An assassin, a porn dubber and a transgender. Three souls. One explicit illusion. To find the ultimate joy in their empty lives. A safe haven, where passion and love mean humanity, ecstasy means enlightenment; and the soul is the ultimate arbiter of the truth.
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.
Hendrix dreams of hip-hop greatness, but he’s spiraling down a rabbit-hole of crime and poverty until he meets Doc, an old poet still haunted by his martial law past. Can they turn each other’s lives around before they’re swallowed by their circumstance?
An awkward 6-footer teen is forced to learn and play volleyball half-heartedly when the Catholic school she transferred to did not have a basketball team. Everything changes when she meets their star player.
Gruff retiree Rene rejects most human contact, but begins to soften once he comes to terms with his homosexuality.
A loving but impoverished grandmother of an autistic child tragicomically loses everything and turns into someone society reckons her to be.
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.
The bustling and sweltering rugged intersection of Pasay Rotonda serves as the main setting for this story of interconnected fate and destiny. As a raging man's bullets strays into different directions, the fate of several different characters are sealed and determined. As the temperature rises, the tension escalates and the story unravels with unforgiving immediacy and explodes in the end as each one struggles to survive and escape their inevitable end.
Kasal is a slice of life drama of a gay couple whose resolve to stay together is challenged as they attend a wedding. It also is an examination on how a gay couple navigates through the different institutions in Philippine society.
Elizabeth, a self-made woman in her late 40s, is bent on living on her own for the rest of her days. After her mother passes from years of suffering from a lingering illness, she meets Jon, a man 20 years her junior, who convinces her that love knows no age and that there are no limits to life’s starts. They embark on a May-December affair that is very promising, until Liz realizes that Jon has dreams that she cannot be part of.
After a turbulent squall in the night, villagers wake up to the astonishing sight of the sea that has turned red.
Andrea Gonzaga is about to marry a man she doesn’t love when a mysterious guest arrives and suddenly reminds her of the man she truly loves.
Genevieve Homes boasts of a 24-hour security system (you may have seen him napping every so often), and is conveniently located near the neighborhood “sari-sari” store and outdoor café. Those with athletic inclinations will certainly enjoy a one-on-one game of basketball in Genevieve’s outdoor unisport complex; or they can take a stroll in its very precise, ten-plant garden. More than its old-world appeal, Genevieve’s real treasures are its tenants, some of whom have lived in the complex for what seems like forever. A peculiar mix of old and young, families and young single professionals, you’ll certainly be charmed by their ability to be ensconced in the daily, numbing repetition of their everyday lives. You may have heard of the disturbing news involving the discovery of a dead fetus inside the dumpster beside Genevieve Homes, but don’t let that feral murder discourage you from visiting us. Our waste management disposal system is at par with other urban cities
Ordinary People is a family portrait of Jane, 16, and her boyfriend, Aries, who live on their own in the chaotic streets of Manila. Surviving as pickpockets, the lives of the young couple change when they suddenly become teenage parents. But not even a month into parenthood, their child is stolen from them. In order to retrieve the child, the young couple is forced to take desperate measures.
The mysterious death of a young village lass leads to the investigation of those who knew her and what they may have to gain from her death. Told from the perspectives of the different characters, the film examines how one's view may lead to varying interpretations of the same incidents.
Maxi, a boy on the cusp of his teens, is already comfortable with his homosexual feelings, with acceptance from his family. When Maxi is assaulted one evening, Victor, a police officer, comes to his aid. Maxi soon develops a crush on Victor, who shows a platonic affection for the young lad.
Laya is a young professional photographer who has drifted away from her family. Her father has fallen ill, but she hasn’t once come to visit him at the hospital. Her mother, who left their family when Laya was a child, returns to urge Laya to make amends with her father, but Laya’s pain goes deeper than her mother suspects. Laya is sent to the provinces to document a ritual of a disappearing indigenous tribe, and there, she inadvertently comes face to face with her own demons as she observes the relationships of the last remaining members of this dying culture.
Ruben loses his job as a carpenter in a small town in Zambales where he lives with his wife Eden and their 10-year old son, Budoy. Desperate to make ends meet, he accepts a job as a caretaker of an abandoned property in Quezon City. Ruben soon finds out that the previous owner of the house is an important figure in the country’s history. When he is interviewed by a TV reporter about this historical figure, Ruben feels embarrassed that he knows nothing about him. Ruben soon starts reading up to get to know more about the life of this person, his accomplishments and what he has done for the people. Ruben’s fascination about the person’s life and his inevitable hero-worship irks the only friend he has in the sprawling compound, the night-shift security guard, Gimo, who jokes that Ruben is slowly being possessed by the soul of his new hero.
Four men, four stories, all intersect in Manila. Episode one is about Ariel, a con-man. Episode two is about Boy, an expectant father. In the third episode, Ronald goes to Manila to sell a building. And in the fourth story Baste saves his sister from Ariel.
A public hospital serves as a witness to a young boy’s rite of passage when he is stuck to take care of his ailing father. Caught in a place where life itself is in limbo, the boy treats the hospital grounds as his playground, not knowing that it will be his source of liberation in the end.