Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

Paloma is a young lady deprived of romance while being closely guarded by her elder sister. Her caged state is about to change when a buff man hired to be their gardener enters her life.

Rome and Juliet follows the romantic journey and soul mating of two straight women caught in a web of forbidden love. Juliet (a conservative pre-school teacher) is a bride to be who befriends and hires Rome (a liberated businesswoman) as her wedding planner. As they go through the preparations, Rome and Juliet develop a deep friendship, a soulful connection and a love that is physically consummated. But conflicts arise when Marc, the groom, who is a young politician, shockingly discovers the ongoing relationship between the two women. Angered and humiliated, Marc calls off the wedding and a huge scandal explodes, leaving Rome and Juliet in a state of emotional turmoil.

After a tragic incident, a psychiatrist offered Faith, Julio, and Stella life-sized dolls to look after to help cope from the loss of their respective daughters: Maria, Leonora, and Teresa. But the toys appears to be controlled by sinister.

The armed conflict between the Philippine military and the communist resistance at the beginning of the 1990s forms the backdrop to this study of three individuals who, for different reasons, are trying to resolve an untenable situation.

Remedios (Maricel Soriano), born and raised in poverty, is an ambitious young woman vows to rise above her origins.

Bayaw is a movie that combines action, mystery suspense with the gay genre. It ultimately looks deep into the unique and complex relationship of two brothers-in-law that borders between family ties, brotherhood, camaraderie and love.

A story of a stroke-stricken father whose family members take turns in manning the caregiving department. As his condition worsens, his children and wife start to squabble among themselves as they try to adapt to the circumstances.

A story about Eva, a young lady who works as a server in a carenderia along the highway. Eva and other girls offer not just food but a short time of pleasure to their male customers.

After their mother's death, her adult children gather in their family home to respect the funereal rite of Pa-sayim. Although they had originally thought she died of natural causes, thy soon realize that a dark force in he home may have played a part in her demise.

The film centers on an ageing macho dancer who refuses to give up his passion for dancing despite the decline of the bar he works in.

"The Lost Command," a bunch of notorious renegades, terrorize South Vietnam, forcing Sgt. Zack Skinner, HQ's best man to hunt down the Command to stop its killing spree.

A "barkada" of five–Kurt, Ma-an, Denzel, Hadji, and Junamae experiences the various faces of adulting in a world that seems to be losing faith in the concept of love.

A teenage boy befriends a starlet who is having an affair with an ambitious mayor. As the elections are coming up, the mayor's wife wants him to get rid of his mistress. The starlet agrees to stop the affair on condition that the mayor help release her boyfriend from jail. The mayor does so, but wants the former jail-bird to kill his political rival.

Luisa is raped by an unknown assailant a few nights before she is wed to Jake. When Jake discovers Luisa's prenuptial chastity is in question on their first night, violent events unfold. Poor Luisa is a battered victim and reacts chillingly. Tit for tat. Fire against fire. Dreams become nightmares, love turns to rage.

After 15 years of unprecedented tabloid sex notoriety, the Xerex Xaviera fantasy achieves big screen fulfillment via three exciting escapades into sensual. "Kama" tells of a teenaged girl's intimate dalliances with a campus heartthrob who turns out to be a heel. "O" follows a bride-to-be's lusty rollercoaster ride that takes her to an orgasmic bore, and her newfound toyboy, a beach lifeguard who¿s only saving grace is his bedside acrobatics. While "Butas" explores the dark, seedy voyeuristic world of illicit sex.

Pieta follows Isaac who tries to navigate the outside world after spending years in jail for killing his father.

When a Filipino teen is found fatally shot on the streets of New Jersey, the investigation into his death reveals the struggles of the Filipino-American community, including the horrifying effects of methamphetamine on its youth.

Five friends get together and decide to plan an operation to rob a bank. The main difference between this and other bank-robbing gangs, however, is that all five men are blind.

A family is haunted by what appears to be the ghost of their youngest daughter. Now they must try to figure out why she is trying to communicate with them.

A young blacksmith realizes his destiny when a malevolent demon bent on ruling the world unleashes an army of creatures on humanity.

The magical world of "Samadhi" is threatened by the evil forces of Ravenal and Sifu sends out three teenage boys to journey on the Magic Temple. Jubal, Sambag, and Omar, each with their own unique power battle the threat to the world of Samadhi and along the way face many extraordinary things. The boys are sure to face a huge battle ahead of them but with the help of magical creatures they met along their journey, evil is eliminated and they learn the true value of camaraderie and believing in themselves to face any problem.

After a heartless firing triggers a chain of unfortunate events, Philo plots a meticulous revenge against retail mogul, Mother Molly, aiming to dismantle her empire and seize the ultimate payback. This time, there is no mercy.

The life and faith of a priest was put into test when his family was killed by the military who wrongly accused them of supporting the communist rebels. After being tortured by the military, he joined the rebels to avenge his family's death. Will he finally get the justice he never got when he was still a servant of God?

The story of Nick Joaquin, who only accepted the National Artist Award on the condition that the Marcos administration release a well-known writer who was being unjustly detained during Martial Law.

When a retired professor and a widowed engineer in his '40s bond after a chance meeting, their conversations on life and love turn into something more.

Melissa, a successful advertising executive believed she has a perfect life with her husband Dodie and two children Vincent and Jenny. What she did not know is that her husband has fallen out of love with her and is seeing another woman named Sandy. Sandy confronted Melissa and told her to give up Dodie because she has been impregnated by him. Melissa tried to win her relationship with Dodie however, the latter chose Sandy over her. Their marital break-up almost shattered her. But with the help of her kids and friends Melissa learns to be self-sufficient. In the long run, she learns to move on with her life and overcoming the challenge of single parenthood.

After she gets into a film-production accident that leaves her crippled, successful actress Jane Ciego slowly transitions into madness after experiencing horrors and torture in her own home.

A group of friends experiences terror because of a prank that went wrong.

The film follows a young boy's search for the mythical island of fireflies described in his mother's bedtime stories. Using the "clues" he believes his mother left behind in an old notebook, the boy makes the long journey to the magical island to wish her back to life.

Aprilyn who is left by his groom on the day of their wedding becomes viral online. Devastated, she meets Raffy who works at a PR agency hired by the father of the groom who will help her move on.

The film revolves around an unhappy married man who seeks the help of a Casanova to seduce his wife and get her to ask for a divorce.

June finds herself in a tragedy that breaks her heart, but Marco teaches her the secret of love in 365 days. But what happens when life gives the two of them 366 days?

Pretty Boys is a romantic comedy following Grey, a flamboyant and charming twink, and his longtime best friend, Jonas, a heartthrob with a masculine appeal.

A socio-realist drama-comedy film, it follows a seemingly usual day in the life of Loida Malabanan as she embarks on yet another shooting day of a soap opera as an extra. As the shoot goes on, we get a glimpse of the truth in the ruling system of the production as well as the exploitation of the marginalized laborers like her.

A romantic-action directed by Abbo DeLa Cruz featuring Gardo Versoza and Priscilla Almeda.

Kristina "Tina" Moran is a nightclub star performer whose dream is to one day make it big. Her desire for fame and fortune leads her to a string of exciting sex-capades with a variety of men.

A story of rape and murder.

A pair of partners-turned-rivals compete to interview the richest man in the Philippines, only to find themselves at the scene of a baffling crime.

It tells the story of Calix, the chef of an upscale Filipino restaurant, who crosses path with Val, a food blogger and aspiring magazine editor.

Continuing the tradition of national artist Ishmael Bernal's benchmark film Working Girls after 25 years, Working Girls of 2010 depicts the role of women in the new millennium. Seven women of different backgrounds, stories and personalities entwined in a colorful story of family, love and life.

In this time and age, who would ever believe that Reincarnation still exists and that finding one’s “Soulmate” has already become a taboo? Romantic love stories may only sound like formula concepts that talk about undying love and “forever”. But isn’t LOVE limitless and boundless? And that to love unconditionally , we should defy all its barriers and survive even the most difficult obstacles. True Love is timeless. Great love stories do not have endings…only endless beginnings.

Two young boys discovered an ancient book in a dilapidated mansion. Unaware, they have unleashed the cursed warrior character in the book upon reading. The bloodthirsty demon went on a killing spree in the darkness of night. Discovering that the murders were done by the halimaw in the book, Kokoy, the protagonist, must act fast to put an end to the unwanted trespasser and protect his home and family. Subsequent to this is a variant story of an ancient jar which dated to a period when the dead were buried in jars. This particular jar was cursed as, a lady believed to be, a witch was killed and buried in it. The witch pledged vengeance in her awakening, thereby freeing her spirit gradually from the jar as it traps anyone who unluckily chances upon the jar.

Three stories that focus on a precocious child who keeps getting into trouble, and the weary guardian who's along for the ride.

The trio, plus a young man, runs a business that repairs everything, especially appliances.

Two lovers, thirsty for sex... clash in one story to build an intense passion for love and aspiration.

A women's prison on a tropical island is a hellhole where the inmates are raped, tortured and otherwise abused by the evil commandant and brutal guards. However, one of the guards falls in love with a beautiful inmate, and decides to help her and all the other prisoners escape.

Adela, a former radio personality, celebrates her 80th birthday. Alone, and without support, she longs for the family and stability of years gone by. Mundane events take on heightened meaning as Adela gauges her life against those of the sea of humanity. Adela is about the quiet moments in life that can fill us with either joy or sorrow.

A family becomes trapped in a village full of mysterious people and transforms into black dogs.

An endearing romantic drama that tells of a very curious affair between Clara, an older woman and Jason, a young unhappily married boy. In between them are her husband, Jason, and Leda, his wife. All told, the movie proves once again that love does not only happen in the most unexpected times and places. It also makes people do the strangest things.

When Annie sets her sights on her co-worker Ron she gets a few drinks in him at an office party and then has her way with him in car. A few weeks later she's expecting and is ready to set up housekeeping. Only problem? Ron's boyfriend Nick doesn't like the idea.

Robert and his wife have a daughter and an adopted son, Matthew, whose biological father is Robert's deceased best friend and former lover, Domeng. Conflict ensues as Robert becomes sexually attracted to a teenage Matthew while Matthew impregnates his stepsister much to the shame of the family matriarch.

An elderly nun witnesses a young construction worker's fatal accident, compelling her to question the ethical principles of the institution she has devoted her life to.

The passenger ship Aurora mysteriously collides into the rocky sea threatening an entire island. A young woman and her sister must both survive by finding the missing dead for a bounty.

Andres is a well-liked and respected fisherman who rents out commercial spaces to people in the town market. He seems to have a perfect life, but everything changes when he finds a drug stash floating on the tide.

A fisherman falls in love with a mermaid and soon the village experiences one disaster after another.

In a coastal town, women are not allowed to sing. A teenager joins a singing competition for a chance to move to the city, while hiding his true voice in a sinister way.

Arvin and Ace, haunted by past traumas and dreams shattered by the pandemic, collide as they chase online fame, forcing them to confront buried secrets and redefine their identities.