With the vast majority of the country still stuck at home due to seemingly never-ending quarantine restrictions, it may seem like there’s nothing else to do with one’s time. Filipino cinema would like to prove otherwise, though. Several film distributors such as Regal Entertainment Inc., TBA Studios, and Cinema One have come to our aid by releasing some of their films that you may have missed during their original theatrical run.
While Filipino films appearing in streaming services such as Netflix and iflix are nothing new, Vantage takes a look at films released on Youtube: The most accessible streaming service out there. Block an afternoon or two to enjoy some of the more underappreciated films of the last decade that our local filmmakers have to offer.
Photo sourced from IMDb
Confessional (2008)
Before directing mainstream successes such as Heneral Luna (2015), Bliss (2017), and Goyo: The Boy General (2018), Jerrold Tarog made a name for himself by directing Confessional. The mockumentary follows an aspiring filmmaker who visits Cebu to film a documentary about the Sinulog Festival. Things do not go according to plan, however, as the filmmaker’s interview with a former mayor turns on its head when the latter confesses on tape about his illicit affairs while in office.
The filmmaker’s conversations with the aforementioned mayor range from affairs with small-time stars to the murder of a drug lord. Through the lens of the camera, we get an inside look in the mind of a corrupt politician in all of its candidness—exposing the ugly truth of the society we live in.
Catch the film on Youtube here.
Photo sourced from iflix
Aliwan Paradise (1992)
Fans of the hit Netflix anthology series Black Mirror would find themselves at home with Mike De Leon’s critically acclaimed short film. The short—set in a semi-futuristic Philippines—is centered around two former provincial sweethearts who find each other again in a dystopian job audition searching for the ultimate form of entertainment.
Way ahead of his time, De Leon cleverly satirizes poverty porn and our excessive need for entertainment—years before noontime shows and reality television were a hit. Run by a fascist leader, the Philippines of the film is in a state of complete disrepair. The plot depicts disparities between social classes as lines of impoverished Filipinos do whatever they can to audition for a shot at a better life, for the entertainment of the ruling class. All purely fictional, of course.
Stream the short on Youtube here.
Photo sourced from IMDb
Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay (2011)
Whether or not you are an avid watcher of Filipino films, the face of Lilia Cuntapay would look familiar if you managed to catch a Filipino horror film growing up. If you’re in need of a refresher, acclaimed writer-director Antoinette Jadaone brings Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay: A mockumentary of one of the Filipino cinema’s most interesting personalities. We get a closer look into the modest life of Lilia Cuntapay, who plays a version of herself, after her life gets shaken up by her first ever Best Supporting Actress nomination in a local film festival.
You get to see how the life of a film extra can be through her interactions behind the scenes of fictionalized sets. Supplemented by interviews with acclaimed directors such as Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes—who discovered her for her breakout role in Shake, Rattle and Roll Part 3 (1991)—this film is nothing short of a love letter to local cinema.
Get acquainted with Lilia Cuntapay by watching the film on Youtube here.
Photo sourced from IMDb
Water Lemon (2015)
Feeling restless from days so similar they seem to bleed into each other? The characters of Water Lemon feel your pain. Situated in the province of Quezon, the film contrasts the characters’ desire to escape their town with the melancholy of dreaming as it follows their efforts to run from the rural monotony of their lives.
Water Lemon deliberately thrusts the audience into its characters’ world with considerably slow pacing and seemingly mundane dialogue. In a film peppered with stunning aerials of his hometown and various references to water, Director Lemuel Lorca stages a profound study of the human response to destiny’s call.
Watch the film on Youtube here.
Photo sourced from IMDb
Dormitoryo: Mga walang katapusang kwarto (2017)
Dormitoryo: Mga walang katapusang kwarto is a full-length ode to Director Emerson Reyes’ short Walang Katapusang Kwarto (2011). Set during a particularly rainy night, Dormitoryo explores the lives of eight characters—each damaged in their own ways—through conversations that transcend the walls of the house in which they co-exist.
The film moves smoothly from room to room, slowly building a narrative so intimate it almost seems voyeuristic. Its seamless transitions–coupled with the claustrophobic nature of the occupants’ rooms–build a nearly unnoticeable tension as the film progresses, making its ending all the more startling. Reyes masterfully creates a world within a world, showing his audience that we are not all as disconnected as we think we are.
Stream Dormitoryo on Youtube here.
Photo sourced from IMDb
Mamay Umeng (2012)
Viewers be warned: Mamay Umeng plods along at a glacial pace, moving so slowly that we only hear the film’s titular character speak for the first time 18 minutes in. However, it is the film’s arguably agonizing rhythm that brings out its charm and further immerses its audience in a world built to mimic the uncertainty of life’s twilight days.
Filled with delicate shots devoid of dialogue or pivotal moments to move the plot along, this picture is not for the impatient. It definitely takes its time to build momentum, but the risk it takes pays off and creates a poignant work that forces us to confront the reality of the inevitable end.
Catch Mamay Umeng on Youtube here.
Philippine cinema is an undeniably rich world, saturated with talent and unique perspectives at every turn. While these films have always tried to be within arm’s reach, making them available on Youtube will always be remembered as a monumental move for the Filipino film community.