Bugbog Sarado (2003)

Best. Partee. Ever.

Mikey, a young, discreet, gay man from the affluent class, spends five years in a city jail while hearing his case for drug pushing. Inside prison, Mikey holds back to adapt to the culture and stratification among inmates. Eventually, Mikey becomes a ‘Mayor’ (ring leader) to a group of gay inmates called “Gang-da”. Together, they thrive to survive the dangers of several gang riots, the mundane, and the decay of human dignity.

Women of the Weeping River

Two women in a remote Muslim community confront an escalating blood feud and reach deep into themselves in hopes to undo the feud stretching back generations.

Purgatoryo

A story of Ilyong, recently-dead man killed by the police, after he was caught stealing. This is the beginning of his story, his death. Soon after, he was brought into a sleazy funeral home, run by Violet, a greedy homosexual who has learned to survive by renting out the dead bodies in his funeral home to Simon. Along for the ride is Jojo, a police officer who is under the payroll of Simon and who supplies the dead bodies for Violet to take care of and make money from. Violet has two workers, On-on and Dyograd.

Sister Stella L.

A nun who acts as a counselor in a home for unwed mother undergoes political awakening when her friend and namesake belonging to the same congregation as hers inspires her to get involved in the struggle for justice and freedom of striking workers in a cooking oil company.

The Human Surge

Buenos Aires. Exe, 25 years old, has just lost his job and is not looking for another one. His neighbors and friends seem as odd to him as they always do. Online, he meets Alf, a boy from Mozambique who is also bored with his job and who is about to follow Archie, another boy who has run away into the jungle. Through the dense vegetation of the forest, Archie tracks ants back to their nest. One of them wanders off course and comes across Canh, a Filipino, sitting on top of a giant heap of earth and who is about to go back to his strange, beautiful home town, where he too has a miserable job.

Manang Biring

Manang Biring is a feisty but terminally-ill old lady who has learned to accept her imminent demise. Until one day, she receives a letter from her long-estranged daughter abroad announcing of her return for the holidays.

Dog Nation

Amid legalized corruption, a son struggles to prove to his father that he is fit to survive in a dog-eat-dog society.

Blessed Art Thou

In an old house replete with images of Catholic icons and symbols, a young lady struggles with the demented religious fanaticism of her mother, who it seems cannot differentiate between pious fervour and demonic possession for both exist simultaneously in her being.

Dahling Nick

The story of Nick Joaquin, who only accepted the National Artist Award on the condition that the Marcos administration release a well-known writer who was being unjustly detained during Martial Law.

Bituing Walang Ningning

Dorina Pineda is a Sampaguita vendor idolizing the most famous singing sensation in the country, Lavinia Arguilles. Lavina with her ego getting big, drives away her fans and even her boyfriend Nico Escobar. He later discovers Dorina as a wonderful singer and eventually falls in love with her. A simple die-hard fan at first, Dorina rose to the ranks and become the biggest singing star in the country, even becoming more famous than her idol Lavinia.

All Souls Night

Shirley is a caregiver and finds herself working for a strange family living in fear of her father.

Lea's Story

A fiercely independent and unflinchingly candid woman connected with a women's crisis and survival center has to raise her two kids with different fathers. Her first husband has left her when their career options failed to converge. She is now stuck in an extramarital arrangement with another man who cannot bring himself to respect and commit to their quite unorthodox relationship.

They Call Me Joy

When asked for her real name, the feisty woman in a rural whorehouse would quip, "Ligaya. It means joy. And that's what I sell." Yet the small-town prostitute is not resigned that she would be in the flesh trade forever. She still harbors the dream of getting out of the job someday. She saves money and fancies that someone would come and marry her as if she were clean and never been a whore. That becomes almost a reality when a hardworking farmer enters her life. Under some problematic circumstances, her chances get blown away-but not exactly of her sole doing.

Mana

Amidst the vast sugar plantations of Negros in Southern Philippines, a matriarch lies in the throes of death. Her children rush home to confront the crisis as news of the impending death of their well-loved mother spreads among the community. There, in their ancestral house, the siblings are forced to deal with the issues of inheritance, tradition and the family legacy. It is a familiar tale. After all, every family has its story. And to each one, its own deserved secrets.

Man and Wife

It tells the story of Carding and Luisa, a married couple torn between their love for each other and issues of their respective families.

Swipe

When a CCTV is installed in an apartment, it starts to record their activities and show the tenant's private lives. It tells the story of Loida who is a lady guard, Gloria whose marriage has recently been annulled, Frank who is a married man and actively engaging into gay dating sites and Janet & Edward who are the new tenants hoping to make a clean start in their marriage.

The Escort

A young woman works as a secretary for a high class escort service, and is drawn into the intrigues of a client and the man who has fallen in love with her.

Starting Over Again

Ten years ago, Ginny, an Architecture student, and Marco, a History professor, began a one-of-a-kind and unpredictable love story. In the five years that they were together, they brought out the best in each other, which included Marco’s unrealized dream of becoming a chef. Together, they worked towards their dream of opening up a restaurant, but when Ginny realized her own pursuits were different from his, she rejected his wedding proposal and left the country for a Masters degree in Architecture. At present, Ginny co-owns a one-stop Architecture and Interior Design firm specializing in Restoration. She receives an email from Marco, which was written and sent after their break-up, meant to be read four years later. It makes her feel even more regretful of leaving the love of her life.

The Legend of China Doll

A journalist investigates a woman with the name of China Doll. Soon, he discovers his knowledge of her turns out to be dangerous.

Moral

The episodically connected lives of four college friends unfold throughout the incipient martial law years, as they struggle to define their sexual and professional desires and how best to attain them.

Third World Hero

Two filmmakers try to create a film venturing on the life of Jose Rizal. Before they do that, they try to investigate on the heroism of the Philippine national hero. Of particular focus is his supposed retraction of his views against the Roman Catholic Church during the Spanish regime in the Philippines which he expressed primarily through his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The investigation was done mainly by "interviewing" key individuals in the life of Rizal such as his mother Teodora Alonso, his siblings Paciano, Trinidad, and Narcisa, his love interest and supposed wife Josephine Bracken, and the Jesuit priest who supposedly witnessed Rizal's retraction, Fr. Balaguer. Eventually, the two filmmakers would end up "interviewing" Rizal himself to get to the bottom of the issue.

12

A subtle and brilliant sexual awakening of a boy, who is torn between following his wishes or away from them, even though the world that opens before it is too powerful to be ignored in this way.

2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten

Felix is a friendless achiever in high school whose life changes after the arrival of the half-American Snyder brothers, entangling him in their dark ambitions.

Malinak Ya Labi

It is a custom in some towns in Pangasinan to offer a life of an animal when constructing buildings, but one day during the town’s fiesta they discover the body of a young boy that leads to a chain of story and a chain of deaths.

Tisay

In the world of semi-pro basketball, a beautiful bookie recruits a naïve but promising player to the underworld of game-fixing.

Unfriend

On Christmas Day, 15 year old David finds out that his boyfriend, Jonathan has taken another lover. The discovery leads him on the brink of depression making him think of ways to have him back at all cost. He has invited Jonathan to see him on this day for the last time.

The Affair

In a time in the Philippines when the concept of divorce does not exist, a young woman has an affair with a married man. Eventually, they move in together, and that is when the problems start.

The Unmarried Wife

A woman is torn between trying to save her failing marriage or pursuing the possibility of a new love.

Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa

A strange but beautiful young woman washed ashore on an island becomes the desire of all men. Her presence causes jealousy, intrigue, and a series of deaths in the town.

Ekis

Gene works for the local underworld syndicate but always treats his abductees with kindness. He begins a dangerous affair with ex-bar girl Dolor, who's routinely beaten by her rich husband. When the cops move in on Gene's gang and Dolor's husband winds up dead, the couple flees with the law and their enemies in hot pursuit.

Contestant #4

A young boy frequently visits an old man who lives alone, keeping him always in good company. One night, he chances upon the old man watching a dated clip of himself as a cross-dressing boy. This sparks within the young boy an interest to find out more about the old man's past. What he ultimately discovers aids both him and the old man towards a richer understanding of how the weight of life and identity should be carried.

Call Center Girl

In her bouts to help her daughter, Teresa accidently lands on a call center job where Regina is employed, giving her a chance (or is it really?) to rekindle her relationship with her daughter. In the call center, she meets people coming from different walks of life; fun-loving Richie, young-living Lolay, prim and proper Martin, and their monster Team Leader Vince.

Stranded

It follows a career-oriented girl whose priorities have always been clear for her, even if it compromises the things she really wants to do. When a typhoon worsens while she's at work, she finds herself trapped inside the building with a food delivery guy, whose background is also more complicated than he looks. While stranded, the two learns more about each other's lives, and soon will also learn some things about themselves and their feelings.

Nunal sa Tubig

Ferry owner Benjamin has a regular passenger, Chedeng, who is studying to become a midwife. Chedeng has a friend and neighbour, Maria, and without either of them knowing about it they both have a relationship with Benjamin. When Mary finds out she’s pregnant, things get difficult.

Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos

A woman fell in love with a Japanese soldier, during the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines. The whole town turned against her.

Naked Weapon

A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.

Watch List

Set against the drug wars in the Philippines, Maria's husband is murdered in mysterious circumstances and is left to fend for her three children in a police state. As she delves into Manila’s dark underworld of cops, criminals, and drugs to find answers, she realizes the truth is never black and white, and that she must explore her own darkness to keep her family safe.

Muse of Pasig

It is a supernatural melodrama of a woman's misfortune and suffering interwoven with the legend of the Pasig. The legend itself is inspired by the immortal kundiman of the director's brother, Nicanor Abelardo.