepares a ‘last meal’ for him.

A short film by Zoe Olavides.

This Special features three short horror segments Haunted Condo, Regalo and Kamay sa Dilim, with elementals such as doppelgangers and an incubus and explores haunted places possessed by evil spirits.

May gatas pa sa labi · Director. Mauro Gia Samonte · Stars. Rey 'PJ' Abellana · Tonton Gutierrez · Rita Magdalena.

As the global pandemic affects more than half the world, the Family Chan tries to cope with the seemingly permanent quarantine and the claustrophobic circumstance of being together.

A journey to someone's personal gallery and an unsent letter.