Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

A film by Eddie Rodriguez.

A Philippine comedy starring Paquito Diaz, Herbert Bautista, and Aiza Seguerra.

A passionate cook named Mac who strikes up a very unlikely and riotous friendship with his happy-go-lucky co-worker Arthur. As both hit the bumpy road of their misadventures, the side-splitting companionship theyve found might be what matters the most.

Police Officers have a very tough job. Who among us is willing to give our lives for people we do not know or for people who do not care about us? That is what they are willing to do every day they put on their uniforms and leave home. This movie is based on the real-life story of five police officers, namely, Chief Inspector Rolando Ramos, SPO2 Conrad Baldemor, PO2 Jumeil Javier, Senior Superintendent David Aragon and Senior Inspector Melinda Mallari.

The movie features varied forms of love: family love, sibling love, puppy love, unrequited love, ruined love, prospering love, in denial love, jaded love, and true love, among others. After all, what the world needs now is love.

Often in the backseat and a second priority to her partner, a lawyer decides to end her relationship and focuses on herself with a help of a man out of her league.

Greg is married to Cindy-- the epitome of a successful woman. She seems to have everything in her life except for one thing—an, equally successful husband. Cindy decides to call it quits with Greg, demanding an annulment. Greg tries to prevent it from happening but to no avail, Cindy doesn’t want to hear any apology anymore. To clear his mind, Greg rides all the way to his cousin Gab’s resort in La Union. This is where he meets HYDES, a perky man-hating staff to which he had an unfortunate meetcute with, until their relationship deepens. It all felt real until Cindy shows up at the resort, asking Greg to give their marriage another chance. Whose heart will prevail in the end?

It proceeds to document the stages of sugar production once in the mill then shifts to the unrest outside where a sakada was shot to death by one of the hacienda's guards. A sakada is a farmer who works in a sugarcane field, harvesting it during the months of October to December.

Two lovers navigate post-graduation life, facing challenges of long-distance relationship and career demands. Their perspectives on shared experiences diverge as physical and emotional distance grows, straining their bond over time.

Loosely based on the kidnapping of a broadcast journalist and her crew, the film shows a 10-year-old Tausug boy used by the Abu Sayyaf group to "charge" the cellphones they use in negotiating for their demands for the release of their captives. Things take a strange turn when the journalist befriends Shihab and earns his trust as Shihab finds himself torn between his loyalty to his Tausug brothers and the bond he has forged with his newfound friend.

Captain Barbell has the human form of Enteng. One day Enteng received a mysterious barbell given by a hermit after he saved his life. Not knowing that the barbell can give Enteng's alter-ego Captain Barbell, a hero for the poor and mistreated people. Also in the cast is Enteng's dream girl Cielo, an elementary music teacher who's in love to Captain Barbell. With Captain Barbell's arch-enemies Lagablab, Freezy and Dagampat. The movie tells about the bravery, respect and love.

In dreary Porac Pampanga, a young man, Daniel, abandons his motherland after winning the biggest cash prize in the history of Philippine lottery. Five years later, he is searching for home and redemption through the people that make up his past. With each visit, his story unfolds like the last digit of a winning combination.

Bad fortune and strange events plague newlyweds (Cristine Reyes, Carlo Aquino) who recently inherited a condominium located in a place many consider unlucky.

One night the docile teenager Rey is mauled as he passes by a drinking spree of street toughies: Pogi, Jopet, Kahoy and Taba. Pogi hates Rey for the simple reason that he secretly loves Rey’s girlfriend. Jopet, a self-claimed police asset, finds Rey a convenient substitute for pouring out his hatred for his handler, a sadistic cop. Kahoy and Taba join in for the sake of camaraderie. Rey regains consciousness and finds his tormentors drunk and asleep… The director: “In the Philippines we see all these things and we don’t even recognize it, because we’re used to it. We’re very passive. But we need to wake up!”

Magdalena becomes pregnant because she was raped by Antonio. Before his death, her father gives up the baby for adoption, thinking that no man can ever understand her past. Magdalena is engaged to Roberto, a decent, well-off young man. Haunted by her conscience, Magdalena writes Roberto a letter, admitting her past. Her aunt, afraid that the wedding may be called off, intercepts the letter and hides it. Assuming that Roberto has accepted her in spite of her past, she marries him.

Experiencing extreme sleep deprivation for months, a young man tape-records his memories for preservation against sinister, clandestine watchers.

Rupert and Nina, a recently married couple with a newborn, buy a their dream house at a bargain price. As they settle into their home, they glimpse the ghost of an old woman and make a shocking discovery when they dig up the backyard.

Valentin Roxas was raised by his Tatay Lito alone when his mother left them to work abroad when he was seven. To maintain a sense of normalcy, Lito wrote young Val letters supposedly from his mother, promising she would return.

In 1985, in the obscure town of Dolores, the Orapronobis, a cult under the leadership of Kumander Kontra, murders a foreign priest who gave the last rites to an alleged rebel, who was also executed by the same group.

In the near future Steve takes a job as a tow truck driver that has to battle a gang of baddies led by Nelson.

An intriguing look into a world of drugs and crime, dynamically moves through the lives of the different characters – the drug lord Enteng, his minions, the police, and customers.

Ryan Travers has just been released from a prison in Bangkok, Thailand, after serving a five-year sentence for murder. His parents, running an antique shop in the area while waiting for their son to be released, are killed in an explosion perpetrated by the local mob after refusing to pay protection money. Ryan's news go from bad to worse when he learns his sister Katie is seriously ill and will need an operation. With only a dead end job at a construction site after his release, Ryan learns about a local underground fight ring and decides to enter to raise the money for his sister's medical fees and search vengeance.

A horror film starring Nora Aunor and Bianca Umali. Set in Siquijor, a Mananambal is a Filipino practitioner of traditional medicine, who is also capable of performing sorcery.

A serial killer in Payatas leaves the bodies of young boys in the dump as two Jesuit priests try to solve the murders.

When Louella came back from Hong Kong as a domestic helper, she began to search for her son Leonard, whom she had put up for adoption seven years earlier.

In an idyllic surroundings amidst the rice terraces, young and care-free Ida has a wonderful life. But one night, a group of armed men charges into her home and kills her parents. Worse, these men conspire and accuse Ida of the murder of her folks. Years pass and Ida is on her way to national penitentiary. But a freak accident happens, and Ida manages to escape. Assuming a new identity, Ida who now goes by the name of Molata, returns to her village where people no longer recognize her. And using her body as a lure, she sets out to exact revenge.

Anghel and Angelica are two people from two different worlds. Anghel is serving his sentence and is confined in the National Penitentiary while Angelica is a graduating student at the prime of her life. When she goes to the Penitentiary, she sees Anghel and is intrigued by him. She learns that he is well respected by his mates and that his word is considered as law inside the Billibid. At first, Anghel is annoyed by her presence but he later grows fond of her. Eventually, the people around them notice the understanding and try to keep them apart.

Yolly, a flower vendor and her brother Efren, who works as a driver and hired hit man for ruthless money laundering lady Connie, live a hardscrabble and bleak existence in the underbelly of the tourist/fashion district of Manila. Escaping from a violent past from the provinces, the siblings world collide with Connie's gang when Yolly witnesses a rape and murder perpetrated by Connie's son and Efren decides to double cross Connie for her money.

A young ballet dancer from Manila tries to mend his past by auditioning for a crucial competition but gets preoccupied on the day of his performance when a beloved piece of jewelry goes missing.

The death of tycoon Ernesto Benitez left behind two daughters by different mothers.

An industry veteran is given a chance to produce and star in his own movie. But he quickly finds movie production isn't quite as glamorous as it seems.

A woman struggling to meet airline baggage requirements meets a man who comes to her aid. They form a friendship that helps them mend each other's hearts.

A tragic-comic portrait of a dysfunctional family and the disquieting blind faith they invoke as they dream of going home.

When a beauty queen is found dead and her boyfriend goes missing, a police investigation unravels a web of jealousy, ambition, and betrayal between two best friends.

Based on a little-known short story by Alexandre Dumas, a young man meets a mysterious, masked woman during a ball. She refuses to disclose her identity, and swears to kill him if he reveals their affair.

The murders of two American plantation owners leads an Interpol agent into a battle with Filipino drug smugglers and violent religious fanatics.

Upon her retirement from being a school teacher, a mother slowly realizes that her children are already grown-up and she now is faced with the dilemna of being part of their lives

When his country-dwelling aunt takes to a sick bed, John (Dolphy) and the rest of the Puruntong clan head to the hinterlands for an extended stay. Can the fish-out-of-water family overcome the culture shock of rural life without killing one another? Nida Blanca, Matutina, Rolly Quizon and Maricel Soriano reprise their roles in this Filipino comedy based on the popular 1980s TV series "John and Marsha."

Starring Allona Amor and Melanie Gomez and Sabrina M

A driver is sent on a simple errand: to pick up a designer t-shirt and a tin of viagra for his boss, who is shacked up in a hotel with his lover. Simple as it sounds, the road trip crisscrosses the chasms of time, class, and character.

A gunslinger seeks revenge for the murder of his father, after killing the murderer he learns that the man had a son, he brings him to adventure with him.

Three generations of teachers. Three stories of dedication, struggle, and inspiration interweaved. Iah, Espie, and Gennie will prove that being an educator does not end inside the four walls of their classrooms.

A two-part movie: the first tells the story of a couple who encounters a lady ghost that haunts a house in Balete Drive; the second involves a young boy who witnesses a crime through his "third eye."

Myrna, a waitress in the province, falls in love with Ariel from Manila, brother of running city mayor Segundo.. Will this love last?

Millet hired Jay, who pretended to be a gay, as as her pseudo-husband in order to avoid a fixed marriage which she totally opposes to. Together, Millet and Jay presented themselves as a newly-wed couple in Millet’s family in Paete, Laguna. In the long run, Jay and Millet started to really fall for each other. However, Millet learns about Jay’s faked sexual orientation and his initial intention why he took the offer which is to earn money to finance his dreams of flying away from the Philippines all the way to Japan. This is a tale of true love between two ambitious persons, which started out from chains of lies and deception. In the end the main characters will be given the chance to express their ulterior motives.

Two sisters are bonded by a strong relationship but it turns hateful after the youngest sister discovers that her big sister works as a call girl. In a tragic incident, the true nature of their relationship will be revealed.

Mauro Reyes is an ex-policeman tag as a sharpshooter to the lawbreaker that managed to cope up with the death of his family and became a rescuer ... In the verge of adversity that has happened to his family, he became so depressed, self-centered and hopeless in lif, until a heinous felony re-awakened his identity. Due to the different rape slays and murders that had arise in their place, he tried to unveil the hidden mystery of the cases... discovering in the end the involvement of the law enforcer in the transgression. Will he be able to resolve everything even if he's an ex-policeman?

After her son becomes critically ill, Grace seeks help from his successful father, whose new wife encourages him to help until all treatments fail, leaving no options but to produce a biological sibling.

Narcisa "Sisa" Dalangin is a young Filipina during the Spanish Occupation & is a childhood friend of Jose Rizal.

Danny and Jonas are petty crooks whose idea of going big-time is kidnapping the only daughter of a middle-class couple for a ransom price of 50,000 pesos.

One day on his way to work, Anton encounters and bumps into a female cosplayer. Since then, Anton would see her every morning, dolled up as a different character, waiting for her train on the other side of the platform. With each passing day, Anton slowly develops curiosity and attraction towards her which soon might become something more.

A teen-aged daughter who idolizes her father finds it difficult to get attracted to guys of her age.

Barbara loves her little sister Ruth deeply. When Ruth becomes devilishly manipulative by threatening to kill herself if her sister doesn't break up with her boyfriend Nick . The sisters end up engaging in black magic to get back at each other.

Norma has to balance her love and attention for the two special people in her life: her daughter and her ward.

There is an underground battle going on in the name of love. The soldiers are all Pikapistas! With pick-up lines as their weapons to woo the gorgeous Neneng B. (Sam Pinto), the war sizzles in the dark corners of the Metro. And there is one undefeated champion among them - BOY PICKUP (Ogie Alcasid)! Legendary, enigmatic, hypnotic, that’s his appeal to most who don’t get what his works penetrate their heart just the same. Despite his underground fame and legend, Boy Pickup lives a normal and solitary life, He works as a pastry chef in Heaven’s Bakeshop, a bakery owned by ANGEL (Solenn Heussaff) and soon Angel feels indebted to Boy while Boy starts to fall for her.

"Punla" is the story of a childless loving couple. Manny who always wanted to have a child, is impotent. Instead, he asked his friend, Zaldy to provide the "seed" (punla) for his beautiful wife, Jenny.

A young Filipina is taken from her village to a Japanese military camp to serve as a sex slave during WWII. She endures abuse but finds solace in a friendship with a Japanese soldier.

Two rival gun-runners are at odds when one of them secretly discovers that the other's female companion has plans to recover a $40 million treasure stash, hidden away in Surabaya by her late husband.

This is a Monumental Epic in the History of Filipino Movies.

With the one, big, happy family that she has, any woman would admire Ina Montecillo as the embodiment of a perfect mother. But after more than 30 years of doing everything for her family, she realizes she hasn’t done anything for herself. Ina then embarks on a journey of finding her self-worth that surprisingly lands her as the President of the Philippines!