Movies: Albert Banzon

An assassin, a porn dubber and a transgender. Three souls. One explicit illusion. To find the ultimate joy in their empty lives. A safe haven, where passion and love mean humanity, ecstasy means enlightenment; and the soul is the ultimate arbiter of ...

A young couple's shaky marriage becomes more chaotic when another woman comes into the picture. But what happens when the two women fall in love with each other?...

Ordinary People is a family portrait of Jane, 16, and her boyfriend, Aries, who live on their own in the chaotic streets of Manila. Surviving as pickpockets, the lives of the young couple change when they suddenly become teenage parents. But not even...

Ace, 23, and Miko, 17, desperately want to become famous actors but it seems the Universe has a different plan for their lives....

Drug-dealing and sex-starved goons mistakenly disturbs the peaceful lives of a frail witch and her grandchild in a remote town in the mountains....

Mondomanila tells the story of teenage anti-hero Tony de Guzman and the rough neighborhood he calls home....

An ex-seminarian slash communist runs a hotel in Baguio. He then meets a handsome upcoming lawyer. A once-a-year trip to Baguio by the lawyer and conversations with the hotel owner develop into an affair which encompasses decades of socio-political c...

Manila is besieged by the worst typhoon to hit the country. Talk of the world coming to an end hangs in the air. And five men find themselves stranded inside a police station with a prisoner who may o may not be the devil. It's going to be a long nig...

In this whimsical historical fresco, a counterpoint to today’s urgent political issues, the figure of the Filipino revolutionary Rizal is revisited in the light of early silent films....

Decades before the rise of liberalism in Spanish-era colonial Philippines, a young charismatic preacher leads a movement for equality and religious freedom for his fellow native Filipinos. He is hailed as the Christ of the Tagalogs, but is sentenced ...

A bunch of 10-year-old kids rob pedestrians and kill without a mercy. But after a failed bank robbery, the dangerous game comes to an end with twenty years of imprisonment. After two decades, they are released but soon begin to disappear one by one....

Pinoi Rock & Rhythm sheds the spotlight on four obscure yet significant figures in contemporary Philippine Popular Culture. Rebel Disc Jockey Dante "Howlin" Dave David, Stills Photographer and former stuntman Mr. Johnny Albia, Elvis Presley devotee M...

Filipino director Adolfo Alix Jr. returns to the Festival with this timely story of a couple caught up in Rodrigo Duterte’s violent war on drugs when their son goes missing....

Narcisa "Sisa" Dalangin is a young Filipina during the Spanish Occupation & is a childhood friend of Jose Rizal....

In the near future, Manila is an almost-utopian city, but they still believe in ghost stories. Nobody survives the mysterious blackouts that happen in random parts of the city after midnight. Nobody believes the horrors in its darkness are even real....

Adela, a former radio personality, celebrates her 80th birthday. Alone, and without support, she longs for the family and stability of years gone by. Mundane events take on heightened meaning as Adela gauges her life against those of the sea of human...

A woman runs her criminal syndicate all the while taking care of her family....

Impoverished, childless and living in a garbage dump, Miguel and Lina become instant celebrities when Lina miraculously becomes pregnant. But Lina gives birth to a fish, which increases her celebrity but leaves Miguel humiliated and the couple at odd...

Pastor Luis Aguila and his family are seemingly tested with their faith. Luis is an ex-convinct who is now the head of his church. Mildred, his wife, tries to hide her secret as she grapples between her family and church duties. Their youngest son Ca...

A tribute to filmmakers and National Artists Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. In the "Day" segment, Piolo Pacual portrays the role of William, a drug addict who tries to rebuild his sense of self and reconnect with the people around him. For the "Nigh...