Nanay Cleo's Dream

Two sisters Lilia and Trining decide to adopt and raise three children: Joven, Ito and Pilar. Now adults, adopted siblings Joven and Pilar end up falling in love with each other. Family drama ensues when more secrets are revealed and resistance is met.

A visual tale, through possibly both dreams and delirium, where an orphan boy plagued with loneliness and alienation find inspiration in an ill roommate as they journey to find a real home.

Set in the present, the film tells the story of Mutya, a shy young transgender woman who works as a gardener at a resort south of Manila. She takes care of the blind mother of her OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) seafarer boyfriend, Kerel. The film is anchored in their phone conversation, which may or may not be real, and becomes a catalyst for the manifestation of their individual anxieties and desires reflected in a dream like visual journey.

Trapped in a cargo ship during the lockdown, Kerel, a gay Filipino seafarer escapes through his memory, and recalls his complicated past, present, and future self. The hybrid experimental documentary fiction film is an evocation of the complexities of personal and national identity prescribed by one’s memory. The film mixes archival images with texts, filmed and found footage to weave the complex narrative from the perspective of a seafarer stranded at sea, confronted by Chinese ships while recalling his relationship with himself, his lover, his family, and his country.