Child No. 82 (Cinemalaya 2025) Directed by: Tim Rone Villanueva Having a loving mother, it’s quite ungrateful  for the son to keep looking for his father, who abandoned them right from the start. There’s a blind fanaticism  over the father—which takes a long while to get acknowledged. For that, it can be dragging  at times. A conversation or two could’ve wrapped up the whole movie, yet they created an itinerary for the main character to accomplish. His journey has an on-and-o

Raging (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Ryan Machado No matter how good of an actor he is, Elijah Canlas just blends with the cinematography—and he is not to blame. Instead of empathizing with the main character, you criticize the fall of a heavy rain and the touch of a filthy mud. You become obsessed with the earthy elements, which will never be sufficient to compensate for real human experience. Instead of getting interested with the story and its character, the mor

Padamlágan (Cinemalaya 2025) Directed by: Jenn Romano From visuals to sound, this movie is technically beautiful. Transitions between photos and videos are seamless. The musical scoring is compelling. Together with the warm color grading, the cinematography is pleasing to the eyes. But can a film truly succeed without emotional connection? Lacking feelings and expressions, the lead character is being overshadowed by his surroundings. There are moments that could have been int

Warla (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Kevin Alambra When struggles of women are being shared, it’s only right to listen and empathize with them. It’s not that hard to do—especially when the actresses are raw, real, and empowering in their own ways. Kung anu man ang sabihin ni Lance Reblando, agad mo itong papaniwalaan. Hindi mo siya pagdududahan dahil ramdam mo ang kanyang sinseridad. Walang eme eme. Pang-Warla ang level ng aktingan ni KaladKaren sa pelikulang ito. L

Republika ng Pipolipinas (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Renei Dimla A mockumentary about a micronation named Pipolipinas and its self-proclaimed president. Most of the time, the lead character is not convincing. Therefore, everything she’s fighting for feels undeserving of support. She has no concrete plans for her own nation. She doesn’t know how to protect her citizens. However, at the very least, she is kind and she is not corrupt. There’s a sense of complacency

Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Dustin Celestino The film starts with a black screen and ends with a white screen . Everything in between falls into gray areas . You can’t summarize it with just one color. It’s more nuanced than that. As complex as the characters, the story has many layers that you don’t initially see as you’re blinded by emotions. When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to get mad. But instead of dwelling o

Candè (Sinag Maynila 2025) Written & Directed by: Kevin Pison Piamonte Bubungad sayo ang mga pagkain na hindi ka sigurado kung ano bang lasa. Kulang sa buhay ang color grading para mag-mukhang masarap ang mga putahe. Ang mga eksena ay hindi gaanong magandang tingnan. Ang mga tunog ay hindi rin malinis pakinggan. Ngunit ang mga teknikal na aspetong ito ay hindi mo na masyadong papansinin—kapag nagsasalita na ang mga batang bida . Pang-Best New Child actors sina Jan Junash Deli

Altar Boy (Sinag Maynila 2025) Directed by: Serville Poblete Set in Canada, the film revolves around a Filipino Altar Boy. There’s nothing much to say about his upbringing, his culture, or him being an Altar Boy. Being a Canadian film, the dialogues are mostly in English. You’ll hear Filipino words from some characters. Church backdrop only lasts for seconds. Then there’s the mention of sisig. All things Pinoy serve as background noises that aren’t really significant to the s

Madawag Ang Landas Patungong Pag-asa (Sinag Maynila 2025) Directed by: Joel Lamangan Dahil consistent ang performance ni Rita Daniela na mabait at dedicated siyang teacher, maniniwala ka na lang sa kanya. May door-to-door invasion pang nagaganap sa bawat bahay ng mga bata para pilitin silang pumasok sa eskwelahan. Iba’t iba ang edad ng estudyante. Magandang pagkakataon sana ito para ipakita kung paano niya tuturuan ang mga iyon. Ngunit pagdating sa classroom, halos wala masya

Selda Tres (Sinag Maynila 2025) Directed by: GB Sampedro Pinakita nila ang buhay kulungan, pero sitcom ang atake. Nagsampalan gamit ang pulbos. May holdupan tapos ginawang prank. Nakaka-disorient dahil hindi naman nakakatawa ang sitwasyon nila, pero ganun ang gusto nilang palabasin. Kahit malala na ang nangyayari, hindi mo sila kayang seryosohin. Mahigit dalawang oras ang pelikula. Pang-teleserye ang kaganapan. Andaming sideplots. Hanggang sa credits roll, may nangyayari pa r

Jeongbu (Sinag Maynila 2025) Directed by: Topel Lee Sa unang oras ng pelikula, parang nag-house tour lang sila. Pinakita yung garden, bodega, fireplace, kitchen… at kung anu-anong furniture. Mananawa ka kakatingin sa bahay. Kahit sa pagpalit ng kobre kama hanggang sa paghugas ng pinggan, ipapakita rin nila. Home Living ang peg. Sponsored by Muji at Miniso. Emote nang emote itong si Ritz Azul sa bawat sulok ng bahay. Hindi mo rin siya masisisi kasi maganda ang interior at exte

Salum / Delve (2025) Written & Directed by: TM Malones Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng kahirapan ? Hindi nila kailangang ipamukha na mahirap sila, ngunit damang dama mo ang kanilang paghihirap. Wala masyadong iyakan at sampalan, ngunit sasampalan ka ng realidad . Malakas ang kapit mo sa mga karakter. Nakakadala ang kwento ng mag-ama. Magaan ang loob mo sa kanila dahil alam mong mabubuti silang tao at sila’y nagsusumikap sa buhay. Mabigat sa pakiramdam kapag nakikitang sila’

Tigkiliwi (2025) Written & Directed by: Tara Illenberger Filled with unexpected turns, this movie is unafraid to be different—and they’re unapologetic about it. Hindi takot mahusgahan ang pelikulang ito. Hahamakin nila ang lahat para lang maihatid ang kanilang mensahe. Napaka-refreshing at creative ng pagkaka-kwento ni Direk Tara Illenberger . Siya ang tipo ng filmmaker na kapag tinanong mo kung ilang burger ang nais kainin, ang isasagot niya ay Tara ! Naging horror ang m

Fleeting (2025) Directed by: Catsi Catalan This movie features an 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘹 camera that can instantly print photos — an equally fitting metaphor for the film’s ability to capture life’s fleeting moments. In just one click, connections are easily established. First meet up pa lang ng mga karakter, nakabuo na agad sila ng bond. Nakakatuwa ang kanilang mga harutan. Natural at effortless silang magpa-ngiti ng mga tao. Madalas na naririnig mo sa background ay ang tunog ng mga

Olsen’s Day (2025) Directed by: JP Habac Simula pa lang, pwede mo nang hulaan kung ano ang plottwist . Pagkatapos nun, nag-aabang ka na lang ng ending. Ang mga usapan sa gitna ay nakakabagot pakinggan.  Ang kanilang mensahe ay pwedeng magkasya sa isang short film, pero pilit nilang pinapahaba para maging isang full-length feature. Ang dragging tuloy ng naging biyahe. Sinisingitan ng mga stopover para lang ito’y patagalin. Hindi naging natural ang paglalakbay. Ang bumubuhay

Sepak Takraw (2025) Directed by: Mes De Guzman Ang usapan Sepak Takraw pero ano itong ipinakita nila? Isang oras na pero wala pa ring sepak takraw. Natapos na’t lahat lahat pero walang napuntahan ang istorya. Sobrang naligaw. Walang direksyon ang pelikula. Wala silang gana magkwento. Isang bagsakan sinabi ang backstory. Naglagay lang ng maraming texts sa screen para ipaliwanag ang mga nangyayari. Nagpakita na lang ng magagandang ulap at tanawin para pagtakpan ang kawalan ng i

Journeyman (2025) Directed by: Christian Paolo Lat & Dominic Lat The punches are weightless at the beginning. You can’t truly feel the gravity of their situation. Them as a struggling family is not convincing. The idea of being a “professional loser” is not further explored. Hindi katanggap-tanggap na parati siyang talo, tapos parati rin siyang may nakukuhang magagandang laban. Ang lamya ng mga opponent sa boxing ring. Nakakawalang-gana ang nakikita mong sitwasyon. Nakakabago

Co-Love (2025) Directed by: Jill Singson Urdaneta Laugh trip ang kanilang content. Joketime ang plot. Hindi organic ang mga kaganapan. Parang trip trip lang nila paglaruan ang mga karakter. Confused ang direction. Hindi mo alam kung saan talaga papunta ang kwento. Ang ironic dahil content creators daw sila, pero hindi swabe ang pagkaka-edit sa mga videos. Hindi kaaya-aya sa mata. Alanganin ang ilang kuha. Napuputol minsan ang pagmumukha nila. Ang sakit din sa tenga ng sound