Playhouse

Rooted in Filipino realities – both concrete and cinematically reimagined – John Torres’ meticulous yet generous approach is a synthesis of the personal and the political. Assembling fragments of discordant images and murmuring voices, this inventive parable creates a present that appears alien and a future that feels familiar.

In honor of their aging music teacher suddenly retiring, a group of underdogs sets out to give the best Battle of the Bands performance before their moving-up ceremony.

Niño, a high-school graduate from Northern Mindanao, dreams of leaving his small farming town after receiving a scholarship. Inspired by the freedom of birds, or “langgam” in Tandaganon, and despite his mother’s refusal, he leaves for Metro Manila. He learns that in the city, "langgam" holds a different meaning.

A widowed father must secure a death certificate to bury his daughter, only to learn that without proof she was ever born, the law leaves him no choice but to break it.

A young woman determined to find her mother is about to become their town's first OFW, sending the townsfolk into a frenzy of over-the-top reactions.

An unlikely friendship forms when a fifteen-year-old graphic designer helps his stubborn grandmother digitally color her old black-and-white photos. But as they bicker and bond through each photo, they soon realize that memories are anything, but black-and-white.

After a violent encounter with the police during a rally, a young boy is offered possible release by his detainees at great personal cost.

In a small farming town, a graduating high school girl struggles to convince her distrustful father to allow her to continue her studies in college after her older sister gets pregnant while being sent to the same university.

A call center applicant manipulates time during his interview only to find out his interviewer could do the same. The two become stuck in a limbo as they accidentally stop time at the same moment, leading them to confront the frozen world together.

A thesis short film by Kyle Demot

In their shared apartment, best friends Julia and Mary argue over how Vince, Mary's boyfriend, is neglectful of his shared responsibilities. Their argument is cut short when chaos ensues because of an opened umbrella and now they must face it together.

A production thesis by Aimeery De Castro.

A filmmaker sits down with her father through a simple dinner, revealing her heart out on a platter and the quiet tensions they don’t know how to let go of.

A short film by Samantha Santelices.

A commuter waits for a ride under the sweltering Manila heat. As his impatience grows, he sets off on his walk home, putting on a pair of earphones as he begins listening to some music...

When Miguel is haunted by his dead ex, he is forced to heal emotional wounds by confronting feelings he has been suppressing.