Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

A surreal journey of a man exploring a bustling community as he attempts to fit in with his innocence.

Kael, now a serial killer, tracks down the man who ordered his parents’ murder.

In 2020, ABS-CBN, the biggest broadcasting network in the Philippines closed after being deprived to renew its franchise. This documentary tells the story of three former journalists who were affected by the network’s closure amid a global crisis. This move is deemed politically motivated by those from the media giant due to the former administration’s multiple threats prior to its SHUTDOWN

Legend says that catching the first drop of rain grants you one wish. Shane and Mela, childhood best friends, tried everything, from rain dances to made-up spells, hoping to catch it. But the rain took someone far away. Now, Shane, a ghost, waits each day for that first raindrop, watching as her best friend slowly moves on without her.

Under the chiaroscuro of the streets in Manila, Kat traverses the metropolitan cityscape on her way to meet a date and finds herself revisiting what once was. To make sense of her grief, she treks the corners of the urban as tombs of the past and finds herself unearthing past connections and escapades within the shadows of neon-lit architecture; places placeholders for evanescent memories — reminders of her strife in eventually finding herself through surpassing grief.

Two crayons, Dilaw and Lila, ponder outside the box, as they figure out the question: what is the color of life?

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.

Four women, who share the same Zodiac Sign, embark on an out-of-town trip to reminisce about their friendship, battle against cancer, and life challenges.

The Accidentalist, a paid killer, reflects on his life as he faces his final victim.

Mr. Snow is a lonely Snowman who lives alone in a vast field of Snow. He spends most of his time looking out his window until one morning came and he had a bright idea to make a friend of his own.

Ismael, a pureblooded Badjao, hailed from a coastal area in Zamboanga City. However, their lives were gradually destroyed and uprooted due to the greed of powerful individuals aiming to seize their territory. Forced to flee, Ismael and his mother and siblings relocated to an unfamiliar place, uncertain of what the future held for them. Despite their displacement, Ismael held onto hope that one day they could return to their homeland, where he believed remnants of their former life still lingered.

During the pandemic, Axel met Lance as he wrestled with the memories of his past lover, unable to let go until a revelation sets him free.

Severe bipolar disorder is not easy to battle. Pret bears witness to how this condition has affected every aspect of her life. She is grappling with her own self, describing it as having two different persons inside her body. While her family and friends have accepted her condition, it hasn't been easy for them.

Economic life and welfare are told from the point of view of a refrigerator of an affluent family. The film challenges the audience’s sense of justice and concern for the common good, and highlights the promotion of the welfare of the marginalized.

Baguio City, 2008: Elias, aged 12, wants to rent a suit and attend the school dance. But suit rentals are way above the means of a poor janitor's son. As Elias confronts the realities of growing up in an indigent, indigenous household, he is forced to make a responsible, "mature" decision that costs him his childhood.

In the story, the love, support, and acceptance of Benji's brother can be seen. Here you can see their state in life that is difficult or not easy but with Benji having a big dream in the field of art it will be a bridge to winning his life because of the acceptance of his brother.

Jay, a young man living with his beloved younger sister, to sustain their needs he enters the dark world of illegal drug trade and began to experience the fear of losing his only light. Will he be able to escape the dilemma of his actions?

Through firsthand accounts, it unveils harrowing wartime experiences—scarcity, displacement, bombings, killings, and torture—igniting empathy and understanding. Shedding light on enduring trauma, it emphasizes safeguarding children's well-being. More than a historical record, it's a call to action and beacon of hope for a war-free world.

Paper dolls is an animated short film based on a spoken word poem of the same name by Sleepy Felix. The short touches on our sentiments and struggles as people who continue to challenge expectations of traditional gendered norms, gender binary, stereotypes, and roles. It talks about feelings, shared experiences, and wishes for a gender-neutral society built on equality, acceptance, and most of all – love.

In a peaceful seaside town, a family of four living along the shorelines suffers the devastating consequences of a nearby factory’s actions. This factory, notorious for emitting toxic chemicals, continuously leaks waste into the sea, polluting the waters and putting the lives of the local community at risk. The film follows the pain and suffering endured by the family’s mother as she reflects on the past, struggles in the present, and longs for a future where her family is still alive.

Mort, a teen stuck in a world where no one dies – ever – is so over it. To escape the boredom, he decides to rebel by doing the one thing that's totally off-limits: commit the seven deadly sins. What could possibly go wrong? (Spoiler: a lot.)

Not available as of the moement

When Bimboy and his friends found the camera of his missing uncle, they discovered mysterious photos and were haunted by its consequences.

It's always calmest in the eye of the storm. Anna had always lived a quiet and secluded life, oblivious of the many things that make the world turn. Left to choose between the comfort of familiarity and the bitterness of the truth, she gets thrown to a rude awakening.

Two academic high school rivals unknowingly become roommates for a semester. Chaos develops as they pull pranks on each other inside their door room, intentionally disrupt each other’s academics, determined to make the other fail. Will they succeed in outdoing one another, or will their rivalry lead to failure?

Two young siblings try to survive on the streets by selling roasted peanuts and saving to meet their daily quota, until an unexpected turn of events changes their lives.

Inggo, a boy from the province, is captivated by the bustling market where farmers display their crops, from fruits to vegetables and rice. This experience sparks his love for agriculture, and he dreams of pursuing a career in this field. As he grows older, Inggo realizes that his dream differs from his classmates, who often aspire to white-collared jobs like doctors, engineers, and politicians. Despite societal stereotypes about farmers, he remains committed to his passion. With determination, he graduates from college, proud of his decision, and begins his journey to become a successful and respected farmer.

In a notorious street in Manila characterised by forgery and petty crimes, an artist revels in the chaos that shapes what he calls home. Having been around Recto for most of his life, Levy is shaped by the culture, and in turn, his work is derived from it. In his humble workspace at the heart of the Central Market, he thrives with the help of his wife who facilitates the transactions between him and clients. For Levy, what matters is the kind of legacy he leaves: to be remembered not by his clients or his peers, but by the grandkids he spends time with – so that he can hang a portrait that can never be replicated.

Do you know the face in your mirror?

Herbolaryo is a documentary film that explores the role of Herbolaryos and the culture of using herbal plants in traditional healing, as modern science transforms these medicinal plants into modern drug formulations.

Tonio’s favorite cat, Celso, disappears days before his graduation.

A young woman tries to remember an old feeling through an unfamiliar friendship.

Francis, an amateur swimmer exhausts himself in extreme all-night training, on the night before his tournament. After a few rounds of laps, he starts to notice peculiar things.

A man's journey to easy money through the mystical powers granted by the sigbin. Will his life flourish through the infinite possibilities? or be devoured by his obligations.

Kalasag ng Tubod is a documentary that centers on the Twin Lakes Natural Park in Negros Oriental, Philippines, and examines the deep relationship that exists between traditional knowledge and modern understanding in protecting natural settings. The film emphasizes how this protected region has been kept safe thanks in large part to the ethos of "bayanihan," or local solidarity. This documentary film explores the history of the Twin Lakes, from their volcanic beginnings to their contemporary position as an essential ecological and cultural resource, through a series of interviews and expert observations. The documentary describes the difficulties the community has encountered, such as being uprooted during insurgent episodes and switching from customary ways of life like farming and hunting to environmentally friendly, sustainable lifestyles.

Phantasma on the 5th birthday of Alexander Kluge.

A mother and her son afflicted with polio share the same goal: to do what's best for the family's youngest by ensuring he completes his routine polio vaccination. As they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and regrets from the past, mother and son attempt to reconnect and understand each other.

Maria, a college student who came from a modern indigenous family and a daughter of a tribal chieftain. Though influenced by the modern norms and away from poverty, her family still holds a rank among their tribe. Maria’s ill experiences as a minority made her contemplate disowning her heritage as she constantly encounters discrimination. Her perspective shifts when she crosses paths with Junjun, a rickshaw driver and who happens to be Maria’s schoolmate who, despite being mute, possesses a keen ability to listen and a resilient optimism.

I Spy is a short film directed and produced by the students of IS201 under Mapua University SHS. It is a story revolving around Aubrey, a young student who suffers from an undiagnosed condition and family issues, who later meets Mia—a young girl who she slowly trusts and builds a relationship with. Will this blooming relationship be for the better or worse? It is a horror-thriller with a mix of mystery and drama that will surely make the viewers question the film's whole lesson, message, and importance in today's society. It embodies a first-person point-of-view to make the audience think they are also involved in the film. Was it real? Or was it part of a dream?

a short documentary film that centers on the backstory of the internally displaced women residing at the islamic center in quiapo, manila. this shows the personal memoirs of the bakwit women before and after the marawi siege in 2017. the film reveals both the realities that these women face in the aftermath of displacement.

Captivated by Aswang comics, a boy stole a bottle of mysterious oil from an antique shop to use it as protection from malevolent spirits. A terrifying chase incurred will the oil bottle serve its purpose?

Based on Nick Deocampo's award-winning book, Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines, this digital documentary traces the beginning of cinema in the Philippines in 1897 when two Spaniards showed the first moving pictures in Escolta. Against the backdrop of war and revolution, film developed to become the emerging Filipinos' dominant form of public entertainment. The documentary further explores the elements of Spanish culture found in Filipino films as evidenced through the classic films made by three National Artists - Eddie Romero, Lino Brocka, and Ishmael Bernal. This is Deocampo's homage both to Philippine cinema and the Filipino nation that is its twin.

Enthusiastic student, Haidi, finds very silly ways of entering the school premises without being caught by a guard due to a lost I.D.

In a theocratic dystopia, two women kidnapped at infancy and raised apart discover their reunion spells the beginning of Armageddon.

During a busy night in Manila, a man covered in slime is discarded on its streets. He is a blank canvas. He is unaware of who he is or where he is. To find answers, he slowly makes his way up from the ground and through the hustle and bustle of Manila. It is in this short journey that he discovers what it means to be truly free.

A black and white experimental film visually representing the mental state of a woman during the pandemic isolation.

A superimposition of footage encompassing travel, architecture, and visual abstraction in which “distances are folded to touch the other side like a folded map.” Silent.

"AGNO" is an award-winning documentary by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and Southern Tagalog Exposure that delves on the importance of the Agno River to the people of Itogon, Benguet and Pangasinan and how the San Roque Dam Project will take away the right to land and livelihood of the people.

In an untidy room with messy sentiments, Teenager and toddler Ellie confronts grief, frightened by the thought of the devil's hour consuming her every 3am; without Joe, her father being her security and solace.

A film director returns to his hometown to shoot his latest film, only to find it transformed by the relentless passage of time.

A young cyborg navigates between their biological and technological selves as they seek to feel pleasure and pain efficiently in the heavily controlled cyberspaces.

After a fleeting transgression, a young couple finds themselves expecting a baby, and before getting married, they must deal with their outrageous families. (A Musical Theater Play)

After receiving a dangerous grade standing for a major course, a college junior-senior tandem attempts to catch up in their graduation by pulling out the most important all-nighter of their lives. But when they finally had the chance, a landslide of temptations pulled them back from achieving what they truly wanted.

A young woman trapped in an arranged marriage seeks solace by a mysterious river, where she encounters a beguiling, enchanted woman who encourages her to defy her tyrannical father, leading to a chilling revelation about the river's curse and her own strength.

In an urbanized City of Taguig, there lives an octogenarian melon farmer along C-6 Road, facing a huge challenge of preserving his farmland despite the latter’s imminent development.

This documentary follows the story of Adha, a loyal 'Miss Gay' candidate and her quest to make ends meet by constantly joining in beauty contests. A popular form of entertainment in the country, BYUKON unravels the narratives of konteseras behind the pageant stage.

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.