Discoveries from Philippines World Cinema

A Filipino worker is on the death row for killing his employer. Because of a lady reporter who is bent on doing a full story about him, government officials are now trying to help him. But Fidel insisted that he killed his employer on purpose. Vega learned about his past- a boy-next-door type of person who grew up with a loving family. His profile doesn't fit the picture of a killer. Sister Lourdes, the Filipino nun who visits Fidel regularly wants to know the truth too.

A story about a man who has lots of different women and families.

Basil, a 30-year-old womanizer, has his life turned upside down when he wakes up from a night of drunken sex with his straight best friend, Theo, who is about to be married. Suddenly, every time he tries to hook up with a woman, a man magically appears to have sex with him instead. Is this a result of a curse from one of the countless women he has hurt? Or is this the outcome of his unconfronted feelings for his best friend?

In what appears to be a serendipitous encounter upon saving the life of a stranger, the calculated and reserved businessman Nick meets the impulsive and optimistic photographer Ali, who believes in destiny and carpe diem, or seizing the day. Nick, who seeks closure for his past mistakes, is drawn towards Ali's spirit and vigor. Despite living with a congenital heart disease and being on the wait-list for a heart transplant, Ali continues to be hopeful about her future. Ali challenges Nick to seize every moment of his life before it's too late. Meanwhile, Nick finds a way to give Ali a new lease on life - even if it means risking one's life and their love for each other.

It follows Ben and Jen whose relationship is put to test as they embark on a trip of a lifetime to Jen's lifelong dream destination Iceland.

A story about longing, about words left unsaid, about the quiet heartbreak of loving someone who may never love you back. But most of all, it’s about finding your way, even when love makes coming home the hardest thing to do.

A story about a young architect and his friend who goes to the province to build a church Upon their arrival they notice something peculiar, it seems that the place was primarily inhabited by women they soon learn that it was due to most men enlisted and perished in the war. Lacking the manpower to build the church he started to hire women as construction workers, he then meets this particular woman.

When an alien comes back to take him, a mouthless young man's life twists and turns as his memories untangle.

The story of a young female writer who teams up with a seasoned male writer. Both must work together to rewrite the script of an unfinished love story.

Story about five people who wanted something so badly that they’ll do anything, even to deal with the devil. As they finally get what they want, no one has mentioned that their dream will cost them their lives.

Arnold is a clever student who has won many academic awards. One day, he meets Bee who has an underground business of helping students to cheat their exams. Bee asks Arnold to join his cheating ring and offers him a lot of money. While Arnold is considering working with Bee, at his school, many students are not happy with the school’s disrespect of their freedom and they organize a big protest.

Cris Cuenca is a poor, oppressed and hard-working family man. He tries to stay out of trouble to be able to provide for his family, but the unkind world drives him into action -- nurturing anger and hatred. Armed with a desert eagle and a talisman that protects him from bullets, Cuenca becomes an assassin and a drug lord

Punay was born with wounds on her feet so that she cannot step on the earth. Her brother, Angkarang, carries her through a hammock, as he searches the changing landscape of Palawan in hoping to find a healer who can cure Punay. Different people help him carry his sister along the way- a woman looking for her husband, a fisherman who lost his boat, and a young man who is searching for himself- and each one meets their fate.

Cora is Susie, happy, carefree teenager. Rosita is Sylvia, socialite who cannot make up her mind until she meets the right man. Nena is Salud, a helpless invalid who believes in just one love.

Joanna, a good-for-nothing girl who miserably failed in her attempt to win any television game show and contest, is hired by Nino as his personal secretary, believing that she could be her lucky charm. But things did not work as he planned, until...

At the height of their relationship, two great friends since junior high school realize a significant life change may come sooner than later.

A bungling young attorney must defend his estranged father, a celebrity lawyer accused of gruesome murder, while facing off against his brilliant ex-girlfriend, a public prosecutor. In his quest for justice, he'll delve into a world of shattered dreams, fractured relationships, and the long shadow of corruption.

Ompong who is really born and famous for his extraordinary laziness and not-always-funny stupidity was put into a hard challenge when he promised his mother that he will not stop until he finds a job that would change his life. His whole life turns anew when he was luckily hired as one of the firemen in their town. His innate attitudes were still present and even blamed as ingredients to a lot of trouble. His only consolation though considered a grand prize is winning the heart of Margarita which even inspired him to do exemplary things even putting his job being a fireman on a noticeable pedestal.

a film by Luciano B. Carlos.

Thirteen passengers take the last trip of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at almost midnight. To make things worse, the train stops right in the middle of an abandoned train station, and with no means of communication, they have no way to get into the street below, all the while a mutant heart-eating eyeless monster pursues them and hunts them one by one.

The .45 caliber gun becomes a hero's instrument for justice.

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.

Fe returns home to the Philippines after several years of working overseas, her job a victim of global economic shifts. Fe is initially greeted with affection by her husband Dante, but he has a long history of domestic violence fueled by rage and long-term impotence, and Fe quickly discovers her time away has not changed him. Dante works in a factory making baskets, and Fe soon joins him there; she becomes the lover of Arturo, the man who manages the basket company, but while Arturo treats her well, he's still under the thumb of his father who owns the factory. Meanwhile, an unknown admirer sends her parcels of strange black fruit on a regular basis. Torn between two men who cannot give her what she needs and wants, Fe's frustration leads to take desperate steps to establish her independence.

After the death of their parents, two estranged sisters must come together to save their family mall from ending up on evil hands.

Stern, intelligent Sylvia, a lawyer, finally met her match. Only that the person is a woman, and was convicted of murder.

A woman's future self is nothing like she expected herself to be.

A 19th century woman named Salome, whose identity has been shrouded in myth and legend, becomes the center of a cult that has polarized a community. Like a jigsaw puzzle, a town pieces together myth, memory and aspirations to know the woman that has captured everyone’s imagination.

The story of a wannabe actor and a talented teleserye dubber who agrees to help him improve his acting. Her coaching helps him achieve his dream of becoming a star only to find herself heartbroken when he becomes successful.

Childhood best friends Danilo, Tiffany and Stephanie embark on their senior high school year at the prestigious school in Manila. However, things take a turn for the worse when Danilo makes the wrong decision and a bad company leads him astray. As he nearly loses everything, he works his way back to his path. Personalities change, but with Danilo still pursue his dream to become a famous dancer and be able to stand the test of time.

Rizelle is a beautiful young woman who decides to work as a house helper during summer to earn extra money and to substitute her mother who is ill. together with her friend, she is assigned to serve Eric, the bratty son of a American businessman who just hates to be in the Philippines. In spite of his arrogant ways, the pretty servant falls in love with her master

On a remote island, a plane wreck leaves a woman alone with ten men who are willing to kill to fulfill their desires for her.

A story of a middle-aged bellboy whose long-lost daughter returns from the U.S. to visit her father who disguises himself as the hotel owner to impress her. Along for the ride is hotel coworker Carol and the bellboy's adopted son Boyet. There is a running gag involving a wheelchair-bound customer who keeps getting in accidents with the bellboy and his coworkers.

A nursing student by day, massage therapist by night named Precious meets a client named Happy that leads her to the shady world of pornography.

A story of three young, provincial highschool graduates who set sail for Manila with visions of fame and fortune, only to realize that reality is a far cry from their expectations.

A young woman who leads a lonely, mundane existence in the real world but who has the perfect life in her lucid dreams which she can somehow control, meets a mysterious stranger who challenges her to turn her dream life into something a bit more adventurous. Then her dreams become more real than her reality and the line between the two starts to blur.

The abduction and rape of the eldest daughter Agnes shattered the once happy Paredes household by the rich and spoiled Romano Barredo. They vowed to get justice for their daughter but changed their plan when Romano offered marriage after it was discovered that Agnes was pregnant. As expected life with Romano was hell and Agnes only managed to keep her sanity for the sake of her baby and peace within her family .But even that was soon to end thanks to Romano's evil schemes. Agnes has a deaf mute sister which Romano was very interested with.

A coming-of-age film that tells the story of Billy Bayagan, a closeted gay in a family of strict and conservative policemen. The film follows his journey of acceptance and love for his true self.

The town of San Bernardo was under the grip of a greedy landowner, Don Cosme and his band of hired gunslingers. Two men, Daniel and Kardo arrived separately and in incognito, with one purpose to get Don Cosme at all cost.

In an isolated world of a celebrity vs. a psychopath, there will be an ordeal of survival and a run for life.

A family moves into an old house, unaware of its diabolic, bloody history. The film features two separate stories from different time periods: the Villareal family from the present time, and the Domingo family who lived in the same house back in the 90s.

When six girls and a guy all teenagers are found with their wrists slit on a high school playground, it's left to their guidance counselor to try to make sense of the mystery behind the apparent suicide pact. Told in nonlinear fashion, the story uses a multitude of perspectives interconnected flashbacks from surviving students to illuminate the desires, fears and insecurities that led to the devastating act.

Life turns riveting for Nanong when the tabloid-format reality TV show, AKIN ANG KORONA chances upon his curious life in a sleepy seaside town in Catanauan Quezon. Nanong agrees to film his daily life drying herring, with a deal that they would help find his lost father. Nanong’s quest for a missing parent will become a search of truth, of wonder, of the self-wrapped in the direction framed for and by the TV program.

A transgender sex worker in her late 40s along Fields Avenue whose only aspiration is to have breast implants for her profession unexpectedly assumes the role of a mother to her orphaned niece, a transgender youth who is only beginning to discover her own sexuality. As she works more shifts to save for her implants, troubles arise when she begins to feel the weight of her struggles – being an aging sex worker in fast-evolving society, a partner to her young fiancé, and a parent to a teenager she just met. Her difficult confrontations eventually lead her to a new attitude towards life, and a unique recipe to a famous Kapampangan dish, Sisig.

Its a story about a family get together of all the sons from different woman, meeting up with the father then going of war?! Confusing welcome to Tora Tora, Bang Bang Bang.

Carol is a career woman determined to prove herself in a male-dominated corporate world. Her life suddenly changes when she falls in love with a carefree repairman Tonchi.

Christopher cannot help but think that he is jinxed, but his luck changes when an impish Christmas elf appears, offering him and his siblings a wish.

Three terrifying tales follow a young groom in Baguio for his honeymoon is possessed by a homicidal spirit when he discovers a cursed ring and decides to wear it; in the eerie halls of a mysterious hospital, a doctor practices voodoo and dead bodies wander in the night; and a student who learns, while a guest at a town fiesta in a remote province, that the locals' hospitable ways leave her clueless about a mysterious nightly ritual.

The struggles of a young man to survive the pandemic and the naked truth about the life he chose to live in.

A progressive rock band composed of privileged teenagers get arrested for drug possession, and are brought into the “Blue Room” where they must make the difficult choice between freedom or standing up for what they believe in.

A 1998 Filipino action movie directed by Ronnie Ricketts.

Mary Cherry Chua is based on a popular urban legend about a pretty high school lass named Mary Cherry Chua, who was reportedly murdered by the school janitor. The horror film centers on Karen (Ashley), who is fond of reading campus horror tales and urban legends.

This is an adaptation of the Palanca award-winning play written by Maria Angela Barrios about a mother and her Amerasian daughter.

A romance film directed by Mar S. Torres. It features Eddie Gutierrez, Susan Roces, and a cameo role for young Nora Aunor.

Alicia is an unattractive woman who is transformed into a beauty by a plastic surgeon. She soon realizes that beauty is not all that matters in this world.

Rex, a paranormally-gifted investigator, can eavesdrop on the recent memories of the dead to determine their cause of death. Summoned by his brother-in-law Anton, he must solve the mystery of a deadly curse that claims the lives of many. Rex discovers the curse is fueled by fear and spread by witnessing headless people, a Filipino superstition. To end the curse, he must identify and kill the host with great resentment and agony. However, Rex and Anton become infected by the curse themselves, experiencing hallucinations and premonitions, as they race against time to uncover the mystery of the curse.

A couple experiences first love in this romantic Filipino film. While appearing in a perfume commercial, teenagers Jessica del Mundo and Gerard are attracted to each other. Friends are concerned when the two become obsessed with each other. They separate, yet are haunted by continual TV repeats of the perfume commercial. The commercial's romantic slant makes them more and more miserable. Then, remarkably, they are both scheduled to reshoot a new scene for the commercial, and the possibility of a reunion looms.

"Ninja Party" is a coming of age story of two teenage coeds who find themselves in a comprising situation when they get involved in secret debauchery.

Follow-up to the previous year's sensationalist hit The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (based on a real, gruesome, then-unsolved triple murder that was hogging Filipino newspaper space at the time), this includes new evidence in the case.