Mes de Guzman

Only the famous family that doesn't weep can help reunite a desperate woman with her own.

7.2/10

Three friends wait along Dalton Pass every dawn to jump at the back of rice delivery trucks to steal the goods and sell it at the wet market as their means of income. One of them accidentally gets a pack of drugs in one of the trucks they jumped and finds themselves in jeopardy when its owners track them down to retrieve the stash, and gives them a chance to get off the hook by means of taking on a risky mission.

Carlito is getting married. But he doesn't dare tell his parents. He also takes advantage of the safety of the bartering rural community from which he commutes back and forth to work.

The film depicts the troubles of Jonas (John Prats) and his sisters Carmina and Tricia (Ria Garcia and Anja Alajar), who have moved to their family’s old farm after Jonas’ real estate business sank. Jonas hires the help of some local men to put up a fence around their property, and while they all seem helpful at first, they become an indelible source of frustration for him and his sisters.

Mabuti accidentally finds a stash of money that could bring an end to her family’s financial problems: is the solution that simple or is it loaded with complications?

8.4/10

Every night, Nana Lusing lies on her bed sleepless because she sees a dark figure looming in her room. Who is this shadow? Is this the devil? Her late husband? A manifestation of her anxieties? Or simply a figment of her imagination?

7/10

Welcome to the hometown of Yoyong, Poklat, Boying and Uding. Here, there are no big shopping malls, no tall buildings. There are only huge mountains and vast fields as far as the eye can see, and clouds that seem to be always embracing the mountains. Life is simple for the four boys. They are content and very happy if they could eat three meals a day and are able to play. All of them, except for Uding who is an orphan, have left their homes in the mountains because they couldn’t bear the harsh treatment of their parents.

Documentary profiling the directors involved in the loose Philippine New Wave filmmaking movement.

5.6/10

Orphaned brothers in the Southern Philippines stay with their relatives and take dangerous work.

Good fortune does a family more harm than benefit in this independent drama from author and filmmaker Mes de Guzman. Young Vergel left his family to take as job as a miner, and following a long stretch away from home he returns and enjoys a reunion with his younger siblings, a mischievous brother and a sister who is newly aware of matters of the heart. All is well in the household until Vergel makes a startling discovery -- there are gold deposits on the family's farm. Vergel's first concern is the safety and well-being of his family, but as the value of the gold claim rises, his lust for money begins to overpower his common sense and regard for others.

6.7/10

A story about three children struggling in a depressed neighborhood with their means of survival arriving from the package given to them by their parents who works abroad.

8.2/10

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.

7.3/10

A brother and sister trek over mountains, cross rivers, and walk over a bridge between cliffs to and from school. After school, they take care of pigs and their ill grandfather in bed. At night they dine with their older brother and do homework. Looks like a simple life which has nothing to lose, but it has. When news arrives that the mine is collapsed where their older siblings have been working to support them, the family falls in danger of starvation. The repetition of daily life mixes with dramatic tension which gradually rushes to them.

7.6/10

A film about two sibling-streetchildren whose daily sustenance depends on selling rags and wiping windshields of passing motorcars on busy thoroughfares. In spite of being constantly exposed to traffic hazards and other hassles, the two managed to survive and maintain their playful spirit.