PH film projects to watch out for in 2023
PHILIPPINE Cinema wasted no time in keeping the momentum for Filipino projects going global by its consistent presence in various international film festivals, film labs, and project markets.
This global track for Philippine Cinema has come a long way, considering that initiatives and programs were only launched back in 2017 with the Film Development Council of the Philippines. FDCP provided opportunities for us to collaborate with other countries and bring in international film projects in the Philippines through funding grants and incentives.
A lot is really happening within the Southeast Asian region. While reading an article written by former Screen International Asia Editor Liz Shackleton, I got inspired to list down the Filipino films that I was fortunate to have been able to support during my term in FDCP and are now in different stages of development. Two of the just premiered in the top two festivals of North America.
Liz cited, “one of the biggest factors contributing to the growth of Southeast Asian indie cinema has been the emergence of funds supporting regional co-production – in particular, those launched by the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). But just before last year’s autumn festival season kicked off, two film agency chiefs who had been instrumental in the creation of these funds – SFC head Joachim Ng and FDCP chair Liza Dino – left their posts.”
Most of the projects on this list were recipients of the FDCP’s International Co-Production Fund and Asean CoProduction Fund, which we launched in 2020. Through this program, we supported more than 35 international coproduction film projects, bridging almost 2 Billion pesos in revenue through local production spending since its creation.
With the much-talked about Kenneth Dagatan’s “In My Mother’s Skin” kicking off this year, I’m listing down the Filipino projects in the pipeline that I personally recommend you watch out for.
“In My Mother’s Skin”
Director: Kenneth Dagatan (Philippines) Producers: Bradley Liew, Bianca Balbuena, Huang Junxiang, Stefano Centini
Production companies: Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), Zhaowei Films (Singapore), Volos Films (Taiwan)
Synopsis: Stranded in the Philippines during World War 2, a young girl’s duty to protect her dying mother is complicated by her misplaced trust in a beguiling, flesh-eating fairy.
Status: Completed, premiered at Sundance Midnight Section 2023
“Where’s The Lie?”
Director: Quark Henares Producers: Armi Rae Cacanindin, Pauline Zamora, Kren Yap, Bianca Balbuena, Ian Monsod Production Company: Anima Synopsis: Inspired by a controversial Twitter thread. Hopeless romantic Janzen Torres finds another chance at love when she matches with the handsome and seemingly perfect Theo Balmaceda on a dating app. Unfortunately, on the day of their meet-up, Theo ghosts her, leading Janzen into an intricate web of deceit, lies, and catfishing led by sociopathic mastermind Beanie Landridos.
Status: Premiered at Slam Dance 2023
“Beer Girl In Yangon”
Director: Sein Lyan Tu (Myanmar) Producers: John Badalu, Alemberg Ang, Panuksmi Hardjo
Production companies: PT Kino Media Nusantara (Indonesia), PS Films Production (Myanmar), Daluyong Studios (Philippines), M’GO Films (Singapore)
Synopsis: Lily, who works as a beer girl in a Yangon pub, is caught between her attraction for free-spirited co-worker Moon and mysterious older man Zaw.
Status: In development
“This City Is A Battlefield”
Director: Mouly Surya (Indonesia) Producers: Rama Adi, Anthony Chen, Tan Si En
Production companies: Cinesurya (Indonesia), Giraffe Pictures (Singapore), Epicmedia Productions (Philippines)
Synopsis: A period drama following Isa, an impotent war hero, as he leads a mission to bomb a cinema as the Dutch and English try to recolonize Indonesia after the Second World War.
Status: In pre-production
“Cu Li Never Cries”
Director: Pham Ngoc Lan (Vietnam) Producers: Phan Dang Di, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Claire Lajoumard, Teh Su Ching, Lai Weijie, Verona Meier
Production companies: DNY Vietnam Productions (Vietnam), Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), Acrobates Films (France), Purple Tree Pictures (Singapore), Ape&Bjørn (Norway)
Synopsis: This a surreal comedy about widowed Mrs. Nguyen, who travels to Berlin to receive her inheritance: her estranged German husband’s ashes and his pet pygmy slow loris.
Status: In post-production
“Don’t Cry, Butterfly”
Director: Duong Dieu Linh (Vietnam) Producers: Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, Tan Si En
Production companies: An Nam Productions (Vietnam), Momo Film Co (Singapore), Daluyong Studios (Philippines), KawanKawan Media (Indonesia)
Synopsis: A middle-aged housewife discovers her husband’s affair and decides to cast a spell, hoping she can voodoo him back into love.
Status: Scheduled to start shooting
“An Entry Into The Sadness Of A Portuguese Woman”
Director: Lav Diaz (Philippines)
Producers: Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Jean-Christophe Simon, Joaquim Sapinho, Marta Alves
Production companies: Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), Films Boutique (France), Rosa Filmes (Portugal)
Synopsis: One of the finest Portuguese investigators, Lt. Inês Horta, embarks on a journey to the Philippines to uncover the truth behind her inability to solve a seven-year-old murder case.
Status: Currently shooting, to be completed second quarter of 2023
“Picturehouse”
Directors: Minh Nguyen-Vo (Vietnam) Producers: Nguyen Bao, Johann Chapelan, Alemberg Ang
Production companies: East Films (USVietnam), Girelle Production (France), Daluyong Studios (Philippines)
Synopsis: In 1960s Vietnam, an eightyear-old boy finds a haven in a family-run cinema in a country torn apart by war.
Status: Development
“Some Nights I Feel Like Walking”
Director: Petersen Vargas (Philippines) Producers: Alemberg Ang, Jade Francis Castro, Anthony Chen, Tan Si En
Production companies: Daluyong Studios, Ten17p Films (Philippines), Giraffe Pictures (Singapore), Dolce Vita Films (France)
Synopsis: A rich teenage runaway, Zion, is looking for a place to belong and falls in with a group of hustlers. When the youngest dies of an overdose, he joins a mission to fulfill the dead boy’s final wish: to go home.
Status: Pre-production, scheduled to start shooting April 2023
“Tropical Rain, Death-Scented Kiss”
Director: Charlotte Hong Bee Her (Singapore-US)
Producers: Tan Si En, Jerrold Chong, Giuliana Foulkes
Production companies: Momo Film Co, Finding Pictures (Singapore), Total Blur Productions (US), Dayulong Studios (Philippines)
Synopsis: In a vision of Singapore slowly falling into a wilderness populated by spirits, the ghost of a girl’s best friend follows her home.
Status: Development
“Viet And Nam”
Director: Truong Minh Quy (Vietnam) Producers: Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Lai Weijie, Marie Dubas, Lorna Tee, Joost De Vries, Stefano Centini, Christian Jilka, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Mai
Production companies: Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), E&W Films (Singapore), Deuxième Ligne Films (France), An Original Picture (Netherlands), Volos Films (Taiwan), Scarlet Visions (Germany)
Synopsis: Before leaving Vietnam in a container alongside future migrants, Nam, a young miner, seeks to find the remains of his father, a soldier killed during the civil war. But Nam’s lover, Việt, wishes they could stay forever in the depths of the coal mine.
Status: Pre-production, shooting the first quarter of 2023.