Dennis Empalmado

Directing

Dennis Empalmado

Born October 8, 1971 · San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines (age 54)

Dennis Empalmado studied filmmaking at the MOWELFUND FILM INST. His work experience runs the gamut from sounds recordist/sound designer to writer/director of short, feauture length films and documentaries. His work is influenced by Filipino counterculture of the 1970s and 1980s. His current works were screened at local and international film festivals. He has also worked with some notable indepen…

Known For

L: LakadL: Lakad · 2025
L: Lakad
8.02025
MovieDrama
A desperate man, eager to reclaim his fiancée’s engagement ring, decides to sell their bed—only to find it becoming the stage for passionate encounters, forbidden desires, and the tangled lives of lovers caught between love, lust, and survival.
L3: LipadL3: Lipad · 2025
L3: Lipad
4.02025
MovieDrama
A woman becomes entangled in a provocative relationship where her husband begins offering her to others for pleasure. What starts as an exhilarating exploration of desire slowly unravels, forcing her to face the emotional and moral consequences of their choices.
DarkroomDarkroom · 2017
Darkroom
5.02017
MovieHorror
A group of teenage friends who seeks the thrill of ghost-hunting, and stumbles upon an old camera. As they carelessly play with it, they unknowingly summon the demon that exists inside. The demon possesses one of them, thus setting off a chain of horrific events that could turn fatal for everyone.
EntityEntity · 2015
Entity
5.02015
MovieDramaHorror
An agent partners with the heiress of a Japanese crime syndicate to put an end to the centuries-old curse that could be responsible for the spate of serial murders taking place in Manila.
Image NationImage Nation · 2006
Image Nation
2006
Movie
Imahe Nasyon is a groundbreaking, conceptual omnibus film by 20 alternative filmmakers who were tasked to present their personal visions on national issues. Renowned line producers Jon and Carol Red hatched the idea of revisiting the 1986 EDSA revolution, challenging directors to answer the question "What happened after 1986?" with a short film not longer than five minutes each. Despite individual techniques, the same goal is shared: to depict a truthful image of the nation at present.
IlusyonIlusyon · 2005
Ilusyon
1.02005
MovieDrama
Set in Philippine post-American colonialist era, where the American influence was still apparent, Ilusyon tells the story of Miguel, a young man from the countryside, who decides to visit his father, Pablo, a Modernist painter in Manila. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his father has decided to leave for the province but he opted to stay in Manila for a vacation. One day, he meets Stella, a nude model originally scheduled to pose for Miguel's father. Struck by her beauty, Miguel does the unthinkable - he pretends to be his father the painter. Developing a relationship based on a lie, things turn for the worse as Stella begets a strange skin disease that turns off Miguel. Surrounded by strange characters - a talking cow, a talkative mailman and a nosy landlady - Miguel is driven into a frenzy realization about beauty, lust, love and being true to oneself. An ambiguous ending underlines the surreal tone of the film.
Hindi Tao Hindi HayopHindi Tao Hindi Hayop · 2013
Hindi Tao Hindi Hayop
2013
MovieDrama
The lives of a matriarch, her two sons, and her niece are never the same again as they come to terms with an indiscretion in the family. A pivotal decision is made and a downward spiral ensues wherein the outcome can be no less than earth-shattering.
TravelersTravelers · 2023
Travelers
2023
MovieDocumentaryFamily
The diaspora of Filipinos around the globe is driven mostly by the economics of supply and demand. The yearning for something better, stability, and self-validation leads a handful of sojourners from the provinces of the Philippines into the arms of one of its former colonial masters — the USA. But what happens when they finally get what they want? And how? Filmmaker Dennis Empalmado explores the musings of Filipino expatriates and hopeful immigrants in "Naglalakbay" (Travelers).

Filmography

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IlusyonIlusyon · 2005
Ilusyon
1.02005
MovieDrama
Set in Philippine post-American colonialist era, where the American influence was still apparent, Ilusyon tells the story of Miguel, a young man from the countryside, who decides to visit his father, Pablo, a Modernist painter in Manila. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his father has decided to leave for the province but he opted to stay in Manila for a vacation. One day, he meets Stella, a nude model originally scheduled to pose for Miguel's father. Struck by her beauty, Miguel does the unthinkable - he pretends to be his father the painter. Developing a relationship based on a lie, things turn for the worse as Stella begets a strange skin disease that turns off Miguel. Surrounded by strange characters - a talking cow, a talkative mailman and a nosy landlady - Miguel is driven into a frenzy realization about beauty, lust, love and being true to oneself. An ambiguous ending underlines the surreal tone of the film.

Carpenter 2

Eldest Among the SevenEldest Among the Seven · 2017
Eldest Among the Seven
2017
MovieDocumentary
Sampaloc Lake - the most prominent of the seven lakes of San Pablo City has provided shelter, employment and inspiration to its immediate community for countless decades. In return, the natural resource suffered from indiscriminate use of the residents themselves and the consequences of rapid urbanization. Recently, the local government have implemented a clearing of all residential structures within the legal easement of the dying lake to pave the way for a tourism master plan that endeavors to balance revenue and environmental protection. In the eve of the clearing operations, film maker Dennis Empalmado documented the final musings of the residents, advocates, and artists whose lives revolved around the 99 hectare crater lake.

Camera Operator