Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

On a sunny day in September, a woman in her early 20s is seen carrying what appears to be a baby wrapped in a blanket.

A look into the life of full-time Filipino puppeteer Ricky Paez and how the art of puppetry has become his life.

A Talaandig-Manobo indigenous trans woman must uphold her community’s culture by becoming a Babaylan, a Filipino queer shaman. Amid the destruction of her ancestral land in Bukidnon, Philippines, she finds meaning in her ancestry and embraces her destiny.

Two college students lie to authority about dating to get out of trouble, but keeping up the act turns out to be harder than they expected.

The story is about Elena, once a talented artist, who desperately wants to regain her lost memories and inspiration for her painting after surviving a near-fatal car accident that left her with amnesia.

Two savvy social media stars get set up, and they struggle to meet up at all.

After 8 years of marriage, a childless couple named Clark and Eileen meet a little girl who one day, came knocking at their door claiming to be Clark’s child.

A man lost in a trance of dance and music traverses the urban cityscape and encounters an ominous creature.

A filmmaker follows her grandparents’ daily life after her chain-smoker and alcoholic grandmother is forced to stop drinking beer for a month.

4 Spine-chilling, rib-tickling comedy-horror thrillers.

Just as she was about to give up on her pursuit of companionship, traumatized, nine-year-old Sol meets and befriends a forest spirit on her tenth birthday, making way for an exploration of healing, identity, and desire in the remaining days before she enters a new school.

Kristofer (Tuper), is a teenage aspiring filmmaker who dreams of making it to Cannes. While making his short film, his friends pressures him about "doing it" with his girlfriend. He gets introduced by his girlfriend's parents, and a twist of fate happens.

A national artist delivers a powerful message urging us to embrace and celebrate our cultural heritage, highlighting its richness and greatness, and encouraging us to avoid being mere imitators of modern society.

In a series of self-portraits, a young filmmaker presents herself through an art medium that she fell in love with – film. And as the woman commemorates and encourages self-expression in her work, she explores a different way to shoot and show her creation in a technique she’s never done before.

Huwag no ng itanong: Directed by F.C. Gargantilla. With Gladys Reyes, Angelika Dela Cruz, Cherry Pie Picache, Melissa Mendez.

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."

upcoming prequel to the horror move Eerie.

Monsters attacked the Grid, home of the Stikbots, while it was being rebuilt. After Striker was captured, Pixel, Shift, and their monster guide Gnots, enter the Nightmare Realm to rescue him. The three embark on a journey, traversing perilous lands and facing frightening foes leading to a confrontation with the domain’s lord and the reason for Striker’s abduction.

Man, betrayed by the hollow echoes of his hammer, smashes the sphere to reveal the vehicle away from the hole, towards the hole. The inescapable gift of fertility fulfills his ultimate duty to make the world obscure again in order to reclaim what was known.

At a young age, Jade was introduced to the incredible world of cooking. How it caused an impact on his life, made him a very optimistic person.

A 2018 Filipino short film by Kelvin Aguilar.

Ilo takes part in a challenge that will equip him for an invasion that brings danger to his son Nery, and their beloved island. Will he succeed or will he fall into the tricks and traps that will test the entirety of his being, which could lead to the complete fall of their community?

Two women face domestic violence. They make difficult decisions so they can live a better life for themselves through each other's support.

A twenty-year old daughter with Autism Spectrum Disorder is left alone at home after her mother, a frontliner putting in work against the COVID-19 pandemic, fails to come home one night. The emotional and psychological struggles are then shared by people whom she meets or sees throughout her isolation.

Raya Martin's award-winning short film Bakasyon is about a young girl who goes to the province to take care of her grandma, where she discovers strange and mysterious things about her lola's identity. The 15-minute film won the Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema at the Cinemanila in 2004.

The film features John, Jennycel, and Lola Ester--three generations of pebble pickers who will be affected by Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR's) moratorium intended to protect the pebbles or stones along the shorelines of Barangay Nalvo Norte, Luna, in La Union. What will happen to them and the rest of the other pebble pickers when the moratorium is started? Are they ready to face the reality of losing their livelihood for the sake of protecting the environment?

Shot on mobile, a collection of Jeepney drivers' sentiments why they ended up in streets begging for money leading them to dissent for the government's pandemic response.

Set in a dystopian landscape, humanity's strife for survival causes mankind to reminisce past memories. One man in particular decides to remember a special woman from his past.

After hearing the news of another killing of a transgender woman in the Philippines, a middle-aged father waits for his son to return home. He catches him sneaking inside. He didn't even suspect that his son was hiding something -- a secret they both share.

One day, a sudden black out takes place in Masayahin street where a 16 years old gamer, leaves his virtual world for a while and went outside to see the reality.

Jasper, a senior cheerleader of Saint Noel University Pep squad, is down to his last performance to represent his future alma mater. With days before the competition, an unexpected incident arises that will test the team’s will as athletes.

Shot entirely using mobile phones during the global pandemic, the persona journeys to escape the enigma of the mind, space, and thoughts. However, the persona realizes that this will eventually lead to discovering that some things may never set anything free.

Gilubong ang Akon Pusod sa Dagat explores the relevance of the sea and its relationship and impact on those who use it as a source of livelihood. Through a three-channel video projection, the work proffers varying scenes and perspectives in simultaneity, briskly balancing alternating rhythms in settings and emotions throughout its duration. In addition to reflecting the Philippines’ historical and geographical relationship with the ocean, it brings the sea into its contemporary reality, as a metaphor of necessity and opportunity, and of community and isolation.

Two girls go thrift shopping for the perfect outfit.

As a child was innocently playing with their friends, an interruption comes along.

Inspired by the works of physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and philosopher Enryo Inoue, this 16mm film documents the experiments of a modern-day scientist who attempts to communicate with Jose P. Rizal, the Philippine National Hero who was executed by the Spanish in 1896.

The story took place in the river edge of the Pasig River as an old man unfolds the bitter-sweet story behind his constant waiting for the return of his long-lost "irog" (beloved) and how he lost her in the first place.

The lone survivor of an ambush is being haunted by the war he survived.

A fusion of my love of literature and film. About how I perceive artificial lighting.

Through her own family's memories of struggle, Adjani unravels the story of war-torn Southern Philippines as an endless attempt at survival and adaptation to state policies that disregard the most basic concept of home.

Lab Kita Bilib Ka Ba is 1994 Filipino Action-Romance film

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

When Jomar, a 15-year old shy boy, bumps into the famous girl at the school, he decides to become a superhero to catch her attention.

Luke and his bestfriend search for his father to accompany them on their circumcision day.

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

Showbiz most people

A direct cinema documentary film about child survivors of the strongest typhoon ever recorded in human history.

Marco, troubled by past trauma and depression, encounters a cheerful boy named Makoy amidst the mysterious disappearance of the moon.

Paul and Rico have always been together since grade school. They were inseparable. And because of this strong bond, blooms a type of love that is, unfortunately, one-sided. Racing against the clock to tell him before they part ways, Paul is met with revelations that keep him from telling Rico what he truly feels. Can they still be friends? Can they still go back to the way they were before?

It happened in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, when life is no longer sustainable on earth. Thus, everyone is being moved to the final state. The story focuses on a young man who lives alone. All of his family members have already departed from earth. As he prepares himself he called his best friend to reminisce for the last time because he’s getting anxious about his end. His friend asked about the existence of hell but he’s not a believer of it. He thinks it’s just made to scare people. Later on, he discovers something that tests his faith and makes him question if there’s really a place where the bad people belong.

In the year 2034, the rules have changed. A young boy was awakened by every child's worst nightmare.

A group of farcical elite of mercenaries made up of dysfunctional members was hired and formed to rescue a group of kidnapped beauty queens and a gay pageant organizer from the hands of a retarded rebel group led by an insane insecure queen Madame Butterfly whose initial plan was only to kidnap Angela Mo Ray from the Kingdom of Kwe Kwe for a hefty amount of money as ransom.

Sarah is a debt collector who lives among the inhabitants of the village of Guimbal on the island of Panay. She wants to find the young man who appeared to her in a dream and goes to the island of Negros. Here, as she interacts with the inhabitants, Sarah continues her search, gathering memories of life and war, dreams, myths, legends, songs and stories that she takes part in and at times revolve around her. She is the daughter of an ancient mermaid, a revolutionary, a primordial element, a virgin who was kidnapped and hidden away from the sunlight. “The film is a retelling of fragments of the American occupation. Dialogue, shot in the Hiligaynon language, is not translated but used as a tonal guide and a tool for narration. Using unscripted scenes shot where the main character was asked to merely interact with the villagers, I discard dialogue and draw meaning from peoples’ faces, voices, and actions, weaving an entirely different story through the use of subtitles and inter-titles.”