Gym Lumbera’s Dahil Sa’yo situates its melancholic romance between an old man and a banana tree set in the director’s native Batangas. Lyrically shot, sparingly paced, and thematically succinct, the short film makes use of very relatable human emotions as expressed through the popular ballad sung by the old man to his beloved tree to depict the despair in humanity’s relationship with his environment.

Because of You

On a commuter's trip from Manila's business district to the suburbs, the director finds a myriad of possibilities, ranging from miniature ironic situations to a love story that is finally finding its unexpected closing.

MNL 143

The movie is a fictionalized account of a disgruntled cop who has been wrongly implicated in a torture video that went viral. It begins on his last night of duty, as he is about to leave for abroad for better job prospects.

Qwerty

Circus hijinks surround the barangay of Sta. Maria in the midst of an international murder sensation. Swanie, Sta. Maria’s barangay chair and a distant relative of the killer, tries to gain political points by staging a wake for the criminal-turned-celebrity. Meanwhile in faraway Manila, Joanna, Swanie’s runaway son, navigates his way through labyrinthine bureaucracy, to give a neighbor a proper burial. With these two unrelated deaths, estranged mother and son each bury the dead long shelved in their hearts. Amidst these unspoken family burials, the neighborhoods’ penchant for funeral fiestas, gossip and secrets, bizarre social events and the sheer mix of scandal and inebriation complete the picture of dying the Pinoy way.