This is the second part of our best scenes of 2019 feature. You may read Part 1 here and Part 3 here.
Refugees arrive via Pasig River (Quezon’s Game)
Emil Hofileña, reviewer: “It’s impossible to view the ending of Quezon’s Game (and the rest of the film) outside the context of our political situation today: human rights abuses, the qualities of a leader, and the Philippines’ own sovereignty are just several issues that now enjoy regular airtime in the news more than ever. And through director Matthew Rosen’s sensitive direction, he gives us a reminder of the truly selfless humanitarian acts that our leaders are capable of when they assert our national identity as one built on love.
Like most of the film, the scene is simple and the production design modest. President Manuel Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) and the other principal characters stand overlooking the Pasig River at night. One by one, lanterns from boats float into view: the Jewish refugees—persecuted and chased out of Germany on the brink of World War II—have safely arrived to one of the only countries that took the risk of giving them a new home.
On its own, it’s a powerful image of hope—a foreign people in need being embraced not just by another nation, but a government that actively defied its colonizers for the greater good. The relief that washes over Bagatsing and Billy Ray Gallion’s characters (Gallion plays the Jewish Alex Frieder) is enormously cathartic, and one is suddenly overcome with pride (arguably a rare commodity these days) seeing the Filipino people’s capacity to be heroes.
The understated nature of the scene works not only for the film, but as another reminder to us that not all victories need to be loudly celebrated. In a time when strongmen and their cronies shout obscenities and display their temporary power, Quezon’s Game asks us to commit wholeheartedly to simply doing as much as we can for the welfare of others. The scene might not have been this powerful if recent history was different, but as it is, it’s a gift and a remarkably tender piece of filmmaking.”
Matthew Rosen, director: “The Scene in Quezon’s Game depicting the arrival of the Jewish refugees is one of the most important scenes in the film. It had to be triumphant.
This was a big motion picture with a relatively small budget. Every scene had to be shot to make it look as big as I wanted BUT within the budget the producer had provided for it. This scene was no exception. This is how we did it:
We were shooting all our exteriors in Las Casas de Acuzar… most beautiful location. We had identified an area that looked like Malacañang on the Pasig. Actually it was the entrance to the village on the lake. You could see the village clearly on the other side of the lake at day but not so well at night. We shot this scene in 4 hrs. The building we were using was also a restaurant so we had to wait for it to close at 10:00pm. We then started moving in our equipment and we shot all the acting scenes first. I wanted Quezon’s Game to look like a movie shot in the 40s (like Casablanca or Citizen Kane) and I maintained this style of lighting, framing and blocking throughout the movie. Our difficulty was it was typhooning during the week we were shooting. To hide this we suspended rain shields over the area we were shooting in. The typhoon did slow us down quite a bit but we had to keep moving forward. With my very hardworking and experienced crew we were able to shield every shot successfully and you can’t see the typhoon… although occasional drips of rain can be seen getting through – if you know where to look.
The last piece of the movie magic jigsaw that had to be put in place was the illusion of grandeur. I wanted to show hundreds of refugees arriving at the dock of the Palace. But there was no Palace or dock….and only a handful of refugees. To form the dock we stripped bare a water taxi and tied it to the bank of the lake. For the refugees we put the European actors (about 6) on the front of the raft and dressed the lighting crew in refugee costumes at the back of the raft. We then sent that one raft out to a place where you could just make out that it was a raft and it chugged towards the bank where the camera was. We then shuffled everybody on board, swapped hats around and sent the raft out again to return using a different route. We did this about 10 times. In post-production we combined the various takes into one and it looks like we have multiple rafts all loaded with refugees lining up to dock in front of Malacañang. Sometimes the scenes that are the hardest to shoot work out the best. Looking back at this scene I think we were lucky we did not have the budget to set this up for real as trying to choreograph at least 15 rafts and 150 extras in a typhoon would have been a much harder task. Not to mention that his was the second time we shot this scene…we attempted it a couple of weeks earlier but got hit by a more severe downpour that forced us to pack up before we could finish.
When we did our sound design our designer showed me an unfinished version without any live sound… just the very touching composition of Dean Rosen’s score. It seemed to be more moving without any sound… just the music…. so we faded out all sounds and I strongly felt what I had was perfect. It’s a very unorthodox treatment for a film’s finale formed from both design and fate… but I really like the way it turned out.”
Janice Perez, co-writer: “To be quite honest, the real event didn’t happen that way exactly. The Jewish refugees actually came in several migrations riding those big, inter-ocean liners throughout the span of 2 years (1938 – 1940). However, due to budgetary and time constraints, we decided to simplify it for the film, thus showing them riding the river taxis arriving to Malacañang Palace, greeted by President Quezon and his family, which is also not historically accurate. But we needed to make that penultimate scene much more dramatic and powerful, that’s why we showed them arriving on several water taxis, with President Quezon and family welcoming them to Manila. My research shows though that river taxis were very common in that era, so who knows, maybe a few of them did take the water taxis? And I guess the VFX work done by our editor, RJ Aquino, must have been really good (granted Pinoy Rebyu voters counted this scene as a selection) because truth be told, RJ duplicated those river taxis to look like there were multitudes of them, when in actuality, there was only just 1 river taxi available to shoot.”
Family inuman session (Kalel, 15)
Mayk Alegre, reviewer: “Lasing lahat. Tropa-tropa lang. Walang magu-magulang. Walang anak-anak. Nasa pinakamagaling nilang pagganap sina Jaclyn Jose, Elora Españo at Elijah Canlas habang senglot na pinag-uusapan nang parang magkakabarkada lang ang kaputanginahan ng buhay.”
Elora Españo, actor: “We rehearsed the scene multiple times. Mejo hirap kasi ako sa pagiging kantoish nung character ko so everyone helped me out. We shot the scene around 9am, Miss Universe telecast nun so mej distracted kami. It took us 2 days to make the whole inuman scene. 1st day was with Ms. Jane (Jaclyn) and 2nd day yung kami na lang ni Elijah. The instructions were to really enjoy each other’s company, be casual. Pagtawanan ang mishaps ng isa’t isa. May mga adlib pero very minimal. Nasa script the rest. Ganda na kasi ng script ni Direk Jun.
This inuman scene is really important for Kalel, since this is the only family bonding they had in the film. They talk about their issues, they have fun and reflect on their problems. It’s their way of being vulnerable and comforting each other. Makikita talaga yung dynamics ng pamilyang ito sa inuman.
Kalel, 15 was one of the most important films I made as an actress, it’s socially relevant today and it tackles many issues I myself advocate for. I am so grateful for Kalel, 15 because of the overwhelming support of each individual that is involved, from our staff, crew to my co actors and director. It challenged me as an actress: even as I was exploring the character, they didn’t make me feel inadequate; I felt loved and supported all throughout. I hope that this film be showcased not only abroad but especially here for our communities to see.”
Elijah Canlas, actor: “I remember being so excited ‘cause when we tried to do that scene during the look test and I first got a taste of how it feels like to be in a scene with Tita Jane, it made me so pumped to shoot it for real. Iba-iba talaga yung ibabato niyang choices every take, and you’re gonna have to accept that and work with those choices every time and I really cherish that fun dynamic as an actor. I was personally challenged the most whenever Kalel was alone and whenever he was with family. He wears a different mask whenever he’s around different people in his life and I figured there were more layers whenever he’s with family than with friends and others. Importante talaga kay Direk Jun ‘tong eksena na ‘to eh. It actually took us so many takes just to get the tone right. He still welcomed us to do improv though but we had to retain the structure and flow of the way it was written. I think the key to making the scene work was how Direk Jun and Tita Jane encouraged us to just play with it and have fun.”
“Come to Mommy!”, Fuccbois
Naz Tabares, reviewer: “Tension fills the screen as Ace (Royce Cabrera) and Miko (Kokoy de Santos), drugged and drunk, join ‘Brithany’ on the bed. This is not their first time do a threesome as mentioned in the film. But with Ace wanting to leave Brithany for a real woman who can also provide for him financially, things got more complicated. And being trapped in an island owned by a corrupt closeted mayor with men and women at his payroll, what can two innocent young men can do? Imagine that. Then imagine being forced to have sex with your friend for the pleasure of another person or die because a gun is pointed at you two.
The scene felt as though it was a very long night. That hopefully it would end sooner but things have gotten way worse. It’s that scene where anything bad can happen, you don’t know if you’re ready for it but sex, drugs and violence that leads to a murder happen. But Royce, Kokoy and THE Ricky Davao are all game. F#*@BOIS‘ choices are bold and shocking, like it doesn’t care about anything but to just be honest to its characters.
There are things I never thought Ricky Davao would have dared doing in this film, but he did them and the results feel as if the narrative liberates itself from its limits and moves forward to a direction where young men are not supposed to be in. The threesome of Cabrera, de Santos and Davao will be remembered as one of the most provocative, intense and daring scenes of the 2010s and so is the line ‘Come to mommy, boys!'”
Kokoy de Santos, actor: “When we were shooting that scene I was so pressured because that was the first time that I’d be doing an intimate scene, most especially sa big screen, to think na si Sir Ricky ka-eksena namen, sobrang nerve-wracking pero kailangan i-overcome yung takot at kaba. And of course hindi naman kami pinabayaan ng Direktor namin. Very hands-on sa’min si Direk lalo na when it comes to intimate scenes. Alalay talaga. I remembered sinabi samen ni Sir Ricky before we shot that scene, ‘Kung gagawa kayo ng ganitong klaseng eksena, bigay nyo na kesa yung ginawa nyo nga tapos pag pinanood mo e manghihinayang ka kase may kulang na sana ginawa nyo na’.”
Eduardo Roy, Jr., writer/director: “Ang vital ng eksenang yan sa buong pelikula. Yan din eksenang yan ang naging sukatan ko sa pagpili ng gaganap na fuccbois, dapat kaya nilang gawin ‘yan ng buong makakaya nila. Sina Kokoy at Royce nagkaroon pa ng matinding sensuality workshop para sa scene na iyan. Habang si sir Ricky natatandaan ko habang kausap ko sa phone di ko alam paano ko sasabihin na hahalik s’ya at kakain ng paa, pero pumayag s’ya, biro ko pa nga na magpapafootspa naman yung dalawa. Pagdating sa set walang naging problema. Ready ang lahat. Binigay nilang tatlo ang makakaya nila. Ang ‘Brithanygaile’ na name wala naman talaga sa script. Isang gabi kasi habang kinukunan naming yung eksena na dumating si Mayor sa bahay bakasyunan nya kailangan ng bangka. May nakasulat na Brithanygaile sa bangka dapat papaburahin ko pero naisip ko na baklang bakla yung name, bakit hindi ko gamitin. Boom! alter ego name na lang sya ni Mayor. Kaya nung sinabi ni Mayor sa dalawang bagets na come to mommy… dinagdag ko sa threesome scene ang line na ‘Who’s your mommy?’ At ang pabulong na sabi ng dalawa, ‘Brithanygaile’.”
This is the third part of our best scenes of 2019 feature. You may read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Self-love (Metamorphosis)
Emil Hofileña, reviewer: “Ït remains a complete mystery how the MTRCB viewed Metamorphosis and saw the opposite of sensitivity and empathy toward our intersex brothers and sisters. Though the film’s protagonist, Adam (Gold Azeron), may be just a teenage boy, he and his body are treated with utmost respect by the camera. And when he begins touching himself, having overcome the fear of his own otherness, it looks almost like an ethereal dance–Adam intoxicated by the sense of freedom and discovery. None of it is perverse. Metamorphosis proves that Filipino LGBTQIA+ cinema need not rely on misery and sadness. Self-acceptance is often more beautiful.
J.E. Tiglao, writer/director: “Metamorphosis is the first Filipino film to represent an intersex as the main protagonist of the film. There is one scene that got us almost banned from showing it publicly. MTRCB initially rated our film X-Rated before changing it to R-16 after some protest through social media. All this is because of a masturbation scene where Adam, the intersex protagonist, was shown playing with him/herself.
Prior to the scene, Adam was a normal high schooler whose initiation to puberty started when two persons came to his life. First is Angel, Adam’s figure of femininity. Second is Doc Abraham, Adam’s first sexual attraction to a man. When Adam already experienced both sides of his/her sexuality, there came the masturbation scene, where he/she was shown playing both of his/her two genitals. The scene portrays the culmination of his/her sexual exploration, a picture of someone finally embracing his/her humanity that’s not bounded by the label of dualism, that he/she is not fully-male nor fully-female. Adam is an intersex. And there’s nothing wrong with it.
As the writer/director of the film, I was so fortunate to have Gold Azeron to play the role of Adam. He lost 15 kilos for the role. He had undergone four whole-day workshops. I also made him watch several films and documentaries for reference. And when we did the masturbation scene, with no hesitation, he played it so well and was always asking if he did good and if there was something to improve on. Gold is a brave, persistent actor. He owned the role of Adam.
We shot the scene twice in two different shooting days. The first one, I shot it with a static full long shot and when I watched it on post, I found it dull and less-human. So on our reshoot a month after, I shot the scene again, now with more close-ups and hand-held shots to make it more intimate and to feel every inhale of Adam’s anxiety and excitement during the scene. My DOP, Tey Clamor, also shot it beautifully and the ethereal scoring was made by Divino Dayacap.
It’s one of my favorite scenes of the film.”
The orgy (Jino to Mari)
Noy Lauzon, film programmer: “Jino to Mari’s climactic scene draws its power not from the graphic sex it conveys but the geopolitics that it invokes. The whole story of Jino and Mari is a replication of the many invasions the country must endure in the hands of a mightier foreign power with its hapless citizens left at the mercy of the invader for survival and sustenance economy.”
Jay Altarejos, writer/director: “The orgy scene was not only difficult to shoot. That scene lingered on my mind for a long time. I was so affected that I had to talk to my psychiatrist for debriefing. It made question my core values. Di namin magagawa yun kung hindi sina Angela at Oliver ang artista namin.”
Angela Cortez, actor: “Siyempre Oliver and I, alam na namin kung ano yung scene na kukunan. Akala namin ready na kami with what we were about to go through. Haha! Pero when we got on the set, nung nakita namin yung apat na boys na hubo’t hubad, nagtinginan kami. Napa ‘tangina’ na lang kami. Hahaha! Napakahirap gawin nang scene na ‘yon kasi sa totoo lang marami akong insecurities sa katawan. Hindi ko ma-describe yung feeling na totally naked ka tapos you have to pretend na okay lang na pinapanood ka ng maraming tao. Yung apat na guys they had to touch us pa (among other things). Malaki lang siguro talaga ang tiwala ko kay Direk Jay kaya nagawa ko without second thoughts.”
Oliver Aquino, actor: “Pinakamahirap kong ginawa sa buong pag-aartista ko. Pero tinanggap ko kasi ang role kaya ginawa ko ang kailangan. I reached a point that I didn’t care anymore that I was naked in front of everyone during the shoot. Di ko na siguro uulitin ang ganung eksena.”
The ending (Edward)
Jonathan Ang, reviewer: “Yung last scene ng Edward ang pinakakurot-puso na eksena ng isa sa pinakamahusay na pelikula ng 2019. Yun ang tipo ng crying scene na ‘pag pinanood mo in isolation ay parang bale-wala o ‘keri’ lang, pero kung pinanood mo ang kabuuan ng pelikula ay talaga namang hebigat — at walang ka-‘OA’-yan!”
Engelbert Raffert Dulay, reviewer: “For a limited amount of time, Edward has seen it all: the faces of poverty, the burdens of our public healthcare system, the idea of first love, the powerlessness of youth and, most of all, the cruelties of life. He didn’t have to go through it all; after all, at the start he was once like every single young blood out there right now: so full of idealism and ignorance in whatever’s happening. But Fate knows when to teach us what reality means. Edward learned his lesson the hardest way possible, most of which he did not deserve. In the process of learning, his innocence—like his idealism and ignorance—has been torn away from him in a crescendo of events that even he did not expect to happen. Life just works that way. That’s where the emotions, intensely seething through his vessel, have started piling up. In the waiting area of the hospital, he lies on the carton-laden floor, along with dozens of other family members who are lying along with him, and there he starts hugging his bag and lets the tears in his eyes overwhelm him. For a limited amount of time, Edward has seen it all. And what he’s seen is a little too much.”
Thop Nazareno, writer/director: “This scene wasn’t originally the last scene I had in mind for the film. May isa pang eksena that I shot on a long take of Edward with his father exiting the hospital thru the same hallways he used to treat as his playground. But during editing, my creative producer, Bb. Joyce Bernal, and I realized na hindi na kailangan iyon. Kahit napakamahal at mahirap i-direk ang eksenang iyon, I decided to let go of it and go for a more powerful ending.
This scene of Edward lying down helplessly weeping for the unfortunate fate of his father was meant to emphasize his loss of innocence, realizing the real meaning and value of life. Katulad ng dati kong istilo ng pagkukwento kung saan naniniwala ako na less is more, I wanted this scene to be quiet. No dialogues, hindi engrande at straight to the point. Walang ibang maririnig kung hindi ang mahinang paghikbi ni Edward. I aimed for realism dahil gusto kong maramdaman ang estado ng ating public healthcare system. Gusto kong tapusin ang pelikula na mas nararamdaman ng audience ang pinagdadaanan ni Edward kaysa maintindihan ito.”
Kayo Jolongbayan, reviewer: “I was shaking after I saw John Denver Trending in Glorietta last year as I wasn’t emotionally prepared by the film’s disturbing and raw take on how a single social media post can change the life of an individual. This film has many subtle yet powerful scenes, but what made the flower icing moment stand out is how writer-director Arden Rod Condez magnified the relationship between John Denver and Marites. With minimal dialogue, Condez allowed his actors, the brilliant Meryll Soriano and Jansen Magpusao, to capture that key moment and made his viewers realize that their bond is unbreakable. Through thick and thin, John Denver and Marites’ relationship as mother and son is strong; it’s them against the world no matter what happens. After that moment, Condez then proceeds to a scene that sets up the trajectory of the film as John Denver walks through the dark with sparks of fire behind him. It’s hard for me to brush off this scene as the succeeding sequences felt like a nightmare. In a simple yet thought-provoking way, the screenplay and the direction allowed the audience to set their expectations throughout the film; that from then on, John Denver’s path is going to be dark, and there’s going to be scrutiny and bullying as if he’s walking through fire. The deafening silence, Rommel Sales’ fantastic framing, and Magpusao’s rawness captured the calm-before-the-storm feeling of that scene and as an audience member, you can’t help but feel helpless yet curious on what’s going to happen next.”
Stephanie Mayo, reviewer: “Director Arden Rod Condez managed to utilize the power of the film in that single scene. There are no speaking lines; just a lone boy in his school uniform walking home at night with a heavy step. Then he passes by a burning rubber, its flames dying, the glowing embers lighting up the pitch-black night behind the boy.
That scene is searing and powerful. Not only for its exquisite beauty, but for communicating big emotions. The boy walking away from a normal childhood towards the depths of hell. The sparks of fire behind him like the fake accusation against him, spreading and rising; each flying ember like smoldering violence that follows the boy.
This scene is the most symbolical of the film’s mise-en-scene, echoing so much poetic vision. That one scene summarizes John Denver’s nightmare. The camera captures the shell-shocked face of a child victim. He walks home. But you know that home will never be home. It will never be a sanctuary. Even his mother can never shield him from something so massive and dark. And it will only get worse. Much worse. And it’s soul-crushing.”
Rommel Sales, cinematographer: “Cake flower scene. What I remember about this scene was this was among the most tender moments we shot for the film. Madalas magulo yung camera namin as if it’s someone constantly watching and following John Denver. But for this scene medyo mas well-framed siya and mas static as if yung nanonood kay John Denver ay napatigil at naging sympathetic sa kanya. Shooting this, isa ito sa last sequences we shot that day. Buong araw palipat-lipat kami ng location. Nagmamadali at naghahabol ng araw. Conscious kami na kailangan mabilis ang galawan, pero nung eksenang ito na para bang habang shinu-shoot namin ito napatigil ako at nanood na lang ng eksena haha.
Yung firewalk sinakay namin yung camera sa pang-deliver ng case ng beer kasi wala kaming dolly para makuha yung shot. Yung apoy dinagdag namin kasi maganda siyang panimula sa paparating na paghuhusga na mararanasan ni John Denver.”
Arden Rod Condez, writer/director: “Being a writer, palagi na lang tanong sa akin kung paano kakapitan ang characters na sinusulat ko. Gusto kong kapitan si John Denver ng mga manunuod kaya gumawa ako ng isang eksena for that. But I don’t want it too pronounced. Fifteen years old si John Denver, madalas sa mga gano’ng edad, hindi sila gano’n ka-vocal pagdating sa emosyon. Hindi rin naman gano’n ka-vocal ang love nina John Denver at Marites sa isa’t isa. But I wanted to show their bond. John Denver’s love for his mom was muted, yes, but it was always felt.
Kaya naisip ko ang flower icing sa cake. Sa probinsya, pag may cake na take-home mula sa party, pinag-aagawan ang flower icing na nasama sa slice. Hindi madalas nakakatikim nun, kaya sya importante. Kaya tinago sya ni John Denver. Naging selfish sya. But when he saw his mother working to pay for a debt that he obtained, it was his guilt, and yes, his love that made him surrender the flower icing and let his mother eat it.
Ilang beses naming inulit ang eksenang ‘yon kasi matagal matanggal sa alambre ang bulaklak. Tawa kami nang tawa. This was one of the scenes that we did on our first day of shoot. ‘Yong tawanan na nangyari dito set the tone for the entire shoot.
Tungkol naman do’n sa embers na nasa background ni John Denver habang naglalakad sya pauwi, that was just the strong wind helping us make the scene more cinematic. Lol. Dahil dalawa lang ang dala naming ilaw from Manila, kinailangan naming mag-bonfire ng mag-bonfire sa lahat ng night scenes para hindi madilim ang mga eksena. In a way, nakatulong. Indeed, scarcity can be an indie filmmaker’s best friend.”
The kiss (LSS)
Mayk Alegre, reviewer: “Unang engkuwentro nina Zack & Sarah (Khalil Ramos at Gabbi Garcia) sa bus nang masaya silang magkatabi sa upuan habang patapos na sa background ang ‘Ride Home’ ng Ben & Ben. Pasulpot-sulpot ang iba pang mga awitin ng banda sa pelikula pero pinakamatingkad ang ‘Kathang Isip’ nang aksidente silang magkatabi ulit, sa gig, habang parehong umaambon sa pisngi nila hanggang magkatitigan sila at selyuhan nila ang gabi nang labi sa labi. Hindi na marahil sila duwag. Handa na silang bumalik sa umpisa. Hindi na sila nag-iisa.”
Emil Hofileña, reviewer: “We’ve all been there: listening to a song that hurts more than it should, letting the music overwhelm you until you”re barely capable of rational thought. Using this common experience, Jade Castro takes his two heartbroken protagonists (and the audience) on an emotional rollercoaster that’s funny, achingly romantic, and altogether endearing. When Zack and Sarah are finally pushed toward each other, the results are messy and probably more than a little awkward, but in the moment it’s everything they need. It’s heartbreak, recognition, validation, and comfort in a few brief minutes, and it’s wonderful to behold.”
James Espinoza, reviewer: “What sets LSS apart from its contemporaries is it rejects the ‘you complete me’ narrative prevalent in its genre. LSS is less about a relationship than about two individuals going through their own personal shit and by chance happening to find that one person who supports you. I think this context is important in analyzing why the ‘Kathang Isip’ scene is so brilliant.
‘Pasensya ka na sa mga kathang isip kong ‘to…’ Indeed, the scene plays out like a daydream – in the middle of a crowd, while their favorite band is playing, the two protagonists come face to face, stare at each other, and then kiss. It’s the stuff that rom-coms are made of, but somehow this one feels authentic not only because of its emotional weight but also its effective mise-en-scène.
‘Ako’y gigising na sa panaginip kong ito at sa wakas ay kusang lalayo sa iyo…’ The scene happens around the film’s midpoint. A year has passed since Sarah and Zack first met, and the film has spent that time to establish each character’s aspirations. What’s changed is that these dreams have just been shattered. Devastated, they walk through the crowd, sobbing and no longer aware of their surroundings. They each end up on the opposite sides of a gig-goer wearing a Big Ben clock costume. They have no idea, but the audience already does.
‘Gaano kabilis nagsimula, gano’n katulin nawala. Maaari ba tayong bumalik sa umpisa upang ‘di na umasa ang pusong nag-iisa?’ Timing is another theme that LSS explores, and bad timing is what had separated Sarah and Zack thus far. But in this scene, time, by way of the costumed fan, literally gets out of their way. Pushed further by an apathetic crowd, Sarah and Zack bump into each other and see the very person who has encouraged them in that fateful bus ride. Their tears spoke as words failed them. They understood. Taking solace in misery, they lean in for a kiss, setting themselves free of all the baggage and restrictions of life, even for a moment.
‘Sumabay sa agos na isinulat ng tadhana. Minsan siya’y para sa iyo, pero minsan siya’y paasa. Tatakbo papalayo’t kakalimutan ang lahat…’”
Siege Ledesma, co-writer: “During conceptualisation stage pa lang ay kontrobersyal na yang eksenang yan sa amin sa writing team. Ang vision kasi ni Direk Jade para sa pelikula ay maging disruptive ito sa kung ano ang uso (ie. mga ‘romcom’ films pero drama at nihilistic naman ang ending, and mga mumblecore style na usap-usap lang, at ang pacing ay close to real life) – at ang isa na nga dito ay dapat sa mid-part ng pelikula ay magka-magical moment kung saan magki-kiss ang estranged leads who are basically still strangers to each other. Isa ako sa mga nag-‘No’ (haha!) dahil bilang direktor din, alam ko na mapapa-work lang yung kiss na yun kung mahusay yung pagkakasulat (na trabaho ko mainly), edit at acting ng mga leads during the ‘time apart’ nila, to warrant that cathartic moment. But I womaned-up to direk’s challenge, and happy ako na may mga naka-appreciate naman sa kinalabasan ng eksenang ni-risk at pinagpaguran namin.”
Jade Castro, co-writer/director: “I read last year’s best film scenes in Pinoy Rebyu, and I’m amazed that many directors knew exactly what they want then got it. The kissing scene in LSS was the opposite: It was a dive into the unknown. We always knew there would be a point in the film when the two characters Zack and Sarah would meet again after a long yearning, but exactly when that would happen and what would transpire was the question that underwent a grueling process. There are maybe a hundred versions of this scene, from writing (In one draft, it happens out of town towards the end) to sound mixing (We tried it with the music drowned out when their lips lock – I hated it.) The first version of the edit made me cry the hardest but it was also probably too long.
At some point, I embraced the idea that it was going to be a love-it-or-hate-it scene no matter what because much of what we were doing in LSS was counterintuitive anyway; To do the film’s only kiss as both grand action and simple nice-to-see-you-again, during the characters’ lowest and ugliest, was a risk that scared and excited me. Gabbi Garcia’s management allowed us to do only one kissing scene, so it had to be special and memorable and surprising and true but at the same time structured in such a way that people won’t notice or care it was the only one. It was like an ending right smack in the middle of the film.
We had one rehearsal day with the actors to work on this scene. There are so many things loaded into that moment – both characters just had their hearts broken, the noise and happiness around them, etc. – that it was never going to be easy. But Gabbi and Khalil already have such a deep connection to each other that they were able to find a way to communicate through all that without using words. When I saw the honesty in it, I said yeah, we can shoot this.
We shot with one camera. Most people get shocked when they hear that. How do we shoot a concert scene with three or four pocket events within it with only one cam? We first shot and recorded Ben&Ben as if it were an actual gig. We had these mini-concerts everytime, so the music and the energy were always like lightning in a bottle. This one was in 19East, and we had a strict time limit because it was an expensive place. Then we shot the kiss and the walk leading up to it last. We cast Miko Livelo to play the guy in Big Ben costume as the final thing that was in the way of Zack and Sarah. We cast real friends for minor roles, and Miko, who directed Blue Bustamante, was perfect as a cosplayer. It was a tribute to a real Ben&Ben fan who showed up at a gig as the clock, so it wasn’t really intended as a symbol of anything, even though I liked how it serves as a clue to the way the film plays with time, where sometimes the events of an entire year just disappears or when all of life happens in a single song. I remember going home with my assistant director Chad and cinematographer Malay, all of us feeling good about what we shot that day. In editing, my producer Quark said the scene was ‘pure cinema’ but that’s an odd description for something that was a cloudy proposition all the way up to today, when I’m still not quite sure what people make of it.”
Christmas lights dance (Isa Pa, with Feelings)
John Tawasil, reviewer: “In a way, all romances are built on communication; Isa Pa With Feelings takes it a step further. There are two dance sequences in Isa Pa With Feelings set to JK Labajo’s ‘Buwan’: the first encapsulates the film’s theme of empathy and understanding, in that it is a genuine attempt to share an experience with someone else. Mara’s use of vibrations and light to make Gali feel the beauty she experiences while listening to music is an attempt to bridge their differences, an attempt to make someone experience the world the way they experience it. This gesture is initially rebuffed, but it pays off later in the second dance sequence, with a set dressed up by production designer Nestor Abrogena and lensed by cinematographer Tey Clamor to look like an aquarium – they are two lovers no longer living alone in their separate oceans, but dancing together in their shared space, a profoundly intimate intersection of worlds.”
Tey Clamor, cinematographer (from previous interview): “Because of the nature of the premise, the film relies heavily on visuals. Prime wanted to use light and water as a visual motif for the film. So, our visual design together with our production designer, Nestor Abrogena, focused mainly on those two elements. We created an aquarium-like world for both the characters as a metaphor to depict how they live in their own worlds and how they try to come out of their state of isolation.”
Jen Chuaunsu, co-writer: “When we pitched the concept to Black Sheep, the Christmas lights scene was part of the pitch. It was inspired by a YouTube video of a hearing girl signing the lyrics of a song to her Deaf friend. The hearing girl was signing with such emotion that it was quite moving–two people from two different worlds sharing a song together. The hearing girl was trying to make her Deaf friend feel included in the music festival. We wanted to capture the feeling of that video and everything it represented in our movie.
Through all the revisions that my co-writer, Katherine Labayen, and I did, the Christmas lights scene was always part of the script.
Initially, the scene was intended to be a kilig scene where she helps him experience the song through lights and sign language. But the scene gradually evolved and became tinged with heartbreak.
This is the moment where the audience expects them to kiss after they’ve been dancing and flirting with each other. But at the last moment, Gali pulls back and lets his fear and insecurity get in the way.
Prime wanted to tell the story of two people from two different worlds at the cusp of falling in love. We meet the characters at the beginning of their story, each struggling with their own issues, which keep them from taking the leap.
We wanted to say that despite our differences, we can all try to understand each other and connect.”
Prime Cruz, director: “What struck me the most during our research for the film was that the Deaf community lived in their own unique and separate world. As a result of being excluded and isolated from the rest of mainstream society who communicated primarily through speech, they developed their own language and their own culture.
I wanted to illustrate this by dividing the movie into two worlds: Hearing and Deaf. Mara who inhabits the hearing world is visually represented by light. Gali who inhabits the Deaf world is visually represented by water.
Throughout the film, Gali and Mara try to bring each other into their respective worlds. Gali takes Mara to an aquarium store and buys her a fish. He brings her to a deaf party and signs to her underwater. Mara hangs christmas lights in Gali’s apartment as a doorbell substitute.
In the scene featured in this article, Mara surrounds the dance studio with Christmas lights, trying to substitute light for sound which Gali cannot experience. She dances with him, surrounded with music and light. She holds his hand and leans on his shoulder as she attempts to bring him into her world.
We shot this scene for 8 hours i think and we had to get the right reactions and the right shots because this was a major turning point in the movie and we had to execute it without dialogue. I talked to Carlo Aquino and Maine Mendoza and we went through the scene together. We talked about what their characters were feeling and how it changes throughout the scene. We decided not to overdo the scene in terms of acting. I didn’t want them to pantomime their feelings with overt facial reactions. We decided to go the ‘honest’ route where they just had to feel the emotions in the scene for real and trust the camera to show it. We shot the scene is mostly medium and medium close ups, using wide shots and close ups sparingly to highlight important emotional beats.”
(From previous interview): “Kumuha si Nestor (PD) ng isang guy na magsi-sequence sa Christmas lights. Nagagawa yun para sumabay sa music. Naka-sequence yun. Ginawa yun ni Mara para mas ma-feel ni Gali yung song kasi hindi niya nga naririnig. Nung shinoot namin yun, kumuha kami ng point of view ni Gali, saka point of view ni Mara, saka general point of view. Ganoon namin covered. Medyo madugo kasi film plays on perspective. Kaya pag cover ng isang eksena, lagi kaming may general coverage… yung tipikal. Meron kaming perspective on how Gali sees it and how Mara sees it. Ganoon sa Christmas lights scene. Majority ng shots kinuha namin sa perspective ni Gali. Kung paano niya nae-experience o kung paano niya nakita. Kaya POV niya si Mara nung namatay nang medyo matagal ang sound.”
In this final installment of the year’s best scenes, we present commentaries from reviewers, director, and actors of 2019’s Scene of the Year.
The ending (Cleaners)
Jay Lacanilao, reviewer: “Complemented with Unique’s sentimental and hopeful song ‘Apoy ng Kandila’, the ending of Cleaners finds its lead high school students in their classroom during their ‘last day’, screaming on top of their lungs, possibly an outcry from their current frustrations while making the most of their youth before the next phase of their lives sets in. This scene perfectly sums up the feeling of nervous anticipation of facing the sight of the uncharted future—the reality of life that comprises not only bigger problems, but also higher hopes and ambitions. The journey to maturity has begun. A proof that Cleaners is more than fun & games, and high school nostalgia.”
Matthew Escosia, reviewer: “I fondly remember the first time I saw Cleaners, and being mesmerized by its ending. The high school students, first introduced in their dedicated individual episodes as they deal with their respective struggles in the age of puberty, are all bummed out and just waiting to get over the last day of school. They are assigned to be the classroom cleaners, none having the slightest interest of doing the job. Then, one of them shouts. And another. Until all of them followed suit. They start to throw out chairs and create more mess (one even took a piss in the wall).
The film was presented in black-and-white, with colors on the lead subjects’ clothes (colored with highlighter pens) serving as identifiers throughout. In this point of liberation and rebellion among these students, Barit and his crew created something magical. The color identifiers blended with one another to the point where it disregarded the character it was supposed to represent. The colors become one (fittingly complemented with Unique Salonga’s ‘Apoy ng Kandila,’ the song that played in background).
In an institution where these students are obligated and dictated to follow a set of rule over another, it becomes natural for them to break the barriers when the opportunity for chaos came. For a while, the classroom became their playground and their release. Of course, the cleaners eventually cleaned the classroom. A new chapter awaits them.”
Gerald Cajayon, reviewer: “Sa kalakhan ng Cleaners, nakatanaw ang mga manonood sa isang panahon sa nakaraan – pre-adolescent period, partikular ng taong 2007 sa Tuguegarao. Lalong pinatitingkad ng highlighted photocopy na estetika ang temang nostalgia ng pelikula. Walang ibang paraan upang balikan ang nakalipas bukod sa pag-uungkat ng mga alaala. Lumilikha ito ng isahang daloy (one-way) na dayalogo mula sa mga manonood patungo sa pelikula. Dagdag pa, ang estrukturang antolohiya ay lumilikha ng ilusyong maihahalintulad sa mga alaalang pinaghabi upang lumikha ng isang tapiserya (tapestry) ng mga karanasan ng indibidwal na mga kabataan.
Kaya rin malakas ang impact ng pangwakas na eksena ng Cleaners. Sa unang pagkakataon ay hindi na lamang mga manonood ang nakatanaw sa nakaraan; ang mga karakter ay nakatanaw na rin sa hinaharap, kahit hindi pa nila alam kung ano ang maaaring dala nito para sa kanila. Umaapaw ang mga emosyon kasabay ang pagsabog ng mga kulay na dati ay nakakulong lang sa mga tauhan ng kuwento. Sa puntong ito, pinagsama-sama ang mga karakter na bida sa kani-kanilang maliliit na mga bahagi upang ipakita ang kaisahan ng kanilang mga kabiguan, takot, at pagsisikap: magkakaiba sa pisikal na anyo ngunit hindi nagkakalayo sa pakiramdam.
Bilang isang coming-of-age story, lubos na nakuha ng eksenang ito ang yugto ng buhay na nasa kalagitnaan ng pagtanda at pagkabata. Kahit tatahak na ang mga karakter sa landas ng ganap na maturity, binibigyan pa rin sila ng sinematikong espasyo upang manatiling mga bata. Lumilikha ito ng magaang pakiramdam ng catharsis, na sa isang bugso ng mga emosyon ay pinapakawalan ang lahat ng takot sa kawalang-katiyakan ng hinaharap.
Wowie Lagman, reviewer: “The final act of Cleaners aptly symbolizes what all students do at the end of the day: clean up the mess we made. It’s the perfect metaphor for all of us, students of life, who have no other choice but to pick up after ourselves. Some of us do it willingly, being obedient students, because we know it’s the right thing to do, while others do it begrudgingly, because they’d rather be somewhere else. But since it’s ‘part of the rules’ they do it anyway. And for many of us, who are exasperated by all that has happened in the school (of life), we do what’s expected of us but still find a way maintain some level of defiance or find an outlet for all our frustrations. That long choir of screams from our cleaners perfectly mirrors that sentiment from all of us. And I couldn’t think of any better way this movie could have ended.”
Ianna Taguinod, actor: “Last scene, para sakin yun yung pinakamagandang scene sa lahat. Yun yung naiwan yung Cleaners nung araw na yun sa last day of school. They were actually done cleaning the room kaya makikitang nakatunganga na lang sila. Nakatitig sa kawalan si President Angeli (Gianne), nakahiga sa teacher’s table si Stephanie (Yours truly), nakaupo sa sahig si Francis (Allan), nakadungaw sa labas ang Emo boys (kuya Julian, Kuya Carlo, and Leomar) and then there’s Jun jun (Andrei)— it’s like there is something in him that urged him to set free all the things na nagpapabigat sa kanya throughout the school year.
Tapon dito, tapon dyan, sigaw dito, sigaw dyan. Everyone was really putting all emotions in one scene. Ramdam mo yung parang ang bigat pero ang gaan, parang ang lungkot pero ang saya. Idagdag mo pa yung kantang ‘Apoy ng Kandila’ (by Unique Salonga).
(Watching the scene) it actually gave nostalgia, para akong oblivious when in fact aware na aware naman ako sa mangyayari. Parang andoon ulit ako sa scene. I felt like I was the Stephanie I left behind when our shooting ended. That scene for me was not a happily ever after but a setting free of something that’s beyond truth. ‘Cause we might not know but there really is a reality within a reality.”
Gianne Rivera, actor: “It was the second day of filming and we were excited about it because we were supposed to film the end scene. My co-actors and I were mostly first-timers and there was a mix of anxiety and eagerness to film. One by one, we shot our scenes and whenever it was someone’s turn, we stayed in the other room and we could hear the shrieks and screams from our fellow actors. I was especially very anxious as I’m not a screamer, so I didn’t know what to expect from the scene and from myself. Embarrassingly enough, I even had a panic attack on set because I was scared I couldn’t do it—the crew and my colleagues were very nice (as always) and motivated me to do my best while filming the scene. There were even moments where we played rock-paper-scissors to determine which would film first. It felt warm and like the 2000’s. The classroom was filled with light from the equipment, and the overall vibe of the set was just really an empty classroom but thick with tension and memories. I let out several screams, not sure whether they were from anger, frustration, stress, because they were mixed. It was a moment of emancipation from all the worldly emotions that I’ve bottled up ever since God knows when, and I’m glad I got the chance to do it. All of us were very happy after doing the entire scene, because we didn’t know that even such a thing as screaming would be an important activity to do once in a while. One thing to learn is that we’re all busy with our daily lives to the point that we forget that sometimes we need to destroy, to make make space for what we have yet to create.”
Glenn Barit, writer/director: “Isang practice day ata namin for graduates non nung highschool, nakakandado na yung mga gate sa buildings tapos wala na ring pasok. Kasama ko yung dalawa ko pang sira-ulong classmate, inakyat namin yong gate, tapos nakapag-sneak in kami sa dati naming classroom. May mga ginawa kami sa classroom na medyo similar doon sa dulo ng film. Hindi ko nalang sasabihin kung alin kasi baka magalit samin yong dati naming school at mga teacher haha.
Pero anlaking epekto sa akin non hanggang ngayon. Hindi sinasadyang naging metaphorical sa pag-transisyon namin sa bagong chapter (naks) ng mga buhay namin. At gusto ko ring maiparamdam sana yon sa pelikula. May pag-basag at pag-wasak ng mga pader ng mga ‘establishment’ na nasisimulan na naming matutunan. Kasabay non, may takot at lungkot sa mga paparating pang hindi namin alam.
Napanood ko rin tong short na ‘Balcony’ ni David Dell’edera sa Vimeo dati. Isa sa mga paborito ko ever. Manghang-mangha ako sa short na ito kasi walang dialogue, tapos puro sigaw lang, pero nagkaroon ng sense of community yung mga tao. Naisip ko very primal nga naman yon na kahit hindi natin alam yung pinagdadaanan nung mga karakter, naiintindihan parin natin sila.
Kaya naisip kong medyo gayahin yon sa dulo ng pelikula. Nung bumalik na tayo sa classroom sa dulo, first time natin silang makikitang magkakasama. At kahit di nila alam yung mga pinagdaanan ng isa’t isa, nagkaron sila ng unifying howl patungkol sa mga problema sa buhay, at nagkakaintindihan sila. Na ganito pala tumanda at hindi naman pala tayo nag-iisa.
Pagtapos, dinagdagan namin ng pag-sira at pag-wasak (kasama ng mahusay na animation ni CJ Silva at music ni Unique) kasi may realization din na may pagka-systemic yong mga problema nila kasi may dikta at pressures ng mga institusyon at lipunan. At yun sana yung mga babanggain at babasagin (kasabay ng form). Na swak rin naman ata sa tema ng kung ano ang “cleaners”.
Tungkol sa form, kailangan ko lang rin ulit sabihin na ang laking bagay nang naitulong ng animation sa eksena. Ang isa sa inspiration na ipinakita namin kay CJ Silva (animator) ay yung short na ‘Supervising the Supervision of Female Workers’. Sabi ko rin sa kaniya basta laruin niya lang. Iniisip kasi namin mag-tatransgress din dapat yung form kasabay ng mga karakter. One step further pa sa itsura ng bulk ng pelikula. At ang galing nong narating nung animation sa dulo, hindi ko na maipaliwanag. Dinala na ako sa ibang lugar. Balak rin sana naming i-crumple din yung mga papel, o kaya punitin, para mas ramdam pa yung materiality, pero hindi na aabot sa schedule.
Yung eksenang ito ay isa sa rare times na magkakasama yung main cleaners. Tapos naalala kong ito yung only time na napataas nang konti yung boses ko sa set kasi ang gulo-gulo nilang magkakasama. Na on one hand ay kinailangan kong maging stern, pero on the other, may slight kiliti sa akin kasi naalala ko rin na parang ganun nga rin naman kami kaingay at kagulo sa klase dati. Nakakatuwa na may konting semblance of truth na, sa ingay pa lang.
Isang take lang pala yung wasak scene. Mahirap kasi mag-reset ng production design. Nakakatakot ding baka may magkasakitan. Ibang experience ding mapanood ito sa monitor in real-time (hindi pa slowed down). Very visceral at napamura ako. May kakaibang power yung naramdaman ko mula sa kanilang saglit na acts of defiance. May isa pa palang take nito, pero kaming mga crew naman. Si Steven, yung DOP namin, sinubukan akong hampasin ng upuan haha.
May nirentahan kaming dana-dolly na ang hirap-hirap ibiyahe mula QC. Dalawang beses lang namin nagamit, yung isa ay doon sa last shot sana ng pelikula. Doon makikita na may nag-aayos na ng bagong bulletin board at yung susunod na school year na ang cut-outs na nakalagay. Sabi pa sa last line ng script, “Mukhang bagong school year na naman ito.” Sa huling hinga nung pelikula, ang intention sana bale ay cyclical. Sabi ng editor namin na si Che, baka mas powerful at mas bukas kapag bumalik na lang ulit sa classroom na walang laman. Na tingin ko ay tama kasi naging mas contemplative at medyo brooding pa. Pero ayon yung hiniram naming dolly na ang hirap-hirap dalhin, 2 seconds lang yung naging silbi sa pelikula hahaha.”
You may click here for the commentaries of the other top cited scenes.
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS
Paul Alcantara
Fuccbois – the boys escape
Isa Pa, With Feelings – christmas lights dance
Kalel, 15 – family drinking together
LSS – Zak and Sara reunite
Ulan – last scene
Mayk Alegre
Kathang Isip | LSS
Cake’s flower icing on Maritess’ lips | John Denver Trending. Tahimik pero makahulugan ang eksenang sinubuan ni John Denver Cabungcal (Jansen Magpusao) ng flower icing ng cake ang ina n’yang si Maritess (Meryll Soriano) matapos s’yang pagalitan nito dahil kinain n’ya ang kalahati ng keyk na pasalubong nila sa mga kapatid n’ya. Sabi nga ng Amerikanong singer-songwriter na may pangalan ding John Denver: In the hearts of the children of pure love still roams / Like a bright star in heaven that lights our way home / Like the flower that shattered the stone.
Drinking session | Kalel, 15
The ending | Edward. Perstaym makalayo ni Edward (Louise Abuel) sa perimetero ng ospital habang tumatakas sakay ng padyak, angkas ang malamig na bangkay ni Agnes (Ella Cruz). Bago ito, inilakbay n’ya tayo sa buong ospital na nagsilbing komentaryo sa kasalukuyang kalunus-lunos na estado ng mga pampublikong ospital sa Pilipinas.
John Denver cries | John Denver Trending. Bago ang pinakamalagim na eksena, makikita muna natin si John Denver Cabungcal habang palihim na pinupunasan ang luha ng kakapinaw na sinampay nila. Wasak na wasak na ang pagkatao n’ya. Kelangang mabawasan ang mga tinik sa dibdib kahit man lang sa pag-iyak. Pero mas malala ang kasunod na mga nangyari. At hindi natin s’ya dapat sisihin.
Jonathan Ang
Virgin Mary scene (Paolo Ballesteros) — “Born Beautiful”
Pasubo ng cake flower ni John Denver (Jansen Magpusao) sa nanay niya (Meryll Soriano) — “John Denver Trending”
Cabungcal family eating Cloud 9 together on an open fire — “John Denver Trending”
Terence Ang
John Denver’s Interrogation and Escape (Running Through the Fields) in John Denver Trending
Ave Maria in Jino to Mari
Grab? (Pot Session) in Sila-Sila
Threesome in F#*@bois
Self-Circumcision in Cleaners
Gerald Cajayon
The ending, Cleaners
The ending, Ulan
Flower icing, John Denver Trending
The spit, Kalel, 15
The kiss, LSS
Carlo Antonio Cielo
Maria kicking the shit out of that hugot bad guy, Maria
The climactic shot of Verdict
Final shot of Nuuk
“Please recycle” – Hakdawan
Literally every shot of Cleaners due to the xerox effect (if given a choice, a toss-up bet. crane shot in the trapo’s kid’s story or the emo-does-tinikling bit, which is frickin’ hilarious)
Archie del Mundo
John Denver and Mom share a Cloud 9 while staring at the wood fire. (John Denver Trending)
Oliver Aquino plays with a butterfly (Jino To Mari)
Edward playing with an electric fan (Edward)
John Denver taking the long walk to home as he moves closer to a fire haze (John Denver Trending)
Maya meets Peter for the first time on one rainy afternoon (Ulan)
Engelbert Dulay
The ending of John Denver Trending.
The spitting of Kalel. A symbolic way of Lana’s criticism against the world, particularly the healthcare system and the religious institutions who’ve dared judge and lambast every LGBTQ+ member who’s suffered from HIV/AIDS, Kalel spitting on the heavens above is his meager form of rebellion. He’s trapped and cannot say what’s on his mind, afraid of being put down on by everyone he knows and he loves. And we, as members of the society, have failed to acknowledge him. We, as members of the society, have put him in a tight spot, where he feels no form of acceptance or love whatsoever. We, as members of the society, have imprisoned him in a narrow frame of hatred and ostracism. And he’s had enough. ‘You have failed me,’ he tries to say, without the words ever coming out of his mouth. And that says a lot.”
The crying of Edward
The anger of the Cleaners. “It’s the last day of IV-Rizal’s senior year. A lot of events and problems have come their way, most of which will later on define what their identities will be. They’ve been through a lot of terrible things, that enumerating each of them would take more than a single day. Finally, they are going to graduate. They are going to move up to college. Yet the nightmares and the moments, the successes and the failures… all of these memories are banked within their hearts and minds. For them to leave high school and to move on with their lives, no matter how the walk forward is going to be, feels incomplete. In what comes off as a sudden fit of rage and angst, the Cleaners of IV-Rizal—the students who have remained in the classroom on their last day of school—have trashed and ruined their classroom. They were screaming at every corner of the room, shouting through the windows, throwing garbage everywhere, making a mess on the walls and breaking every armchair inside, all culminating along with the burst of colors beneath their photocopied selves. It’s their version of kids throwing middle fingers in the air. And rightfully so.”
Matthew Escosia
The final chapter in “Cleaners”
Ricky Davao’s threesome in “F#*@bois”
Opening scene in “Sila-Sila”
The corpse rescue in “Edward”
Final confrontation between Kalel and the church in “Kalel, 15”
James Espinosa
Hiding and crying – John Denver Trending
Kathang Isip – LSS
Getting high in the car – Sila Sila
Taking care of the dead body – Fuccbois
Ending – John Denver Trending
Brylle Gershwin Fajardo
Buwan and Lights – Isa Pa, With Feelings
Kathang Isip – LSS
Red String World – Sunod
Kalel spits – Kalel, 15
Edward talks to her against the skyline – Edward
Lee Fonté
Inuman Session – Kalel, 15
Apoy ng Kandila – Cleaners
Editing + Color Grading – Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 3: The Real Untold Story of Josephine Bracken
Orgy – Jino to Mari
Kathang Isip – LSS
Ivan Gentolizo
Car scene in the middle of the party (Sila-Sila)
Christmas Lights (Isa Pa With Feelings)
Edward giving the socks he bought for someone else to his father (Edward)
Screaming scene/final sequence (Cleaners)
Who’s your mommy? (F#*@bois)
Goldwin Reviews
Cleaners – Shout Ending (Cleaners)
Miles Ocampo – Monologue for Daddy Romnick (Write About Love)
Aga Muhlach – “Sorry” Scene (Miracle in Cell no. 7)
Iza Calzado – Mirror Finale (Pandanggo Sa Hukay)
Maris Racal – Tattoo Tribal Act (I’m Ellenya L)
JC Santos – Crying to Arci Muñoz (Open)
Fred Hawson
Meryll – John Lloyd wordless meeting at the gate, in Culion
Iza – Joem crying about their baby, in Culion
The bag scene at the disco, in Dead Kids
Ricky Davao’s Party Party scene, in Fuccbois
John Arcilla’s exorcism scene in Kuwaresma
Emil Hofileña
Cleaners – the ending (“Apoy ng Kandila”)
Quezon’s Game – the ending (the Jews arrive in the Philippines)
Metamorphosis – masturbation scene
LSS – “Kathang Isip”
Fuccbois – disposing the body
Goldmon Iporac
Ulan ending
Christine & Greg break up (Alone/Together)
Kathang Isip reunion (LSS)
Hello, Love, Goodbye opening montage
Adam’s masturbation (Metamorphosis)
Json Javier
Christmas lights scene set to Buwan (Isa Pa, With Feelings)
John Denver feeding his mom a flower icing (John Denver Trending)
Long opening hospital shot (Edward)
Kalel spitting on a religious image (Kalel, 15)
Quiet scene with John Denver and his family in the pilapil (John Denver Trending)
Kayo Jolongbayan
John Denver walking with fire burning beside him – John Denver Trending
The cleaners screaming to release their angst as Unique’s Apoy ng Kandila plays – Cleaners
Maine Mendoza surprising Carlo Aquino with the Christmas lights – Isa Pa, With Feelings
The ending – Edward
The orgy scene – Jino To Mari
Skilty Labastilla
Refugees arrive in Malacanang thru Pasig River, Quezon’s Game
Older Maya confronts tikbalang while young Maya meets Aning, Ulan
Adam’s self-love, Metamorphosis
Self-circumcision, Cleaners
Gary and Ditas meet, Culion
Jay Lacanilao
Cleaners Ending
Edward’s First Kiss at the Hospital rooftop
Brithanygaile’s foreplay in Fuccbois
Jino to Mari orgy
LSS Ending – Sara sings Araw-Araw with Zak in the crowd
Wowie Lagman
Kids screaming at the end of Cleaners
Breaking into the faculty room to steal the test paper in Heist School
Brothers spending final moments together before the younger one leaves his family in Sa Among Agwat
Picking up the ransom inside a club in Dead Kids
Filming the sex scene in Jino to Mari
Nicol Latayan
Ending scene, Ulan (Maya dancing with her younger self under the rain)
Christmas light dance, Isa Pa With Feelings
Stealing of body scene, Pailalim
Pooping climax scene, I’m Ellenya L
Tracking long shot opening scene, Edward
Den Lebantino
The ending where the old and the young Maya dance in the rain (Ulan)
Liza Soberano in the hospital where she sees that Ralf has actually fulfilled his dream. (Alone/Together)
Elijah Canlas at the Confessional where he struggles to say that Eddie Garcia is his father. (Kalel, 15)
John Lloyd Cruz in Culion
The ending where Aga Muhlach and Bela Padilla see face to face and relive their signature antic (Miracle in Cell No. 7)
Macky Macarayan
John Denver during the Panunumpa/ Panatang Makabayan scene, JOHN DENVER TRENDING
Gulay musical number, CLEANERS
Kalel receives Virgin coconut oil from his “Father”, KALEL 15
Sarah performs for spare change at the mall, LSS
The Jews arrive in river taxis at Malacanang, QUEZON’S GAME (with all biases)
Stephanie Mayo
John Denver – walking silently at night with sparks of fire behind him.
Opening scene of LOLA IGNA.
Metamorphosis ending
Metamorphosis, Adam crossing the road.
Jews arriving, Quezon’s Game
Fidel Antonio Medel
Come to mommy, F#*@BOIS
Smoking weed inside the car, Sila-Sila
Car accident fight, Isa Pa With Feelings
Ending, Ulan
Cadaver heist, Edward
Jim Paranal
Two parties (one for deaf and one for hearing) attended by Mara and Gali in Isa Pa With Feelings
Gab (Gio Gahol) joined a mysterious stranger (Boo Gabunada) inside the car in Sila Sila.
Tin’s (Liza Soberano) emotional confession scene at UP in Alone/Together.
Maritess (Meryll Soriano) received a candy flower from her son, John Denver (Jansen Magpusao) in John Denver Trending.
In a weary turn of events, Nanong (Nar Cabico) compromised when he had no choice left in Akin ang Korona.
Ed Ramirez
Cleaners ending (Apoy ng Kandila by Unique)
Edward quietly weeping (ending)
John Denver runs back to their house
Lola Igna conversation with an elderly gay man (Sino kayang susundo sa akin? Wala naman akong asawa, anak, etc.)
LSS Khalil Ramos and Gabbi Garcia tearful meet up and make out during a Ben&Ben gig
DJ Ramones
Hanging out with the ‘Grab driver’, Sila Sila
Video goes viral, John Denver Trending
Mara interprets ‘Buwan’ for Gali, Isa Pa with Feelings
Family drinks together, Kalel, 15
The families receive calls from the fathers, Children of the River
Benj Ramos
Naglalakad si Meryll sa beach habang umiiyak (John Denver Trending)
Jojit Lorenzo phone call (Miracle in Cell #7)
Final act of Cleaners
Slowmo raining scene from Ulan
Ricky Davao’s “Come to Mommy” from Fuccbois
Jay Rosas
Miko realizes the presence of border patrol/running scene (No Data Plan)
Emman (Maharlika episode) recites a Cebuano poem (Huwebes Huwebes)
Boy turns his binoculars toward the Culion residents/final moments (Culion)
Lights scene/final dance (Isa Pa With Feelings)
Mayor’s driver wakes up after being strangled (Fuccbois)
Bernard Santos
John Denver Trending Ending
Judy Ann Santos carries her child outside the hospital after it was died, Mindanao
Angeli Breakdown scene as tikbalang, Ulan
The cast of cleaners breakdown scene towards the end inside the classroom, Cleaners
Sharon Cuneta & John Arcilla Confrontation Scene At The Labahan, Kuwaresma
Naz Tabares
John Denver and Marites in the guidance counselor (John Denver Trending)
Ricky Davao’s “Come to Mommy, boys!” in F#*@BOIS
Arturo (John Arcilla) is possessed by the demon in Kuwaresma
Sa Among Agwat topped the Best Short Film Category of Pinoy Rebyu’s 9th Annual Film Poll. The film screened in Cinemalaya where it won Best Director and a NETPAC Special Mention. Below are the top 10, tallied from submissions of 26 poll respondents.
1 – Sa Among Agwat (Don Senoc) 52 pts
Jun is a farmer who lives near a pineapple field with his mother Dita and his brother Mako. His aunt from Manila who can’t bear a child offers to adopt Mako with a promise to give him a good life. Jun and Mako face their impending separation and think of ways they can spend every minute together.
A salesgirl unearths the ultimate secret to regularization.
3 – Heist School (Julius Renomeron Jr.) 28 pts
A ragtag group of students try to steal from the faculty room as they save both their grades and friendship.
4 – Judy Free (Che Tagyamon) 27 pts, 11 votes
A young girl’s reality is intruded when her father who’s been away abroad for almost a decade suddenly comes home as an animated doodle figure.
5 – Tokwifi (Carla Pulido Ocampo) 27 pts, 9 votes
A 1950’s mestiza star–trapped inside a television that fell from the sky–dreams up a romantic romp on the rice terraces, with a Bontok Igorot man who does not know how to kiss.
Away from his home in the province, Paul shuffles between the responsibilities of being the eldest sibling in their apartment and reconnecting with his youngest brother Carl who now lives with him.
7 – Wag Mo ‘Kong Kausapin (Josef Gacutan) 20 pts
An elderly man tries to repair his relationship with his estranged son, but a mysterious black figure gets in the way.
8 – Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay Niya (Gilb Baldoza) 13 pts
Gay teenager Girly looks for a job in a world he is unaware of.
9 – Gitlo (Bobby Villacarlos II) 10 pts
In the urban streets of Cebu, a man waits for a jeepney on the way to his destination. As he gets on it, he sees the pursuits of other passengers and the people outside of his serene view, unexpectedly transporting him into realities he is yet to venture.
10 – Isang Daa’t Isang Mariposa (Norvin De Los Santos) 9 pts
After claiming the ₱100,000 award from the government for centenaries, 100-year old pious and pragmatic Lola Perla visits her ex-lover’s son to bail him out of jail to dance with her in exchange for the money.
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS >>
Mayk Alegre
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss
‘Wag Mo Kong Kausapin
Disconnection Notice
Judy Free
Heist School
Jonathan Ang
“Sa Among Agwat” by Don Senoc (Cinemalaya/Cinema One Originals 2019)
“Paano Bihisan Ang Isang Ina” by Tim Rone Villanueva (Singkuwento IFF 2019)
“Ang Nagliliyab Na Kasaysayan Ng Pamilya Dela Cruz” by Miguel Louie De Guzman (Singkuwento IFF 2019)
“Paalam Sa Mga Ninuno” by Kyle Chu (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019)
“Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” by Anj Macalanda (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019)
Honorable Mention/Runners-up: “Panaghoy” by Alvin Baloloy (Sinag Maynila 2019); “Magna” by Geoffrey Jules Solidum (Sine Kabataan 2019); “The Retreat” by Riah Tonio (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019); “Malengag” by Chad Delos Santos (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019); “Ang Huling Bucket List” by Bibo Ebuen (Singkuwento IFF 2019)
Gerald Cajayon
Sinipi Kay Boni
Budots: The Craze
REJKT
Hollow Blocks
Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay N’ya
Carlo Antonio Cielo
Hakdawan
SPID
Here, Here
Judy Free
Archie del Mundo
Gitlo (Bobby Villacarlos II)
I Killed My Mother ( Christian Rae Villanueva)
Adwana (Josher Gatbalayan)
The Mortician of Manila (Leah Borromeo)
Woodside (Vic Roxas)
Armando dela Cruz
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss
Isang Daang Isa’t Mariposa
Here, Here
Tokwifi
SPID
Engelbert Rafferty dela Cruz-Dulay
Judy Free Director: Che Tagyamon
Wag Mo ‘Kong Kausapin Director: Josef Gacutan
Tokwifi Director: Carla Pulido Ocampo
Heist School Director: Julius Renomeron Jr.
Excuse Me Miss, Miss, Miss Director: Sonny Calvento
Matthew Escosia
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss
Disconnection Notice
Sa Among Agwat
Heist School
Tokwifi
Brylle Gershwin Fajardo
Judy Free
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss
Heist School
Panaghoy
Isang Daa’t Isang Mariposa
Ivan Gentolizo
Sa Among Agwat
Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay Niya
Tembong
Wag Mo Kong Kausapin
Gatilyo
Goldwin Reviews
Heist School by Julius Renomeron Jr. (Cinemalaya)
Pinggu, Pwede Na? by Elle Marie Ubas & Johanna Valdez (PPP)
Toto, Tawag Ka Ng Ate Mo by Mary Franza Salazar (PPP)
Disconnection Notice by Glenn Averia (Cinemalaya)
Goldmon Iporac
Disconnection Notice
Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay Niya
Judy Free
Sa Among Agwat
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss
Json Javier
Heist School
Ang Gasgas na Plaka ni Lolo Bert
Sa Among Agwat
The Slums
Skilty Labastilla
Michel de Certeau’s Metaphor for Everyday Life (Noli Manaig)
Jay Lacanilao
Sa Among Agwat
Kontrolado ni Girly ang Buhay Niya
Isang Daa’t Isang Mariposa
The Shoemaker
Disconnection Notice
Wowie Lagman
Sa Among Agwat
Heist School
Gatilyo
Disconnection Notice
Nicol Latayan
Ang Gasgas na Plaka ni Lolo Bert (Janina Gacosta, Cheska Marfori)
Excuse Me Miss, Miss, Miss (Sonny Calvento)
Heist School (Julius Renomeron Jr)
Sa Among Agwat (Don Senoc)
Isang Daa’t Isang Mariposa (Norvin De Los Santos)
Mell Navarro
Sa Among Agwat (In Between Spaces) by Don Senoc
Panaghoy by Alvin Baloloy
Tembong (Connecting) by Shaira Advincula
Hele ng Maharlika by Norvin Delos Santos
Judy Free by Cha Tagyamon
Jim Paranal
Tinay
Pamana ni Lola
Ed Ramirez
Sa Among Agwat
The Shoemaker
Tokwifi
Wag Mo Akong Kausapin
Judy Free
Jay Rosas
Gitlo / Bobby Villacarlos (BINISAYA 2020)
Michel de Certau’s Metaphor for Everyday Life / Noli Manaig (Gawad CCP)
2019 was a lean year for documentaries in Philippine cinema. But the few that screened were outstanding testaments of the talent and skill of our documentarists in capturing the human condition. Here are the seven best.
1 – For My Alien Friend (Jet Leyco) 35 pts
Stories of Filipino men and women, and other living things passing through similar objects, familiar spaces, non-linear time and dreams alike–all connected from the lens and experience of a stranger, an Alien whose language is disconnected and demands an interaction from the viewer to reconnect these stories to find their own meaning.
2 – A Is for Agustin (Grace Simbulan) 24 pts
In a remote mountainous region of the northern Philippines, an illiterate indigenous man gets fed up with being exploited by his employers and decides to go to school. With the goal of making a better life for himself and his family, 41-year old Agustin Tiburcio starts learning his ABCs.
3 – No Data Plan (Miko Revereza) 15 pts
A voiceless narrator rehashes details about his mother’s affair as he crosses the United States by train. “Mama has two phone numbers. We do not talk about immigration on her Obama phone. For that we use the other number with no data plan.” The linear train ride moving from Los Angeles to New York diverges into unruly directions of consciousness. A multiplicity of voices share thoughts, dreams and histories evoking images far away from the enclosed spaces of this trains interior. While capturing these landscapes and interiors through his lens, the moving images evidently illustrate an undocumented subjectivity, a site of precarious movement, migration and fugitivism in the US.
4 – Spring by the Sea (Aleia Garcia) 8 pts
Alternating Philippines and Saudi Arabia as her home, the filmmaker uses personal home videos and present footage to tell the story of her family.
5 – Lakaran ni Kabunyan (Kidlat Tahimik) 7 pts
Lakaran ni Kabunyan centers on Tahimik’s son Kabunyan as he relocates from his breezy, hillside hometown of Baguio to the sweaty southern metropolis of Davao in a cute orange camper van.
6 – Sinipi Kay Boni (Choy Pangilinan) 6 pts
Ang Sinipi Kay Boni ay paglalatag ng poetika at politika ni Boni Ilagan bilang manunulat, aktibista, kultural na manggagawa, artista ng bayan, at rebolusyonaryo, noon at sa lahat ng panahon. Sa isang lipunang wala pa ding tunay na kapantayan, maraming tulad ni Boni — na mga anak ng sambayanan — ang patuloy na makikidigma upang wakasan ang nananaig na tunggaliang panlipunan.
7 – Budots: The Craze (Jay Rosas and Mark Limbaga) 5 pts
In Davao City, a dance craze became viral. It has people moving in uncoordinated, freestyle manner to a weird mix of electronic sound and noises. An internet bum and a small group of people in his community started it all.
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS >>
Jonathan Ang
“Halawod (Into the Sea)” by Anna Katrina Tejero (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019)
“Entablado” by Lie Rain Clemente and Nori Jane Isturis (Sinag Maynila 2019)
“A Is For Agustin” by Grace Pimentel Simbulan (QCinema 2019)
“Budots: The Craze” by Mark Limbaga and Jay Rosas (31st Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibo Pelikula at Video 2019)
“At Home” by Arjanmar Rebeta (Sinag Maynila 2019)
Gerald Cajayon
Sinipi Kay Boni
For My Alien Friend
Budots: The Craze
A Is for Agustin
Spring by the Sea
Archie del Mundo
How The Beasts Git Hyped ( Elvin Macanlalay)
The Mortician of Manila ( Leah Borromeo)
Puti (Jerald Yucot)
Scarce ( John Rafols)
Armando dela Cruz
For My Alien Friend
No Data Plan
Spring By The Sea
A is for Augustin
Engelbert Dulay
For My Alien Friend
No Data Plan
The Kingmaker
ICYMI: I See Me
A is for Agustin
Lee Fonte
For My Alien Friend
Emil Hofileña
A Is for Agustin
For My Alien Friend
Goldmon Iporac
No Data Plan
Skilty Labastilla
Lakaran ni Kabunyan (Kidlat Tahimik)
A Is for Agustin (Grace Simbulan)
Michel de Certeau’s Metaphor for Everyday Life (Noli Manaig)
For the third year in a row, QCinema has topped our list for Best Local Film Festival.
Both QCinema and Cinemalaya (which placed second) featured outstanding local full-length and short film entries and ran functional websites aside from up-to-date social media announcements. Cinemalaya 2019 also saw a much welcome expansion of its screenings outside Metro Manila and Luzon. QCinema’s edge, however, as in its last few editions, lies in its international lineup, which in 2019 featured acclaimed foreign entries such as Bacurau, Synonyms, and Vitalina Varela, among several others.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Film Festival, which has topped this category in 2016, is at seventh place, with only 5 of the 38 poll respondents mentioning it in their top 5.
1 – LSS (Songs: Ben & Ben; Score: Pat Lasaten) 75 pts
2 – John Denver Trending (Len Calvo) 62 pts
3 – Cleaners (Various artists) 38 pts
4 – Isa Pa with Feelings (Songs: Various artists; Score: Andrew Florentino) 36 pts
5 – Sila-Sila (Songs: Various artists; Score: Igo Gonzalez) 30 pts
6 – Ulan (Songs: Various artists; Score: Len Calvo and Adriane Louies Macalipay) 27 pts
7 – Metamorphosis (Pepe Manikan) 25 pts
8 – Babae at Baril (Songs: Various artists; Score: Immanuel Verona and Fatima Nerikka Salim) 21 pts
9 – Edward (Pepe Manikan) 18 pts
10 – Alone/Together (Songs: Various artists; Score: Len Calvo) 16 pts
10 – Write About Love (Songs: Yeng Constantino; Score: Jerrold Tarog ) 16 pts
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS >>
Paul Alcantara
Babae at Baril
Dead Kids
Isa Pa, With Feelings
LSS
Lucid
Mayk Alegre
Radha | Misterio de la Noche
Len Calvo | Ulan × Alone/Together × John Denver Trending × Belle Douleur
Patricia Lasaten | LSS
Igo Gonzales | Sila-Sila
Teresa Barrozo | Kalel, 15 × Mindanao × Open
Jonathan Ang
“John Denver Trending”
“Write About Love”
“Lola Igna”
“Jino To Mari”
“LSS: Last Song Syndrome”
Terence Ang
John Denver Trending
Edward
LSS
Ulan
Sila-Sila
Gerald Cajayon
Babae at Baril
Sila-Sila
John Denver Trending
Ulan
Kalel, 15
Biboy Calleja
LSS
Indak
Write About Love
Unforgettable
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Carlo Antonio Cielo
Maria
Cleaners
Nuuk
Armando dela Cruz
Cleaners
Alone/Together
Isa Pa, With Feelings
Sila-Sila
Watch Me Kill
Engelbert Rafferty Dulay
Len Calvo (for John Denver Trending)
Igo Gonzalez (for Sila-Sila)
Pat Lasaten (for LSS)
Divino Dacunas (for Metamorphosis)
Pepe Manikan (for Edward)
Matthew Escosia
LSS
Cleaners
Sila-Sila
Metamorphosis
O
Brylle Gershwin Fajardo
Sunod
Ivan Gentolizo
Edward
Babae at Baril
John Denver Trending
Sila-Sila
Metamorphosis
Goldwin Reviews
I’m Ellenya L
Cleaners
Sila-sila
Mina-anud
Write About Love
Best Songs: Ikaw Ang Akin by Yeng Constantino (Write About Love); Apoy Ng Kandila by Unique Salonga (Cleaners); Himig Ng Pag-ibig by Shanne Dandan (Adan); Kapag Ako Ay Nagmahal by Yeng Constantino (Write About Love)
Fred Hawson
LSS
I’m Ellenya L
Write About Love
Dead Kids
Cleaners
Emil Hofileña
Babae at Baril
Sunod
Cleaners
Spring by the Sea
Quezon’s Game
Goldmon Iporac
LSS
Kuwaresma
Ulan
Culion
Elise
Json Javier
Isa Pa, With Feelings
LSS
Tayo sa Huling Buwan ng Taon
Alone/Together
Unforgettable
Kayo Jolongbayan
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
Kalel, 15
Ulan
Kuwaresma
Skilty Labastilla
LSS
Isa Pa with Feelings
Misterio de la Noche
Sunod
Culion
Jay Lacanilao
Metamorphosis
Edward
Cleaners
Jino to Mari
LSS
Wowie Lagman
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
Metamorphosis
Iska
Sakaling Maging Tayo
Nicol Latayan
LSS
Ulan
Metamorphosis
Isa Pa With Feelings
Cleaners
Den Lebantino
Quezon’s Game
Ulan
Isa Pa, with Feelings
Just a Stranger
Alone/Together
Macky Macarayan
Len Calvo, JOHN DENVER TRENDING
Richard Gonzales, ISA PA WITH FEELINGS
Arnold Buena, Robbie Factoran and Bogs Jugo, SUNOD
Honorable Mention/Runners-up: “Watch Me Kill” (dir. Tyrone Acierto); “Misterio Dela Noche” (dir. Adolfo Alix Jr.); “Sunod” (dir. Carlo Ledesma); “Write About Love” (dir. Crisanto Aquino); “The Panti Sisters” (dir. Jun Robles Lana); “Babae at Baril” (dir. Rae Red); “I’m Ellenya L.” (dir. Boy 2 Quizon); “Born Beautiful” (dir. Perci Intalan); “G!” (dir. Dondon Santos); “Pailalim” (dir. Daniel Palacio)
Terence Ang
John Denver Trending
Sila-Sila
Kalel, 15
Edward
Jino to Mari
Mark James Atienza
Ang Hupa
Kalel, 15
John Denver Trending
Sila-Sila
Edward
Cleaners
Metamorphosis
Verdict
F#*@bois
Circa
Gerald Cajayon
For My Alien Friend
Cleaners
Lucid
Sila-Sila
Ulan
John Denver Trending
No Data Plan
Edward
Kalel, 15
Open
Biboy Calleja
Edward
John Denver Trending
Akin Ang Korona
Jino To Mari
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Fuccbois
Born Beautiful
Nuuk
Dead Kids
Mina-Anud
Carlo Antonio Cielo
Maria
Verdict
Cleaners
Nuuk
Archie del Mundo
John Denver Trending
Jino To Mari
Edward
Kalel, 15
Isa Pa with Feelings
Elise
Alone/Together
Fuccbois
Ulan
Hello Love Goodbye
Armando dela Cruz
Edward
Kalel, 15
Isa Pa, With Feelings
Cleaners
Sila-Sila
John Denver Trending
Babae at Baril
Between Maybes
Ulan
Watch Me Kill
Engelbert Rafferty Dulay
John Denver Trending
For My Alien Friend
Kalel, 15
No Data Plan
Edward
The Kingmaker
Cleaners
Ang Hupa
ICYMI: I See Me
Ulan
Matthew Escosia
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
Edward
Kalel, 15
Alone/ Together
F#*@bois
Sila-Sila
Babae at Baril
Akin ang Korona
Hello, Love, Goodbye
James Espinoza
John Denver Trending
Edward
Elise
LSS
Kalel, 15
Brylle Gershwin Fajardo
Isa Pa, With Feelings
Edward
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Verdict
Open
Cleaners
Metamorphosis
Tayo sa Huling Buwan ng Taon
Unforgettable
Elise
Lee Fonté
LSS
Cleaners
Edward
John Denver Trending
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Kalel, 15
Jino to Mari
For My Alien Friend
Alone/Together
Ulan
Ivan Gentolizo
Ang Hupa by Lav Diaz
Verdict by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
John Denver Trending by Arden Rod Condez
Edward by Thop Nazareno
Sila-Sila by Giancarlo Abrahan
Cleaners by Glenn Barit
Kalel, 15 by Jun Robles Lana
Isa Pa, With Feelings by Prime Cruz
F#*@bois by Eduardo Roy Jr.
LSS (Last Song Syndrome) by Jade
Goldwin Reviews
Cleaners
Write About Love
Miracle in Cell no. 7
I’m Ellenya L
Pandanggo Sa Hukay
Belle Douleur
Unforgettable
Ang Henerasyong Sumuko Sa Love
Edward
Sila-sila
Fred Hawson
Quezon’s Game
Cleaners
Culion
Edward
John Denver Trending
Children of the River
Metamorphosis
Hello Love Goodbye
Isa Pa with Feelings
Maria
Emil Hofileña
Cleaners
A Is for Agustin
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Metamorphosis
Akin ang Korona
Edward
Kalel, 15
John Denver Trending
Isa Pa, with Feelings
Elise
Goldmon Iporac
Sila-Sila
Alone/Together
Ulan
Lucid
Lola Igna
LSS
F#*@bois
Kuwaresma
Elise
Born Beautiful
Json Javier
John Denver Trending
Kalel, 15
Edward
Isa Pa, With Feelings
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Circa
Open
LSS
Write About Love
Unforgettable
Kayo Jolongbayan
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
LSS
Edward
Jino To Mari
Isa Pa, With Feelings
Kalel, 15
Alone Together
Lingua Franca
Ulan
Skilty Labastilla
Lakaran ni Kabunyan
A Is for Agustin
For My Alien Friend
Quezon’s Game
Ulan
Isa Pa with Feelings
Verdict
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
Metamorphosis
Jay Lacanilao
For My Alien Friend
Cleaners
Edward
Jino to Mari
Akin ang Korona
Ang Hupa
Belle Douleur
Lingua Franca
Fuccbois
Bamboo Dogs
Wowie Lagman
John Denver Trending
The Halt
Belle Douleur
Dead Kids
Ulan
Akin ang Korona
Metamorphosis
Edward
Iska
Kalel, 15
Nicol Latayan
John Denver Trending
Kalel, 15
Isa Pa With Feelings
Ulan
Cleaners
Verdict
Edward
LSS Last Song Syndrome
Metamorphosis
Miracle in Cell No. 7
Den Lebantino
Kalel, 15
Quezon’s Game
Lola Igna
Ulan
Alone/Together
Just a Stranger
Macky Macarayan
CLEANERS
JOHN DENVER TRENDING
KALEL, 15
SUNOD
ULAN
LSS
HELLO LOVE, GOODBYE
SILA-SILA
ISA PA WITH FEELINGS
WRITE ABOUT LOVE
Stephanie Mayo
Verdict
Metamorphosis
Quezon’s Game
Sunod
Iska
John Denver Trending
Pandanggo sa Hukay
Fidel Antonio Medel
Edward, dir. Thop Nazareno
Isa Pa, With Feelings, dir. Prime Cruz
Hello, Love, Goodbye, dir. Cathy Garcia-Molina
Watch Me Kill, dir. Tyrone Acierto
Metamorphosis, dir. JE Tiglao
John Denver Trending, Arden Rod Condez
Sila-Sila, dir. Giancarlo Abrahan
F#*@BOIS, dir. Eduardo Roy
Mell Navarro
John Denver Trending
Metamorphosis
Edward
Lola Igna
Hello, Love, Goodbye
Sila Sila
Mindanao
Mina-Anud
Watch Me Kill
Maria
HONORABLE MENTION: Nuuk, Babae At Baril, F#@bois, Elise, Jino To Mari, Between Maybes, Ang Hupa, Isa Pa With Feelings, Eerie, Verdict, Kalel, 15; Quezon’s Game, Miracle In Cell No. 7
Jim Paranal
John Denver Trending
Kalel, 15
Quezon’s Game
Sila Sila
Akin ang Korona
Isa Pa With Feelings
Jino To Mari
Circa
Verdict
Elise
Ed Ramirez
For My Alien Friend
Cleaners
Edward
Kalel 15
Sila Sila
John Denver Trending
Fuccbois
Lola Igna
LSS
Metamorphosis
DJ Ramones
Sila Sila
Edward
Tayo sa Huling Buwan ng Taon
John Denver Trending
Kalel, 15
Cleaners
Isa Pa with Feelings
Elise
Ulan
Quezon’s Game
Benj Ramos
John Denver Trending
Cleaners
Metamorphosis
Quezon’s Game
Between Maybes
Edward
Ulan
Hello Love Goodbye
Kalel 15
Open
Jay Rosas
No Data Plan / Miko Revereza
For My Alien Friend / Jet Leyco
Huwebes Huwebes / Kris Villarino, Don Frasco, Januar Yap
John Denver Trending, the debut film of Arden Rod Condez about a rural teenage boy whose video attacking a classmate goes viral, tops the 9th Annual Pinoy Rebyu poll of the best in Philippine cinema in 2019, with 42 poll participants submitting ballots in 14 categories. The film was an entry to Cinemalaya 2019, where it was named Best Picture.
The film’s lead actor, Jansen Magpusao, topped the Best Lead Performance category, narrowly edging Kalel, 15‘s Elijah Canlas. John Denver Trending also topped the Best Screenplay (Condez) and Best First Feature categories.
Another debuting filmmaker, Glenn Barit, was named Best Director for Cleaners, which also bagged Best Editing (Che Tagyamon and Noah Loyola) and Best Scene (for the cathartic ending).
Ricky Davao was named Best Supporting Performer for his turn as a small-town mayor with a boy toy in Fuccbois, while the cast of Sila-Sila topped Best Ensemble Performance.
Kalel, 15 was named Best Cinematography for the monochrome lensing of Carlo Mendoza, while LSS was named Best Original Score / Soundtrack (Ben & Ben for the songs and Pat Lasaten for the score).
Jet Leyco’s For My Alien Friend, which screened in QCinema, was named Best Documentary while Don Senoc’s Sa Among Agwat, which screened in Cinemalaya, topped the Best Short Film category.
For the third year running, QCinema is voted as the best local film festival.
The Society of Filipino Film Reviewers (SFFR) have sent in their ballots to determine nominations for the best in Philippine cinema for 2020. Nominees of the 1st Pinoy Rebyu Awards will be announced Monday, January 18, 2021.
For this year’s awards, celebrating the best in Philippine cinema of 2020, the voting members have 53 eligible local full-length films to consider in these 12 categories: Best Feature Film, Director, Lead Performance, Supporting Performance, Ensemble Performance, Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Music Score, Documentary Feature, and First Feature.
The Society will also hand the award for Best Short Film. To recognize excellence in international filmmaking, SFFR is introducing a new category: Best International Film, where nominees were selected from 93 eligible films.
To be eligible, a film must have played publicly in a theater in the Philippines between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. Films that debuted exclusively on streaming platforms were considered as long as they were widely available to Philippines-based viewers.
2020 hit the local film industry hard. What used to be 100-150 film outputs in a year over the past decade and half have been reduced to about 50 productions, with most of them released via streaming platforms as cinemas closed by the second quarter of the year.
In this tenth edition of Pinoy Rebyu polls, 35 members of the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers recognize the film festivals that were able to adapt to the new cinema-viewing experience. A total of 9 film festivals were cited by voters, including runners-up Binisaya Film Festival, Lockdown Cinema Club, Mindanao Film Festival, Metro Manila Film Festival, and Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival.
However, there were four filmfests that were consistently mentioned by voters for having delivered quality films and streaming experience:
3 (tie) – Cinemalaya Film Festival (28 points)
While a few major local film festivals announced postponements of their annual fests due to challenges posed by the pandemic, Cinemalaya was the first major filmfest to show how it can be done.
Stephanie Mayo: “Well-curated short films, organized, hassle-free streaming experience.”
Cholo Sediaren: “The best format for the digital age of film festivals, and provided a comprehensive library of shorts and classics.”
Kevin Oliver Tan: “Easy access and all films can be found in one page.”
3 (tie) – Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (28 points)
While its approximation of a physical festival through a strict film scheduling proved difficult to some, PPP satiated film buffs with the sheer amount of films (short, full-length, classics) being shown.
Terence Ang: “For having the most expansive film selection, from digitally-restored classics to indie gems that people might’ve missed out on from the past decade, streamed using the most reliable media player for a seamless and more enjoyable viewing experience”
Daph Bajas: “I liked the platform. All films have watermarks. Screenings for different locations.”
Robert Cerda: “The bundle price is worth all of the available films, features, and talks.”
James Espinoza: “Despite the organizers’ insistence on the fixed schedule of the ‘movie theater experience’, the actual selections of short and feature films were wide-ranging and comprehensive. Their adaptive player wasn’t half bad. More seamless than Upstream if I may say so.”
Vinson Gabato: “Because of the number of films. Though I did not like that the films had a schedule and venue where it would be shown, I think it’s ingenious. It gave the sense of being in a movie house where you have to be early.”
Emil Hofileña: “Even with an overabundance of films and early technical issues, this year’s PPP truly had something for everyone. And if you were lucky enough to find a screening that fit your schedule, it felt just like catching a movie in cinemas, alongside a crowd of equally eager audience members.”
2 – Daang Dokyu(50 points)
The new kid on the local filmfest block was heaven-sent to documentary aficionados, screening free well-curated documentaries that included seminal films that Filipinos needed to see.
Sanriel Ajero: “It has an impressive program of important documentaries with sections ranging from Martial Law to environmentalism – free for all and with a stable streaming website that’s very easy to access.”
Armando dela Cruz: “A welcome addition to any cinephile’s yearly itinerary, Daang Dokyu unearthed titles from all over the world and different years. The programming is ideal, too, and something that other local festivals should adapt. Daang Dokyu programmed weekly, with each week having its own theme. The films are streamed on their self-hosted platform, which is already better than other festivals’ third-party-powered programming (via Upstream, Vimeo-On-Demand). Oh, and they did all of this for free.”
Princess Kinoc: “Daang Dokyu is the best Film Festival this year because they showcased a well-curated way of showcasing documentaries online, within schedule, well-catalogued as they also help out PR writers to map out a way to understand why the films were shown for that week, and included minutes per film so that we, the viewers, can arrange our schedules appropriately. Also, walang tapon sa lahat ng films na shinowcase. Award na award.”
Skilty Labastilla: “I’m a sucker for documentaries so this was the perfect filmfest for me. But the top-notch curation and easy site navigability, not to mention not having to pay anything, are what sealed the deal. Here’s hoping this will be a regular fixture in the festival circuit.”
Jay Lacanilao: “Streamed relevant and timely films for free”
Jason Tan Liwag: “For providing unparalleled access to curated documentaries – short and long – for free to the Filipino people, returning to them often-lost narratives through cinema as history, and enabling avenues by which to process these stories into action.”
Macky Macarayan: “It is a carefully curated festival that highlights the historical significance and power of the documentary form, as well as celebrates the country’s treasure trove of documentary films.”
Joker Manio: “For being a new platform that showcases the underappreciated craft of documentary filmmaking in the country”
Jim Paranal: “Documentaries are often overlooked in film festivals, especially here in the Philippines. Just like short films, documentaries are only given a limited platform. We are accustomed in watching them for free on TV. Daang Dokyu paved the way to documentaries through free online streaming. Aside from that, we get to know stories that we’re not familiar with. At first, I thought that Daang Dokyu won’t push through because initially, this was slated to have its program in March – prior to CoViD 19 pandemic quarantine. Good to know that they’re able to showcase marvelous sets of documentaries last September to November 2020.”
Nico Quejano: “Very well curated. Probably the best celebration of the centennial of Philippine Cinema; showing history in film and filmmaking in our history.”
Robin Quiñones: “(For the) variety of films, relevance, VOD format”
Jay Rosas: “The first of its kind in the Philippines, showcasing diverse films and programming; basically, elevating documentary film practice in the popular discourse.”
1 – QCinema (64 points)
What can we say? For the fourth straight year, QCinema has established itself as the filmfest to beat. While its local film grantees for 2020 were not able to finish production due to time constraints brought about by the pandemic, QCinema continued to curate acclaimed new works in world cinema and re-screened a few notable QCinema alums from the last couple of years.
Mayk Alegre: “If I’m not mistaken, it’s the first to introduce Upstream VOD streaming platform.”
Macoy Delociento: “Showcased a good selection of local and international films.”
Engelbert Dulay: “Impeccable lineup from start to end, made accessible at the comforts of everyone’s homes via Upstream. The fact that I didn’t have to travel 4 hours a day (from Alabang to QC) just to attend my favorite Filipino film festival alone is a blessing.”
Miguel Edosma: “The festival is made up of well curated films. Viewers won’t experience burnout because there is a fair number of movies per batch. And you can watch them anytime you want, plus those who brought bundle tickets get freebies!”
Cydel Gutierrez: “For pushing physical screenings in the midst of a pandemic and responsibly adhering to safety protocols.”
Fred Hawson: “Excellent international selection of internationally acclaimed films”
Wowie Lagman: “QCinema has always been consistent in the quality of its lineup of films. They’re always interesting, provocative, and, of course, entertaining.”
Nicol Latayan: “Cleanest execution of a combined online and actual film fest, decent lineup of movies, and a user-friendly, PPV format for the virtual viewing.”
Manuel Pangaruy: “For still coming up with a decent line-up despite the condition. Ticket is relatively affordable, and the platform used is easy to navigate.”
Bernard Santos: “It brought awesome international films available for screening online and mounted a special outdoor screening for film lovers to experience watching on a big screen again.”
Nazamel Tabares: “Navigation was smooth for an online film festival with variety of choices from local to international titles.”
John Tawasil: “QCinema not only gave us one of the best lineups of the year, it also thought forward with its hybrid of live and online screenings and a generous stream schedule for all concerned.”
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS
Sanriel Ajero
1. Daang Dokyu 2. Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 3. Cinemalaya
Mayk Alegre
1. QCinema 2. Cinemalaya
Terence Ang
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Cinemalaya
QCinema
Daph Bajas
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
QCinema
Binisaya
Robert Cerda
PPP
Daang Dokyu
Armando dela Cruz
Daang Dokyu Documentary Festival
QCinema International Film Festival
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
Macoy Delociento
QCinema
DaangDokyu
Metro Manila Film Festival
Engelbert Rafferty Dulay
QCinema
Binisaya
Cinemalaya
Miguel Edosma
QCinema
Daang Dokyu
Cinemalaya
James Espinoza
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Cinemalaya
Daang Dokyu
Vinson Gabato
PPP
QCinema
DaangDokyu
Cydel Gutierrez
QCinema
DaangDokyu
Mindanao Film Festival
Fred Hawson
QCinema
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Emil Hofileña
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
QCinema
Metro Manila Film Festival
Princess Kinoc
Daang Dokyu
2. Mindanao Film Fest
QCinema
Skilty Labastilla
Daang Dokyu
PPP
Lockdown Cinema Club
Jay Lacanilao
Daang Dokyu
QCinema
Cinemalaya
Wowie Lagman
QCinema
Cinemalaya
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Nicol Latayan
QCinema
PPP
Daang Dokyu
Jason Tan Liwag
Daang Dokyu
QCinema
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Macky Macarayan
Daang Dokyu
Joker Manio
Daang Dokyu
QCinema International Film Festival
Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival Davao
Stephanie Mayo
Cinemalaya
Manuel Pangaruy
QCinema
Daang Dokyu
MMFF
Jim Paranal
Daang Dokyu
Cinemalaya
QCinema
Nico Quejano
Daang Dokyu
QCinema
Lockdown Cinema Club
Robin Quiñones
Daang Dokyu
QCinema
Cinemalaya
Jay Rosas
Daang Dokyu
Cinemalaya / Gawad Alternatibo
BINISAYA Film Festival
Bernard Santos
QCinema
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino 2020
Metro Manila Film Festival 2020
Cholo Sediaren
Cinemalaya
QCinema
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Naz Malvas Tabares
QCinema
Daang Dokyu
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Kevin Oliver Tan
Cinemalaya
QCinema
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
John Tawasil
QCinema
Cinemalaya
MMFF
Jay-r Trinidad
Lockdown Cinema Club had the biggest number of films (short or full) released. With filmmakers providing entertainment during the early stages of the quarantine. Not to mention that this was for a cause.
Daang Dokyu
QCinema
JT Trinidad
Lockdown Cinema Club, it was able to showcase and distribute different films to a lot of people and helped the audiences cope with their anxieties during the quarantine.
The Society of Filipino Film Reviewers’ Pinoy Rebyu Awards celebrate the best achievements in Philippine cinema of 2020. For eligibility, members of SFFR considered all films released in the calendar year in at least one cinema in the Philippines or on a largely accessible streaming service between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020.
Of the nominees, Dodo Dayao’s “Midnight in a Perfect World” received 9 nominations, the most of any film. It was nominated for Best Film, along with Alyx Ayn Arumpac’s “Aswang”, Antoinette Jadaone’s “Fan Girl”, Lav Diaz’s “Lahi, Hayop”, and Isabel Sandoval’s “Lingua Franca”.
Three of the films nominated for Best Film were directed by women, who also earned Best Director mentions.
The winners of the 1st Pinoy Rebyu Awards will be announced on the last week of January 2021.
Best Feature Film
A total of 20 films received nominations from members of the society.
ASWANG Directed by Alyx Ayn Arumpac Produced by Armi Rae Cacanindin
FAN GIRL Directed by Antoinette Jadaone Produced by Bianca Balbuena, Dan Villegas
LAHI, HAYOP Directed by Lav Diaz
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Directed by Dodo Dayao Produced by Bianca Balbuena, Quark Henares, Bradley Liew
LINGUA FRANCA Directed by Isabel Sandoval Produced by Isabel Sandoval, Carlo Velayo, Darlene Malimas, Jhett Tolentino, Jerome Kerkman
Best Director
A total of 18 directors received nominations from members of the society.
Alyx Ayn Arumpac ASWANG
Dodo Dayao MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD
Dolly Dulu THE BOY FORETOLDBY THE STARS
Antoinette Jadaone FAN GIRL
Isabel Sandoval LINGUA FRANCA
Best Lead Performance
A total of 35 actors received nominations by members of the society.
Elijah Canlas HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN
Charlie Dizon FAN GIRL
Adrian Lindayag THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS
Bela Padilla ON VODKA, BEERS, AND REGRETS
Isabel Sandoval LINGUA FRANCA
Best Supporting Performance
A total of 47 actors received nominations by members of the society.
Nanding Josef LAHI, HAYOP
Shaina Magdayao TAGPUAN
Phi Palmos KINTSUGI
Bing Pimentel MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD
Enzo Pineda HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN
Best Ensemble Performance
A total of 16 ensembles were nominated by members of the society.
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS
FOUR SISTERS BEFORE THE WEDDING
LAHI, HAYOP
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD
WATCH LIST
Best Screenplay
A total of 24 screenplays were nominated by members of the society.
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Dolly Dulu
FAN GIRL Antoinette Jadaone
LAHI, HAYOP Lav Diaz
LINGUA FRANCA Isabel Sandoval
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Dodo Dayao
Best Production Design
A total of 20 productions were nominated by members of the society.
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Lars Magbanua
FAN GIRL Ferdi Abuel
KINTSUGI Hai Balbuena, Roli Inocencio
MAGIKLAND Ericson Navarro
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Benjamin Padero, Carlo Tabije
Best Cinematography
A total of 22 directors of photography were nominated by members of the society.
ASWANG Alyx Ayn Arumpac, Tanya Haurylchyk
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Marvin Reyes
FAN GIRL Neil Daza
LAHI, HAYOP Lav Diaz
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Albert Banzon, Gym Lumbera
Best Film Editing
A total of 23 film editors were nominated by members of the society.
ASWANG Anne Fabini, Fatima Bianchi
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Noah Tonga
FANGIRL Benjamin Tolentino
LINGUA FRANCA Isabel Sandoval
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Lawrence Ang
Best Music Score
A total of 19 film scores were nominated by members of the society.
ASWANG Teresa Barrozo
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Paulo Protacio
FAN GIRL Teresa Barrozo
MAGIKLAND Emerzon Texon
MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD Erwin Romulo, Malek Lopez, and Juan Miguel Sobrepeña
Best Documentary Feature
A total of 8 films were nominated by members of the society.
ASWANG Directed by Alyx Ayn Arumpac Produced by Armi Rae Cacanindin
DREAMING IN THE RED LIGHT Directed by Pabelle Manikan Produced by Pabelle Manikan, Wena Sanchez
ELEHIYA SA PAGLIMOT Directed by Kristoffer Brugada Produced by Cha Escala
ANG LAKARAN NI KABUNYAN Directed by Kidlat Tahimik
A THOUSAND CUTS Directed by Ramona Diaz Produced by Julie Goldman, Ramona Diaz, Leah Marino, Carolyn Hepburn, Chris Clements
Best First Feature
A total of 8 films were nominated by members of the society.
ASWANG Directed by Alyx Ayn Arumpac Produced by Armi Rae Cacanindin
THE BOY FORETOLD BY THE STARS Directed by Dolly Dulu Produced by Roderick Cabrido, Dolly Dulu, Omar Sortijas, Jodi Sta. Maria
DREAMING IN THE RED LIGHT Directed by Pabelle Manikan Produced by Pabelle Manikan, Wena Sanchez ELEHIYA SA PAGLIMOT Directed by Kristoffer Brugada Produced by Cha Escala
MAGIKLAND Directed by Christian Acuna Produced by Rey Bantug, Albee Benitez, Peque Gallaga, Jo Macasa, Lore Reyes
Best Short Film
A total of 43 films were nominated by members of the society.
BULLET-LACED DREAMS Directed by Kristoffer Brugada, Cha Escala Produced by Kristoffer Brugada, Cha Escala
GULIS Directed by Kyle Jumayne Francisco Produced by Carlo Enciso Catu
HENERAL RIZAL Directed by Chuck Gutierrez Produced by Tanghalang Pilipino, Voyage Studios
LIVING THINGS Directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar Produced by Tin Velasco
ANGPAGPAKALMA SA UNOS Directed by Joanna Vasquez Arong Produced by Joanna Vasquez Arong
Best International Film
A total of 62 films were nominated by members of the society.
END OF THE CENTURY Directed by Lucio Castro (Argentina)
HAPPY OLD YEAR Directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Thailand)
LITTLE WOMEN Directed by Greta Gerwig (USA)
SOUND OF METAL Directed by Darius Marder (USA)
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 Directed by Aaron Sorkin (USA)
The Society of Filipino Film Reviewers continues the Pinoy Rebyu tradition since 2011 of recognizing the best individual scenes in Philippine cinema. Here are the 5 best scenes in 2020, with reviewers’ notes and filmmakers’ takes.
Ending, Lingua Franca
The late Lynn Cohen in a scene from Lingua Franca
Sanriel Ajero, SFFR: “Despite its tone being quiet and intimate, or its focus rather specific, Lingua Franca felt pretty revolutionary and universal. Yes, it was directed, written, performed, produced, and edited by a trans Filipina immigrant, but Isabel Sandoval also made choices, created moments, and reflected experiences in Lingua Franca that made her voice and vision singular, important and powerful. One important moment was how the central love scene was sensual, tender, and for once did not portray trans sex as something shocking, traumatic, or violent. Or that fantasy scene shot in extreme close-ups while the camera glides across the beautiful body of an empowered trans woman enjoying pleasure on screen without any threat or fear. Or that subtle comment on how immigration laws had changed in the way Sandoval contrasted Lynn Cohen’s Olga’s post-war emigration to Olivia’s personal difficulty in Trump’s America as immigration has become a political statement and power play.
What stuck with me, however, was the final sequence that showed how much Olivia’s character has learned from her experiences. Olivia is shy, aloof, and soft-spoken, possibly due to the circumstances of her immigration status and the constant ICE raids in the empty and isolated side of New York where she lives. She goes about her day like the hard-working immigrant that she is – working as an in-home caregiver to Olga, while supporting her family in the Philippines and using her savings to pay off an American citizen for green card. With her growing insurmountable deportation paranoia, Trump’s hate-mongering and transphobia, an expired passport no longer matching her, and knowing that Alex, who just lied to her, might be her only chance for a legal status, the final moments of Lingua Franca showing how Olivia decides to leave it all behind and choose herself feels quietly defiant. She has no answers and she cannot assure how things are going to go from there, but she now knows she belongs to herself and she continues to find her place in this world. In the end, we find her in the same situation where she started – talking to her mother in the Philippines and looking for a new way to legally stay in the US – but this time, a lot stronger and has a much bigger respect for herself. No lives lost, no immigrants deported, no trans woman violently attacked, it ended with a much more complicated emotion – that of disappointment and regret, but with respect, dignity, and hope.”
James Espinoza, SFFR: “While the plight of a transwoman to just be accepted or tolerated is already hard enough, Olivia’s struggle is made more difficult by her being an undocumented immigrant who then falls in love with a man unware of both facts. In the final sequence, after she demands to get her passport back from Alex, we see a montage of New York going about its daily business, and we hear a voiceover from Olivia explaining her situation to her mother. She’s got a new job. She’s met a new guy who can be her ticket to a citizenship. ‘It might take another year, more or less. But don’t worry about me. We’ll make it eventually.‘ And then we see Olga, her previous employer, peeling an orange and about to make a phone call, a scene that mirrors the same one early on in the film – an impressive editing and storytelling choice that seems to say: everything’s the same, yet everything is different.
What’s powerful about this sequence and with Lingua Franca as a whole is it demonstrates how her situation should not merely be viewed from the perspective of race, gender, class, etc. but from the intersectionality of all these issues. Olivia is a woman whose hope has been shattered over and over again. By her family, by strangers, by her loved one. But Olivia is not giving up. She’s taking control of the things she can and demanding the kind of respect she deserves, with the hope that one day, the world can catch up.”
Isabel Sandoval, writer/director: “We found the motel room location in Brooklyn a week before we started shooting. The team found it rather seedy and low-rent at the time, and we had been looking for something more plush and fancy. But I saw the dramatic potential of the wall-to-wall mirrors in the room then and eventually convinced the DP–who was particular about locations–that it’s perfect and I was right. When I wrote that morning-after scene between Olivia and Alex, I had considerably more lines of dialogue but, as we were rehearsing the day of, Olivia’s words just came across superfluous. Her silence in the face of Alex placating spoke volumes in comparison so I stripped down the scene that way. We also shot Alex having an emotional breakdown after he gives back Olivia’s passport but in the editing room I thought the scene didn’t need it. The film’s actual final scene was different as scripted. It was a static wide shot of Olivia leaving Alex’s apartment with her suitcase, uncertain where to go. It provided narrative clarity and closure but I thought it was dramatically flat. I found it to be a pat resolution to an otherwise complex film. So I thought of using a different take of an earlier scene between Olivia and Olga during an episode of dementia. Life goes on, and we remain in the dark about Olivia’s whereabouts or situation though we do hear her voicemail to her mother in the Philippines. There’s something haunting and elegiac about the scene cutting to black as Olga waits for her phone call to be answered.”
First kiss / Last kiss, The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Adrian Lindayag and Keann Johnson in The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Jason Tan Liwag, SFFR: “Dominic (Adrian Lindayag) stands in the middle of the field, overseeing the members of Journey, holding a lit candle in his hand. Luke (Keann Johnson) arrives and his voice pierces through the night. Dominic doesn’t turn around, almost as if he knows Luke will arrive, and looks on. As Luke continues his small attempts at making up for his previous actions, Dominic remains unfazed. Standing tall and self-assured, Dominic stands as a restoration of human dignity to the LGBTQIA+ community through cinema.
The image, the masculine ‘lalake’ courting the effiminate ‘bakla’, is a reversal of previous images in queer cinema. We’ve always had to beg: for acceptance, for love, for our rights. Queer romances haven’t always been kind to queer people. To be gay in cinema has always been a death sentence in some shape or form: either a real death (i.e. HIV, car crashes, etc.) or a death of desire; a non-reciprocation of love or of acceptance in society.
The Boy Foretold by the Stars doesn’t erase all of this cruel history that queer audiences have had to witness and endure. But it does give us some hope: that somehow there are futures wherein we are chosen and loved, as long as we somehow uphold our dignity. And it does it through the most emancipating of images: a simple kiss in public and two lovers staring at the same horizon.”
Daph Bajas, SFFR: “As a viewer, the ending kiss is unexpected. 2020 is the prime year of Boys’ Love genre. And all content— films, manga, tv-series— conditioned the viewers on the structure to expect. Dulu created a narrative turn unforeseen that could be read 2 ways: one, as a climactic ending, the are-they-or-aren’t-they-going-to-be-together, skewing a structure filled for the genre; two, as a character development— giddy slipstream of both sensation and decision, with adolescent, dawning awareness. It is both mainstream and novel, narrative and film-wise, as it suggests an encore post-scene; something we have never seen in an MMFF film.”
JT Trinidad, SFFR: “Kinontra ng ending ng The Boy Foretold by the Stars ang premise ng pelikula na patungkol sa tadhana. Pinakita nito na ang pag-ibig ay hindi lamang usapin ng barya o pagsasaalang-alang sa ibang puwersa. Ito ay pagpili at pag-take ng risk.”
Keann Johnson, actor: “For the first kiss scene, it was really something Adrian and I felt emotional about and wanted to give the audience something they can relate to and know na possible sya for them. We were not trying to overdo or make it seem like a cinematic scene pero we wanted to deliver the most authentic execution we could so we really embodied our characters. Nostalgic siya, yung hugot namin ni Adrian, also Direk, was real kase na experience na namin lahat that type of situation. I mean diba a lot of us have naman, in one way or another? So we just wanted to transcend that onto the audiences’ feeling and experiences as well. Put it with a great cinematography shot plus soundtrack it solidified the scene talaga eh.
The ending scene was partly an adlib from me saying “Fuck it!” Hindi kasama sa script yun. So that was huge talaga.”
Adrian Lindayag, actor: “Winorkshop namin both scenes along with other scenes prior to shooting. The 2 kissing scenes were shot on separate days. May rehearsals sa standby area at may rehearsal shots din. Pero yung mismong kiss, sa take lang namin ginawa kaya natural yung napanood niyo. Matinding paghihimay ang kinailangan namin gawin kasi mabigat yung batuhan ng linya prior to the kiss, kaya maraming beses namin nirehearse ang lines at yung blocking. Trivia, the ending scene was actually reshot (Direk already admitted this sa ibang interview). Hindi siya happy sa performance namin ni Keann nung unang beses namin ginawa kaya we had to re-do the entire scene sa ibang araw. Bukod sa paghimay ng script, pinaka preparation mo bilang actor before a kissing scene ay mag toothbrush at mouthwash!
Also, those two scenes were shot at least 4 hours each. Bukod sa mahaba yung mismong eksena, maraming shots na ginawa si direk. Honestly super nakakapagod gawin yung ending, physically and emotionally nakakadrain siya gawin nang paulit ulit. But I love challenges! Worth it naman ang pagod. Marami-raming refill din sa water jug dahil marami-raming luha yon!”
Dolly Dulu, writer/director: “Sa kahit anong romantic movie – sobrang halaga talaga yung moment na unang maghahalikan ang mga bida ng pelikula, isa siyang magical moment na lagi’t laging inaabangan ng bawat manonood. Ito’y dahil ang isang halik ay isang simbolismo ng pagsasama ng dalawang indibidual. Kaya alam ko sa sarili ko na kailangan maging magical yung eksena ng first kiss. Alam ito ni Adrian and ni Keann na ginusto ko talagang maging perfect yung scene na yon kasi yon yung money shot ng pelikula e, kapag hindi kinilig ang audience doon, hindi kami nagsucceed sa pagkukwento kasi hindi sila nadala doon sa climax na yon. Kaya paulit ulit namin yon ni rehearse bago pa sila sumalang doon sa eksena.
Binigyan ko din ng time yung DOP naming si Marvin at yung PD naming si Lars na achievin yung feel and yung look na very magical, and happy naman ako na nagawa siya! Kasi lahat kami sa set kinikilig noong ginawa nila yon e. And sobrang saya dahil ganon din yun ang naging response ng mga taong nakapanood.
Yung sa ending kiss naman, iba yung ginusto naming ma achieve doon, kung yung unang kiss mas magical yung ginusto namin, yung ending mas grounded sa reality. Mas malungkot, mas ma-drama in a way. Kasi doon sa kiss na yon ramdam mo na yung mga pinagdaanan noong dalawa e, hinubad na noong dalawang bida yung buong pagkatao at paniniwala nila doon sa eksenang iyon.
If the first kiss was a decision na ginawa ng destiny para sa kanila, yung pangalawang kiss ay yung pag-pili nila sa isa’t isa.”
Ending, Fan Girl
Naz Malvas Tabares, SFFR: “Being drained from all the emotions that Jane (Charlie Dizon) had gone through with her idol Paulo Avelino, director Antoinette Jadaone takes the final minutes of Fan Girl truthfully, in the hands of its protagonist. It’s all the pain, all the disappointments and all the dreams crushed, and then being welcomed by something that’s been enraging her deep inside for a long time. Jane explodes. No holds barred with her words, cursing, with her actions, confrontational. This is for all the women, all those who are silenced and all those who are abused.
The film ends with a strong note that there is power in standing up for yourself. There is no denying that Dizon’s performance made that scene, or rather made that moment more compelling. And Jadaone’s script and direction, knowing what words to say and how her actor says it and how Neil Daza frames every second of it: masterful filmmaking.”
Engelbert Rafferty Dulay: “It took fourscore and seven years for plain Jane to fathom the eternal cycle of misogyny and violence ensuing in our cruel society, her firsthand experiences with her idol–a fictionalized version of Paulo Avelino that feels all too real to be just purely acting–we see from start to near-end leaving indelible scarlet letters in her mind. In the words of Björk in the movie Dancer in the Dark, ‘I’ve seen it all’. Truly Jane has, as her reflection in the water moves to and fro, cigarette in hand, huffing a puff so as to breathe out all the bullshit she’s gone through. One may argue that she has enabled such horrors to be borne–and that may be true, for she was once blinded by the lights–but what she did right in the end is a huge leap forward to change, the sort of change that requires progress over perfection. She will never forget. And, probably in her mind, ‘never again.'”
Neil Daza, cinematographer: “Finding inspiration in documentary filmmaking, Fan Girl was shot handheld and almost with no rehearsal. From the original script, the tenement sequences served as bookends of the film. We shot long walking scenes of Charlie Dizon during the day in the tenement corridors following her going up and down three floors, all handheld shots. But these scenes didn’t make the final cut. The night and last sequences of the film with Charlie again walking up the tenement, arriving at her house and smoking outside in the final frame, required me to light the whole tenement building which took around two hours. Except for some shots that we needed to retake because of some technical problems, most of the shots that went in to the final edit were all take one.”
Antoinette Jadaone, writer/director: “Ang haba ng debate namin sa final shot ng Fan Girl. Sa previews namin with our friends and colleagues, ang pinakita namin ay ‘yung first ending shot namin na nagyoyosi pa rin si Jane sa tenement pero wide shot. Nasa gitna si Jane pero nasa mababang palapag ng six-storey tenement, tapos napapalibutan siya ng mas maraming streamers at banners ng mga lalaking pulitiko. Ganun pa rin, last yosi, last hithit, tapos quick cut to black. Naging maganda naman ang reception sa ending shot na ‘yun, pero may ibang feeling pa rin na nakakabahala. ‘Yung para bang hindi nanalo si Jane dahil sa framing. Kasi kahit nasa gitna siya, ang liit-liit niya. Ang liit niya sa tenement na napapalibutan ng mga lalaki na nag-iinuman sa baba pati ng mga banner ng mga lalaking pulitiko. ‘Yun ‘yung naging main point of discussion namin. Ano ‘yung final shot na magbibigay ng feeling na nanalo si Jane, na kahit in her eyes man lang, this is not a man’s world. She holds the power. She holds her future. That’s the final shot. Close-up na chin up na may ngisi, as if to say, ‘tang ina n’yong lahat.”
The secret cell, Aswang
A secret cell hidden behind a bookcase holding illegal detainees in a scene from Aswang
Vinson Gabato, SFFR: “The scene starts off with a woman telling her story with specificity and from memory, nonetheless. It sounds ridiculous – a ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ story, if you will. But after sketching and describing what she was talking about, we are transported to the real thing. The cut hits you with a blunt force. Chaotic and noisy, it’s like a reverse raid; the police are the suspects and the public is the authority. Terrifyingly enough, the sketches and descriptions are accurate. She even describes the smell which is most probably true. The police officer present even had the gall to defend it. A kidnap-for-ransom like scheme is also mentioned by most of the detainees. In the end, some of the ‘nightcrawlers’ were dismayed – betrayed as one of them said afterwards – as the detainees were, after being illegally detained, legally processed.
This scene is a microcosm of what this government is doing to the people – nahuli na, nagdadahilan pa, nakalusot pa. The truth is objective in this matter and there was no other way to deny it. Even if it felt like a win, the truth was strong-armed and diminished. It hits harder when they mention that aside from the people with the CHR, lawyers were also present. The scene evokes helplessness which is the aim of the police. We know there is something wrong but we can’t do anything about it.
The film itself is sad and depressing and scary (this scene – the icing in this cake). It’s a combination not really suited for the pandemic but this is an issue we are desensitized with – which is much sadder. This secret jail cell is an embodiment of this culture of impunity and denial and the monsters are not those inside it.
(A quick research would show that the station commander is still in position. This so-called war on drugs is the curse that keeps on giving.)”
Jay-r Trinidad, SFFR: “The scene encapsulates the entire premise of Aswang. It is discovered that the police have been hiding people in their secret cell. Everyone’s surprised and the police are unapologetic. It’s not fiction: there’s a total disregard of human decency, a failure in the basic tenet of empathy. Is the law only applicable to the privileged? The filmmakers pursue recording, armed only with a handful of lawyers and probably prayers.”
Alyx Ayn Arumpac, director: “Most of us had no idea where we were going. I was just told to show up at a certain time. Up until the cabinet swung open, I was still clueless about what was going on. At that moment, that innocent-looking little office unraveled into what it really was – a torture chamber and a glimpse into hell. The woman that I interviewed described it in detail. There was a little hole somewhere where the light would shine through. That was how they would know if it was night or day. They ate, peed, and defecated in that small space of 5×3 meters. She passed out several times from the smell. ‘It felt like we were buried under the ground.’ She also thought this was really how things were done. She thought that the police were allowed to keep people in these secret prison cells and beat them and extort money from them.
When the people inside the secret jail realized that they were not going to be rescued, I could see the fear growing and the hope draining from their faces. A man lay his head on his father’s shoulder, a heartbreaking look of resignation on his face. The Drug Enforcement Police were making fun of the crying woman. They told her husband to put her arms around her. He forced a weak smile and followed their instructions. A man whispered ‘Don’t leave us. They will kill us.’
It was my birthday and we had made dinner plans earlier. We were all sitting around this huge table in a restaurant in Chinatown, still stunned about everything. It sickened us to think about what those men and women would go through that night. Documenting the war on drugs had many, many difficult moments and this was easily one of the worst.”
Ezra Acayan (one of the “Nightcrawlers”; taken from his Twitter feed): “It was horror I thought could only be seen in movies. But the worst part of that night was pretty much kept secret from the public until it was recently revealed in the movie Aswang — the CHR people failed to rescue them, as was agreed if the intel turned out positive. The entire thing was reduced to a photo op. I could remember that night, me and my colleagues were disappointed to hear the other CHR people murmur to themselves, that they couldn’t spend any time longer there as they had a dinner event to catch. For most of them, the supposed rescue mission was unpayed overtime. As journalists we were powerless. All we could do was watch as they were loaded into a jeepney to be transferred to a regular jail.”
Terence Ang, SFFR: “Thirty-plus people secretly and illegally detained in a tiny, cold, dark, and fetid room behind a cabinet of a police precinct — the horror, the anger, there’s literally no other words that came out of my mouth but PUTANGINA. Putangina ng lahat ng mga pulis. Putangina ng lahat ng mga DDS. Putangina mo, Duterte!”
Scene of the year: Blackout, Midnight in a Perfect World
Dino Pastrana in a scene from Midnight in a Perfect World
Robin Quiñones, SFFR: “The premise of Dodo Dayao’s sophomore film is about cases of disappearances of people in mysterious blackouts that happen in the utopian Manila after midnight. These blackouts are shown briefly earlier in the film and are mentioned through phone conversations with Tonichi (Dino Pastrano) who was unfortunately caught in one of these incidents after a night out. Mimi (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and Jinka (Glaiza de Castro) went out of the safe house in a desperate attempt to rescue their friend leading us to the film’s climax to experience the eponymous “midnight”. Dayao, even from his feature debut Violator, knows how to elicit fear of the unknown, and in the darkness, with only the intermittent lights from smartphones, we are made aware of the horrors of what we cannot see in the vast of night, assaulting our senses with its imagery and sound design, leaving us with more questions than answers. Like the characters, we are left in the dark.
From the get-go, it is very clear that Midnight in a Perfect World is not your typical horror film, that the film is filled with metaphors and symbols reflective of the current state of our country or even of the world. But watching it, it is impossible not to get swept up by the sheer technical brilliance of it all best exemplified in this heart-stopping sequence.”
Emil Hofileña, SFFR: “When the lights go out in Midnight in a Perfect World, and nothing is left to guide these characters through the darkness except their cellphones, Dodo Dayao pulls off a magic trick. He transports us—we who are sitting in front of our computers and small screens—to a different dimension entirely, snatching us away from the safety of our homes. Dayao’s direction, coupled with Albert Banzon and Gym Lumbera’s cinematography, makes this one of the most technically impressive moments in cinema in 2020, not to mention one of the most nerve-wracking.
There’s much more going on here than just the lights going out, of course. The film may take place in some dystopian version of the Philippines, but Dayao captures the fear felt by so many living in this country in the last five years, or under any regime that has silenced people and kept them blind. With very few ways left to communicate and with their survival instinct overriding all other impulses, these characters—once jovial and articulate—are left to scramble for their lives. It’s a moment that feels so uncomfortably close to our own reality, and might just make you afraid of the dark all over again.”
Jay Rosas, SFFR: “Easily the best scene or sequence from any Filipino film I’ve seen last year is one that is made with a sense of economy and technical mastery – the blackout scene from Tonichi’s descent into despair up to Jinka and Mimi’s tense foray into the calm darkness. Dodo Dayao and cinematographers Albert Banzon and Gym Lumbera envision a dystopian Philippines that is straight out of our dark, sci-fi TV binges, when the lucid effects of long screen exposure dissolves into the reality of our personal chaos and realities. Beyond the hellish headtrip that Midnight in a Perfect World is, it strangely captures the paranoia of our times, in the inescapable digital present, while the spectre of our dark histories unfold before our eyes in faint flickers and lucid nightmares. More than allegorical, what this sequence accomplishes is to make us imagine ourselves as if we are seeing it in a cavernous theater, prompting us to relive a cinephile experience and mulling over the fear that we might be stuck with our laptops and digital devices for a long time in this metaphorical midnight.”
Joker Manio, SFFR: “There’s no other scene more exciting and thrilling this year than when the clock struck midnight and the lights went out in Midnight in a Perfect World. We see beautiful exterior wide shots of buildings and street lamps dimming silently one after the other. Our protagonists race against the darkness and our heartbeats start thumping, yet we do not know what’s coming. The only reassurance we got is that we will soon be engulfed in God’s blindspot.”
Armando dela Cruz, SFFR: “The prospect of a ‘perfect world’ will entice no one aware of how real life goes. As humans, our understanding of the world is intimate and resigned to the fact that there’s no such thing as ‘perfect’. Whoever buys into this utopic idea is unaware—no, ignorant—of the costs.
In Dodo Dayao’s second feature, the Philippines is lulled into a false sense of order through a curfew that sets off at midnight. Filipinos have, incredibly, accepted this curfew as a fixture of their lives if it means to keep the rivers clean and the economy on the up-and-up. The characters, belonging mostly to the working middle-class, gather to investigate disappearances seemingly linked to the curfews.
Midnight’s parallels to Martial Law (and to some extent, the Duterte regime) are unmistakable. Yet, it’s the movie’s firm grasp on the middle class’s ignorance that sends me. I’m referring to the gorgeously shot sequence where the characters decide to step out into total darkness. Earlier, we hear them squabble, rather obnoxiously: ‘Hindi importante kung ano’ng nangyayari,’ one person says. ‘Basta walang nangyayari sa’kin, sa’tin.‘
So, imagine the catharsis of seeing these characters, whose motivations to investigate the curfews vary from mere curiosity to sheer boredom, slowly realize how foolish it was to break curfew, or rather, not to have challenged them in the very first place.
Being a Dodo Dayao film, Midnight doesn’t set itself to fit this mold exclusively. I’m sure after repeat viewings I’ll take its story, and this very sequence, a different way. Until then, it lives rent-free in my head as that part of the movie where apathetic Filos learn that some things are bigger than their painfully unconcerned existence.”
Anthony Falcon, actor: “I remember the setup to be very long and I only understood why when we shot it. The first blackout was shot in two different locations. In the first loc, we needed to be precise with our blocking in relation to the camera movement. (Also true for most parts of the film.) For the second location, there was a lot of running. Literally. The cam was handheld, parang wala ding playback nun. So, hindi mo alam kung kuha ka sa shot at kung may opportunity kang magpahinga sa pagtakbo. Kung alam ko lang na hindi pala ako kita. Haha
What I liked about that in terms of playing Glenn – yung internal tension niya sa skepticism niya sa black out vis a vis yung denial niya sa posibilidad na nangyayari na ngayon yung blackout sa kanya. Para sa kanya hindi importante kung totoo man yung blackout o hindi, naniniwala siya sa magandang epekto nung fear sa disiplina at pag-unlad. Ang sarap laruin nung desire niya to be right – at nung fear that he could actually be wrong.”
Dodo Dayao, writer/director: “Masyado daw madilim yung Violator. Kaya ginawa na naming tungkol sa kadiliman yung next film. But the germ for this, actually more than just a germ but the actual premise, came to me in a dream, and the intent has always been for the film to achieve the quality of one. We knew coming in that the scenes in the blackout were going to be . . . challenging, for obvious reasons, but also because it made up the entire, ummm, ‘third act’, if you will. We also knew it wasn’t going to be as simple as getting a permit to block off a street then turning off the lights. How do you turn off the moon? How do you simulate a darkness so absolute it’s disorienting? Aminado naman kaming tatlo nila Bert at Gym na intimidating yung task, cinematographically. I think the whole team shared the same sentiment. Up until the actual day of the shoot, we were on our toes, para kaming tutugtog na walang ensayo, saulado yung piyesa pero di sigurado kung papano lalatag. But that nervous crackle of electricity is really why I do the things I do. Preprod pa lang matik na that we were going to shoot it inside a studio. We talked about mocking up parts of the “city” indoors but that would’ve given a structural comfort to an environment that needed to be uneasy and irrational We finished up with a huge empty warehouse, pitch black and supercold, with a constantly moving camera and no more than two people on cam at a time. Somehow we had simulated the conditions of the universe in the film, and that turned out to be transportive, for Jas and Glaiza and Dino certainly, and for us, too. It was an ambitious pitch. The sort of thing you would pitch to a big studio. But the fact that we weren’t a big studio production with big studio money meant we couldn’t afford to overthink and second-guess the process but it also meant we had more room to play. It really was more liberating. We needed to shoot in pitch darkness with only the light from a smartphone screen. So we shot in pitch darkness with only the light from a smartphone screen.”
INDIVIDUAL BALLOTS
Sanriel Ajero
Closing scene (Lingua Franca)
One final task (Watch List)
Final sequence (Lahi, Hayop)
Runners-up: Tanya’s friend dies “Tumalon siya” (Tagpuan); The kiss (The Boy Foretold By the Stars)
Mayk Alegre
Inuman session of fan girl and her idol, Fan Girl
Wallpaper scene with Mimi (Jasmine Curtis), Midnight in a Perfect World
Jane’s (Bela Padilla) suicide scene at the bathtub, On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets
Terence Ang
Bookshelf, Aswang
Initiation, The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Rizal in #SONAgKaisa, Heneral Rizal
Daph Bajas
Ending of The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Ending of UnTrue
Pubic hair scenes of He Who is Without Sin
Robert Cerda
OVBR – The character of Bela Padilla, wearing a witch’s mask, angry at the film-set staff
LAHI, HAYOP – Mariposa (Hazel Orencio), walking slowly, carrying a big jar.
HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN – Elijah Canlas’ character’s monologue sequence in the bathroom/area
Armando dela Cruz
In the pitch darkness, Midnight in a Perfect World
Olivia waiting for the train, Lingua Franca
At the precinct, Aswang
Macoy Delociento
Charlie Dizon running away from Paolo Avelino when she got caught at the back of his pickup. (Fan Girl)
Underwater scene of Bela Padilla and JC Santos (On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets)
Keann Johnson avoiding Adrian Lindayag at the staircase (The Boy Foretold by the Stars)
Engelbert Rafferty Dulay
The ending of Fan Girl
The Safe house long shot in Midnight in a Perfect World – How is it possible for a director who has only one feature-length film before this monstrosity came along to have such a certain, singular vision of his work? Never mind the beyond eerie world-building of the first half of the film. Never mind the striking metaphors of the film that bluntly attacks the monsters lurking in the present, regardless if at night or in broad daylight. Dayao just knows how to direct. And to have the audacity to include a shot–barely a scene, mind you–that puts you into an acid trip? I have no words.
The corridor scene in Overseas – As an offspring of an expatriate whose sole dream is to provide all their family’s needs and wants, I am more than disappointed to know that many of our brothers and sisters suffer physically, mentally and emotionally in various parts of the world. And the worst part? It’s as though our own nation barely gives a rat’s arse about it. Cut to: a desk filled with untouched documents concerning our fellow kin. Yes, we live in that kind of a society. Disgusting, ain’t it? But it’s the truth.
Miguel Edosma
End scene in Fan Girl
Turo’s death in Watch List
Dominic and Luke ending kiss in The Boy Foretold by the Stars
James Espinoza
Ending / final sequence (Lingua Franca)
Jomari and other kids talking about drugs (Aswang)
First kiss (The Boy Foretold by the Stars)
Vinson Gabato
Secret Jail Cell in Aswang
Lights Out in Midnight in a Perfect World
Church Scene (Paghahandog ng Sarili) in Lingua Franca – a sad and heartfelt scene. Always loved Paghahandog ng Sarili but never realized its emotional heft with the right circumstances.
Cydel Gutierrez
Elehiya sa Paglimot’s scene where Kristoffer Brugada’s father recognizes a baby (his nephew), clapped and looked happy despite his condition. It’s as if the old will always be familiar with the young and Alzheimer’s can’t stop that.
The Boy Foretold by the Stars’ scene where Brother Mike was doing a progressive lecture about homosexuality; a breath of fresh air for the BL genre without actually sounding preachy and meh.
Aswang’s revelation of a “secret cell behind a bookshelf” of at least a dozen illegally detained people during the bloody drug war inside the Manila District Police Station 1 in Tondo district. Horrifying and Infuriating.
Fred Hawson
Pitch darkness scene lit with phones (Midnight in a Perfect World)
First kiss in the candlelit field (Boy Foretold by the Stars)
Final scene of the helpless Maria (Watch List)
Emil Hofileña
Midnight in a Perfect World – Mimi and Jinka look for Tonichi in the darkness, with nothing but their cellphone lights
Elehiya sa Paglimot – Pedring recognizes his wife
Fan Girl – ending
Jayson Javier
Silent scene in On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets where Jane (Bela Padilla) was standing next to an abstract painting
Jane (Charllie Dizon) taking pictures of “Paulo Avelino’s” prosthetic penis, demonstrating everyone’s voyeuristic aspect as a Fan Girl
First kiss of Dominic (Adrian Lindayag) and Luke (Keann Johnson) among the lighted candles
Princess Kinoc
(Fan Girl) When Charlie Dizon’s Jane walks out to do an errand for Paulo, feeling uneasy, and then she sees his mistress coming to his secret home. She runs back to the home to try to control the situation, or does she?
In Lingua Franca, when Trixie and Isabel talk about the first time they realize they were gay.
All the scenes in Heneral Rizal, especially that slow, encapsulating first sequence with Rizal facing backwards. You see the dust and moot lingering in the air. You realize that it kind of represents Rizal in some ways, his legacy lingering in the air but we never try to embody it.
Skilty Labastilla
Last scene, Dreaming in the Red Light. Hands down the year’s most heart-crushing scene, when Tisay, the daughter of a former prostitute who spends most of the film finding ways to live life with dignity, ends up walking the same street that her mother used to frequent.
Secret jail cell, Aswang
Maria’s first kill, Watch List
Jay Lacanilao
Jane throws herself and child out of Paulo’s car out of seething hatred and disgust for her idol in Fan Girl
Maria finds her husband murdered in Watch List
Initiation retreat in The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Wowie Lagman
Fan Girl – Charlie Dizon jumps out of speeding vehicle. More than being one of the highlights of Jane’s character’s quest to find her voice and stand up to her oppressor, this scene is memorable because of its similarity to a Lady Bird scene, where Saoirse Ronan threw herself out of a speeding car to spite her mother. I consider this one of the best for the simple reason that it made me laugh when it happened.
Paano Maging Babae – Student submits test paper. After spending several excruciating minutes answering misogynistic questions, a young student makes the necessary corrections to the insulting test paper, darkening certain words until it only says “paano maging babae,” and then promptly walks out of the room. I enjoyed how in this scenario, the professor is a fat, unkempt man to really define what being a chauvinistic pig is, and how the young woman managed to maintain her poise and didn’t resort to lashing out at the professor or settle for the safest route, which is to answer the questions for the sake of not failing. Instead, she takes the intelligent approach and corrects what’s written in the test paper, and takes a stand.
Quing Lalam Ning Aldo – Imagining her son’s back home, cooking. While the movie, in its entirety, is flat in some areas, the scene where the lead is visualizing her son as a young boy, busy cooking, is notable because of its execution. The clean, sweeping camera movements, touching score, and how each frame was stitched together made for a palpable sense of loss, longing, and excitement.
Nicol Latayan
Vince appearing to advise James, James and Pat and Dave
The bookshelf escape/discovery, Aswang
Initiation Scene, The Boy Foretold by the Stars
Jason Tan Liwag
Living Room Scene with Charlie Dizon and Paulo Avelino (Fan Girl). As Charlie Dizon and Paulo Avelino talk, drink, and dance for the first time, the power dynamics between the fan and the idol become blurred – creating a tense and captivating scene where rules are meant to be broken.
Dominic and Luke’s first kiss (The Boy Foretold by the Stars)
Macky Macarayan
Rizal crosses paths with the protesters, Heneral Rizal
Jane’s monologue at the AA meeting, On Vodka, Beers and Regrets
Joker Manio
The lights going out as midnight strikes in Midnight in a Perfect World
Ending montage in 1-2-3 (Gasping for Air) as we see Reyna back in her usual routine
The aswang monologue in Aswang
Manuel Pangaruy
When the father in Elehiya sa Paglimot forgot the concept of God/how to pray
That scene with Joshua Garcia towards the end in James & Pat & Dave
That very last scene in Kintsugi
Jim Paranal
Jane (Charlie Dizon) smoked inside Paulo Avelino’s car in FanGirl.
Mimaw’s confession of her feelings towards Paolo (Noel Comia, Jr.) in Death of Nintendo.
Andrei’s (Jal Galang) emotional confession to his father that he’s HIV positive and his father (late Menggie Cobarubbias) promised to help him in Gulis.
Nico Quejano
Final scene of Lahi, Hayop before fadeout.
Alan Peter Cayetano telling Mocha Uson on how to bribe local media in A Thousand Cuts
Glaiza de Castro running in darkness with only her mobile phone to light her in A Midnight in a Perfect World
Robin Quiñones
Midnight in a Perfect World: Mimi & Jinka left the safe house with smartphones as the only light source
Aswang: rescue of people illegally detained in a hidden jail cell
Elehiya sa Paglimot: Tatay Pedring forgot the concept of praying
Jay Rosas
Blackout scene with cellphones in Midnight in a Perfect World
Nancy visiting her damaged house in House in Pieces
Confession scene of Kendrick in My Lockdown Romance
Bernard Santos
The ending of Fan Girl when Charlie Dizon smokes a cigarette.
The exploitation scene of Elijah and Enzo in the dining table, where Enzo is touching Elijah under the table.
The ending of Untrue
Naz Malvas Tabares
Last scene of Fan Girl where Jane, having experienced everything with her idol, finally learns to stand up to oppressors
Last scene of Midnight in a Perfect World. Tension fills the screen as the film reaches its conclusion
Fan Girl – Jane reveals herself as a diehard fan as she got caught by Paulo Avelino.
John Tawasil
The dance scene in Lingua Franca
Jay-r Trinidad
Inside the room 360 scene in Midnight in a Perfect World.
And I guess the VFX work done by our editor, RJ Aquino, must have been really good (granted Pinoy Rebyu voters counted this scene as a selection) because truth be told, RJ duplicated those river taxis to look like there were multitudes of them, when in actuality, there was only just 1 river taxi available to shoot.” 
It took us 2 days to make the whole inuman scene. 1st day was with Ms. Jane (Jaclyn) and 2nd day yung kami na lang ni Elijah. The instructions were to really enjoy each other’s company, be casual. Pagtawanan ang mishaps ng isa’t isa. May mga adlib pero very minimal. Nasa script the rest. Ganda na kasi ng script ni Direk Jun. 
