Hailie Balendez

Two sisters, in hopes of fresher air, decide to sit on a bench under the shade of a tree.

In a small barangay where a children’s game of teks reflects real power, Maya challenges Rod, the reigning champion turned tyrant, in a teks battle that could change the fate of their community.

Set in the 1960s, where Caloocan stands at the cusp of transformation, there’s a story of an ordinary Filipino family who faces their own reckoning with change, the Asuncion family. Iris, the middle child, returns home after receiving news of his mother’s death, stepping back into a home—and a city—that feels both familiar and distant.