Full List: The CineFilipino full-length and short films

MANILA, Philippines – This year’s CineFilipino Film Festival lineup promises more bold, independent storytelling across different genres. The competition will showcase 8 full-length feature films and 17 short films divided into 3 sets – each entry made not only to entertain but also challenge viewers to be more open to other narratives while promoting the local film industry.

Need a break from your typical formulaic romantic-comedy films? Check out the full festival lineup below:

Delia & Sammy

 

Director: Theresa Cayaba  

Running time: 90 minutes

Delia (Rosemarie Gil), a faded movie star, finds out she is dying and looks for someone to care for her chronically ill husband, Sammy (Jaime Fabregas). Using their trusty old Mercedes Benz, the couple travel far in the hopes of finding acceptance and forgiveness from Sammy’s estranged family.

 

The Eternity Between Seconds

 

Director: Jan Alec Figuracion

Running time: 90 minutes

In Incheon airport of South Korea, time stands still for Andres (TJ Trinidad), a depressive best-selling self-help author. He meets Sam (Yeng Constantino), an anxious overseas Filipino worker who is about to start a new life as a nurse. She stalls and spends her time sketching strangers in the airport. Together, they bond over loneliness, conversations, and neuroses. Time is an unbeatable opponent, only to leave fleeting but lasting connections.

 

Excuse Me Po

 

Director: Ronald Batallones

Running time: 105 minutes

Former film extra Hilda (Elizabeth Oroposa) uses her acting talent to con people for loose change. She unapologetically does this to raise money for her husband’s medication. When her scam is exposed to the public, a young writer picks up her story and gives her the chance to tell her side of the story. Will this be another act, or is she finally telling the truth?

 

Gusto Kita With All my Hypothalamus

 

Director: Dwein Baltazar

Running time: 105 minutes

It is not the heart, but the hypothalamus that dictates whom we love. In the navel of Manila, 4 men fall in love with one woman, Aileen (Iana Bernardez). Each with a different reason: provincial boy Caloy wants a wife, widower Lando desires a whore, college student Alex finds a soul mate, and Obeng the thief longs for a companion. Each may be different, but one thing is certainly true – all of these men love Aileen with all their hypothalamus.

 

Hitboy

 

Director: Bor Ocampo

Running time: 100 minutes

Alex (Adrian Cabido) is very young but he is old enough to work as a low-rent-gun-for-hire for a syndicate. And upon finding out he is about to be a father at age 15, he decides to grow up and get out of his dangerous job to be a family man. That is if his underground world allows him to.

 

 

Mata Tapang (Brave Eye)

 

Director: Rod Marmol

Running Time: 110 minutes

Sergeant Hardrock (EA Guzman) loses three of his fellow soldiers and his left eye in an ambush. While recovering from surgery, he opens a third eye that makes him see the ghosts of his comrades. Each of them has a mission for Hardrock that will complete their respective lives. As he sees the darker and more complex side of his comrades, Hardrock gains a new perspective in life. Even if he only has one eye.

 

 

Mga Mister ni Rosaryo (Rosario’s Husbands)

 

Director: Alpha Habon

Running Time: 94 minutes

How far will you go for art’s sake? Yogi Juan (Joross Gamboa), Philippine Showbiz’s Golden Boy, takes every role seriously. His devoted housewife Sari (Kate Alejandrino) supports him and role-plays along. But when Sari learns that Yogi’s upcoming role is a serial killer, can she revise the morbid fate that awaits her?

 

 

Poon (The Image)

 

Director: Roni Benaid

In a barrio fiesta, Claudia (Glydel Mercado) buys a statue of San Vargas, the patron saint of true faith, as an addition to her collection of religious images. A few days after, she discovers bloody tears from the statue’s eyes and she believes it to be a miracle. What follows is a series of deaths in their parish and a change in Claudia that leads her to darkness.

 

 

SHORTS A

Luisa at Guada

Director: Patrick Matanguihan

Luisa, a 70-year-old woman is introduced to the internet by her friend, Guada, and explores an online dating site to relieve her loneliness

Rufyla

Director: Marian Coleen Tanco

A T’Boli tribe dancer experiences a tragic turn of events in her pursuit of a good life for her family.

Binata Na (Big Boy)

Director: Dexter Paul De Jesus

As the Philippines welcomes its 100 millionth baby, Jun-Jun undergoes circumcision.

Boyet Loves You

Director: Joselito Fajardo

Gab wants to introduce her best friend Mari to Boyet. The thing is, only Gab can see Boyet.

Tugma (Rhyme)

Director: Joshua Martin Tayco

An outcast college student strikes an unlikely friendship with a street-smart cigarette vendor with a shared passion for poverty.

Si Aponibolinayen at ang mga Batang Lumilipad (Aponibolinayen and the Winged Children)

Director: April Suzette Aspiras

A family of Lumad keeps their eldest daughter’s aspirations by immortalizing her into a myth, blurring the line between reality and folklore.

SHORTS B 

.RAW

Director: Eugine Frondoza

While in the middle of a prenuptial shoot, an engaged couple struggles to project their ideal image, which leads them to re-examine their own intentions.

Gabi ng Kababalaghan (Mysteries of the Night)

Director: Stephen Lopez

A group of friends gather around a TV set to watch the creepy late night Halloween Special of “Gabi ng Kababalaghan”

Lasingtunado (Drunkaraoke)

Director: Miguel Fernandez

Drunken customers of a small bar end up fighting over a song in the karaoke machine.

Amusin Pa (Still Young)

Director: Raiza Masculino

After the Tubong, a welcome ceremony performed in Marinduque, a 10-year-old Pablo tries to pursue his long-time crush whom he hasn’t seen in a long time.

Duyan ng Alon (Swing of the Sea)

Director: Katrina May Banaag

After a boat accident, a young girl gets stranded in a remote island and meets an old mysterious creature as she searches for her father.

Ate, Kuya, Gusto Kong Kape (Ate, Kuya and the Rule)

Director: Mark Gregory Bayani

A former hired killer confesses all his crimes, so that an unknown politician may use his confession for political leverage.

Siyudad sa Bulawan (City of Gold)

Director: Jarell Serencio

Three young brothers needing cash take a job in the gold mines of Mt. Diwalwal not realizing that death awaits them.

SHORTS C

Palabas (A Country in Moving Pictures)

Director: Arjanmar Rebeta

An aging Caucasian man chats with his young Filipina lover to witness the harsh social ills and injustices around the life of a young Filipina.

Happy Birthday, Mylene! 2023 Ka Na (Happy 2023rd Birthday, Mylene!)

Director: Austin Tan

Philippines, 2023. On his way home to celebrate his daughter’s birthday, Jocy, a security guard, encounters strange experiences similar to what he encountered in his recent nightmare.

Santa Nena! (Saint Nena!)

Director: Tim Rone Villanueva

Santa Nena, a patron saint statue that springs to life every night, suddenly falls in love with a teenager even though God forbids her.

Mark and Lenny

Director: Giano Ray Potes

Ren, a gay college student, half-heartedly lets go of his activist suitor Lenny, believing that his rebel partner is still alive despite rumors that their group has been ambushed.

 

CineFilipino Film Festival 2018 will run from May 9 to May 15. You can catch it at Gateway Cinema 4, Greenbelt 1 Cinema 1, and Cinelokal Theaters – SM Fairview, SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Manila, SM MOA, SM Southmall. Visit CineFilipino’s official Facebook page for the official schedule. – Rappler.com