Ellen Ramos
2021Endless Farewell
Ellen Ramos, Paolo Villaluna
Lovi Poe, Jacky Woo
The plot is about Maria (Lovi Poe), a 16-year old girl who elopes with her boyfriend Ryan (Joem Bascon) to Baguio. While they are in a hotel in Baguio, they meet a terminally ill tourist (Jacky Woo) who is in Baguio beause it is where he met his ex-wife who is a Filipina. Maria develops a strange relationship with the tourist and she is later torn between the love of Ryan and the older stranger she has just met. Meanwhile, Maria’s father (Ricardo Cepeda) hires a private detective named Patrick (Jake Roxas) to look for his daughter. Patrick is a homosexual who is learning to deal with the promiscuity of his lover (Rico Barrera).
Endless Farewell
Illusion
Ellen Ramos, Paolo Villaluna
Yul Servo, Jennifer Lee
Set in Philippine post-American colonialist era, where the American influence was still apparent, Ilusyon tells the story of Miguel, a young man from the countryside, who decides to visit his father, Pablo, a Modernist painter in Manila. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his father has decided to leave for the province but he opted to stay in Manila for a vacation. One day, he meets Stella, a nude model originally scheduled to pose for Miguel's father. Struck by her beauty, Miguel does the unthinkable - he pretends to be his father the painter. Developing a relationship based on a lie, things turn for the worse as Stella begets a strange skin disease that turns off Miguel. Surrounded by strange characters - a talking cow, a talkative mailman and a nosy landlady - Miguel is driven into a frenzy realization about beauty, lust, love and being true to oneself. An ambiguous ending underlines the surreal tone of the film.
Illusion
Selda
Ellen Ramos, Paolo Villaluna
Sid Lucero, Emilio Garcia
Set in two contrasting environments that underline the same premise of imprisonment, Selda tells the story of Rommel, a young man who accidentally kills a boy, resulting in his incarceration. Inside the jail, he befriends another inmate, who becomes his rock and protector. Seven years later, Rommel is living in the province as a farmer together with Sita his wife. Esteban tracks down Rommel in hopes of renewing a brewing love affair. Rommel and Sita welcome Esteban into their lives until their intimacy crosses borderlines and results in the undeniable scourge of self-discovery
The Inmate
Image Nation
Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez, Mes de Guzman
Ping Medina, Bella Flores
Imahe Nasyon is a groundbreaking, conceptual omnibus film by 20 alternative filmmakers who were tasked to present their personal visions on national issues. Renowned line producers Jon and Carol Red hatched the idea of revisiting the 1986 EDSA revolution, challenging directors to answer the question "What happened after 1986?" with a short film not longer than five minutes each. Despite individual techniques, the same goal is shared: to depict a truthful image of the nation at present.
Image Nation
Ganap na Babae
Rica Arevalo, Sarah Roxas
Boots Anson-Roa, Mercedes Cabral
A woman (Mercedes Cabral) shares her story as a prostitute in front of the camera. A survivor, she looks back at her life as a mother. Milagros (Sue Prado) and Elena (Jam Pérez) are sisters tilling “camote” (sweet potato) in a dry land. Poverty provokes Elena to migrate as a mail-order bride in Japan while Milagros stays to take care of the family. Eos (Boots Anson Roa) is a widow who falls in love with a younger man, Rodrigo (Rome Mallari). They try to make the relationship work amidst the pressure of their family and the society.
Garden of Eve
