Esoterica: Manila (2014)

Pornographer: Continued Spring Life

After overcoming differences, Rio Kijima and Haruhiko Kusumi grow closer. But tensions rise when family secrets and outside questions threaten their deepening bond.

Twilight's Kiss

One day Pak, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets Hoi, a retired single father, in a park. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together.

Santuaryo

Santuaryo is a movie that centers on the unfolding narration of a young man named Archie (Basti Romero). Archie went looking for a lost treasure when he came into the possession of an ancient map left by an old adventurer. His journey left him battered and cloudy with memories as he was found drifting on the ocean and later rescued by island fishermen. When his long time lover, William (Will Sandejas) arrives at his side, he is forced to painfully recall what happened to him and describes how he crossed paths with a group of boys looking for the same treasure. In the end, Archie realizes what is most valuable in life and it is in his relationship with William that he finds his greatest fortune. Panoramic and provoking. Santuaryo is ultimately a hypothesis about the behavioral mutations of a group of boys when faced with desperate circumstances.

My Baby Bright

Pla Thong's friend, Tod dies but his unfinished business means he can't move on. Pla Thong helps Tod figure out what that unfinished business is, and they realise how each other feels in the process.

Nowhere

In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds.

My Tempo

Two gifted music students navigate the complexities of youth, friendship and fame while fighting to win a career-defining music contest.

Vassalord.

Charley, a cyborg vampire who does the Vatican's dirty work, is the thrall of the local vampire playboy Johnny Rayflo. As the two fight crime—and each other—hilarity, violence and sacrilege ensue! But can Charley resist his own desperate cravings for blood? Find out as the devilish duo go up aginst a childlike vampire princess, a mysterious branch of the Unitarian Church...and one another.

The Diary of Heong Yeong-dang

A historical drama based in the Joseon times about a person who falls in love with his stepsister.

War Baby

Meet Duewand Collier Jr.-Male, 68 years old, American Citizen, a child conceived in the backdrop of the Philippines-American Mutual Defense Treaty, born and raised with Catholic guilt. He has made peace with his past and now tells his story-a story of love.

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.

Northern Lights: A Journey to Love

A young boy travels to Alaska to visit his estranged father at the same time as a young woman also travels to Alaska to find her estranged mother.

Dew

Dew is about 2 friends who developed feelings for each other. But they lived in a time when homosexuality wasn't accepted.

Deep Ocean

A boy with a secret crush struggles with his feelings as he watches the one he loves grow closer to others, sinking deeper into his own emotional turmoil.

Like a Marriage

Gay partners Chan Yui and Ka Wing are happily in love, until Chan Yui enters a marriage of convenience with his lesbian friend Fung Ming to appease his parents. Under great pressure, Ka Wing is forced to accept this sham marriage but can things ever go back to normal?

Love Mate

A tough leader at So What Media, Seo Lee Jun is caught off guard by Jung Ha Ram, a new hire who makes him question his approach to work and love.

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi Movie

Yokozawa meets a man (Kirishima) and his life is turned around. Kirishima starts to blackmail and tease Yokozawa, but Kirishima might actually be trying to help him recover from an emotional period of his life in the process.

Boy Drenched in Water

A-Wei drifts through life until a nighttime glance at A-Bin sparks something fragile. In fleeting moments and open spaces, a tender, uncertain love unfolds.

TÁR

As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

Bhoy Intsik

Two small-time felons with disparate personas cross paths: One's a principled tough gay; the other is a scheming, street-smart teenager. Together, they get caught up in a string of petty exploits while managing to forge a stronger bond. Can they survive the ordeal?

Two and One

A gay couple realizes they aren't sexually compatible, so they look for a third man. But when betrayal and jealousy sneak in, their relationship shatters into pieces.

I Killed My Mother

Hubert, a brash 17-year-old, is confused and torn by a love-hate relationship with his mother that consumes him more and more each day. After distressing ordeals and tragic episodes, Hubert will find his mother on the banks of Saint Lawrence river, where he grew up, and where a murder will be committed: the murder of childhood.

Sublime

When 16-year-old Manu realises that he has fallen in love with his bandmate Felipe, turbulent emotions start brewing beneath the surface. How do you avoid losing a friendship once its very foundation has shifted?

Love Love You

A couple's love is tested when one partner must move in with an attractive new student, while the other gets a surprise visitor from his past.

Taboo

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

The Stranger by the Shore

Abandoned after coming out, Shun befriends Mio just before he has to move. Years later, Mio returns with a confession. How will Shun feel?

A Balloon's Landing

A frustrated Hong Kong writer, Tian-Yu, meets a Taipei street gangster, Xiang, and the two of them embark on a journey to find the Bay of Whales, a place that leads to paradise.

Malvarosa

A poignant story of a family’s struggles in life. It tells of Rosa, who lives in the slums near the railroad tracks, with her mother and five brothers. Her mother wallows in guilt and depression when her drunkard father is run over by a train. Though she is set to marry her fiancé, Rosa chooses to put her family’s needs before her own. Rosa’s brothers also carry their own burdens, except for one, the youngest, Avelino, who helps his sister shoulder the weight of the family’s problems.

(Filipino: In the Name of the Father, Mother, and Children)

In 1970s Mindanao, a man and his family take arms to defend the people against those who would oppress them.

Moments in a Stolen Dream

A coming-of-age story of college student Joey, who's lost all sense of direction. His only inspiration is music, but he is yet to finish writing a song. His life changes when he meets Ana and his world is suddenly turned upside-down.

Antonio's Secret

The story about a teenage boy, Antonio, whose emerging gay sexuality alienates him from his friends and family, until his libertine uncle, Jonbert, comes to live with him and his mother.

Do Re Mi

Three girls divided by personalities, cultural backgrounds and principles have one thing in common, their love for music.

Blink

An indie film about greed and corruption among small-time criminals in the streets of Manila starring GMA contract artist Sherwin Ordonez in his first mature role.

Pedro Calungsod: Batang Martir

Pedro Calungsod, a young Filipino man, leaves his Visayan native roots to join the Spanish Jesuit priest Fr. Diego de San Vitores in his mission to the Marianas Islands (Guam) in 1668. The San Diego Mission arrives in the Marianas where the young Pedro, a trained catechist and mission assistant, begins work for Fr. Diego de San Vitores in baptizing the Chamorro natives, preaching the holy gospel and spreading the good news of salvation through the Christian faith amidst paganism, doubt and disbelief. Despite the longing for his father and the threats to their lives, even at the peril of death, Pedro and Fr. Diego continued their missionary work. They roamed the dangerous islands and baptized many more natives and continued to enlighten them about Christianity.

My Only Ü

Winona, a sassy and spunky girl is just diagnosed with lupus, Bong, a guy who secretly loves her, will do everything for her to live to the fullest before she expires.

Trophy Wife

A woman falls in love with a man, but is wronged by him and his brother. She then tries to exact revenge on him, his brother and his new lover.

Dagitab

While the marriage of two professors is on the verge of falling apart, the woman is dragged into a scandal involving a young student. On the other hand, the man falls in love with the subject of his research—a deity that appears to him as the ghost of an old flame.

1st Ko si 3rd

The film is about a 65-year old retiree Cory who gets reunited with her 1st love and finally, the supposed date happens 5 decades after they got separated.

K'na, The Dreamweaver

When Kana, a young T'boli woman, becomes a dreamweaver, she has the chance to weave together her village's warring clans. But, will she give up true love to do so?

Mates

Connor is on a hike with friends when he meets Adam who tries to seduce him. Connor finds he is less sure about his sexuality and masculinity than he previously thought.

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking tells the story of a rich teenager who runs away from home and joins a group of street hustlers who go on a road trip to fulfill the final wish of their dead friend.

Pagnanasa

A young travelling salesman Rodel and a young innocent student Aleli. Aleli befriended a mature woman who is expert in love. The lady taught her and lured her to fantasize and to seek the love offered by men. Aleli became curious about the love that this lady is talking about and is out there to find love for herself until she dated Rodel who ended up raping her. After her painful encounter with Rodel, she got addicted to that sexual feeling and affection that he gave to her. This terrible experience made her to crave for more love from Rodel. Is her addiction with making love to Rodel going to stop or will it continue until she becomes a slave to it.

When the Waves Are Gone

Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, one of the best investigators in the Philippines, is at a deep moral crossroads. He is a first-hand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign conducted by his force, his anxiety and guilt triggering a severe skin disease. As he tries to heal, a dark past haunts him.

Lan Yu

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

Pastor

Pastor Luis Aguila and his family are seemingly tested with their faith. Luis is an ex-convinct who is now the head of his church. Mildred, his wife, tries to hide her secret as she grapples between her family and church duties. Their youngest son Carlo wrestles with growing up and tying up his family together. All of them try to overcome these obstacles but things intensify when Pastor Aguila's daughter, Katrina defies her family when she falls in love with the mysterious Jigo.

Blues Harp

Ambitious yakuza Kenji befriends harmonica-playing bartender Chuji, who moonlights as a part-time drug-dealer for the opposing gang. Their friendship is threatened by Kenji's plans for advancement, as well as by his bodyguards growing jealousy of Chuji.

Killer Instinct

For America, the Vietnam War is over. Johnny doesn't see it that way. This Special Forces soldier battles vicious Vietcong, a sadistic Russian advisor and his own peacenik girlfriend as he embarks on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather

In the hyper-masculine criminal underworld, a masochistic high-ranking yakuza and his newly-assigned bodyguard become increasingly drawn to each other.

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

Ryu Ho-sun and Choi Hwa-jin are set to have arranged marriage, but she disappears during their wedding. Choi Ki Wan pretends and dresses up as a woman.

The Eve of St. Mark

Quizz West is conscripted into the United States Army in late 1940. Prior to being shipped out first to San Francisco, then the Philippines, Quizz and his hometown girlfriend Janet discuss their future plans.