The Palawan Script

Amidst the chaos of Martial Law in this Third World country in the 1980s, six teenagers in the top high school for the sciences discover themselves as they go through the joys and pains of adolescence. They were the top two hundred students from all over the Philippines who passed the examination for the Philippine Science High School, which was created for the purpose of giving an education highly enriched in the Sciences to exceptionally gifted Filipino children. Selected from the best and brightest from all over the country, they endure college-level courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics from their sophomore year onwards. Those who can make it are hailed as the future science and technology leaders of the New Republic, those who don't are deemed unfortunate victims of natural selection. They all learn however that they are neither isolated from the real world, nor are they exempted from living real lives.

The film is a collection of one-minute short films created by 60 filmmakers from around the world on the theme of the death of cinema.

Solito returns to his hometown on Palawan Island and captures the sacred rituals and daily lives of its people on film. We see the ongoing disintegration of the islanders’ way of life due to the intrusion of multinational corporations and other forces, and the resulting anger. The echoes of percussion and rhythm of the images unite harmoniously, drawing the viewer into the extraordinary world of this film.

The short film tells the myth of Suring, who casts a spell of immense beauty but is still judged by humanity. She retreats to the forests where she is far from the prying eyes of humans, and there, she befriends the Kuk-ok, a creature who can transform into any form.

Many have been aspiring for the position of Major Mac Favila, who is every cadet's ideal officer considering he is sharp, snappy, witty, and most of all, the most masculine among the school's many officers. Private Abel Sarmiento, who was abused when he was a child and Cain Fujika, a Filipino-Japanese whose mother worked abroad as a japayuki are the top contenders for his position.

Punay was born with wounds in her feet so that she cannot step on the earth. Her brother, Angkarang, carries her through a hammock, as he searches the changing landscape of Palawan in hoping to find a healer who can cure Punay. Different people help him carry his sister along the way- a woman looking for her husband, a fisherman who lost his boat and a young man who is searching for himself- and each one meets their fate.

An ode to Rogelio Sikat’s classic Filipino short story “Impeng Negro,” about a boy who is both Filipino and Black.

A poet sells his collection of comic books and action figures in order to afford to hire a male stripper on New Years Eve.

A 12-year-old gay who comes from a criminal family falls in love with a handsome policeman.

The daughter of a circumciser rebels and challenges the status quo when she is asked to take over her father's job.