Raya Martin

About two Philippine men, who represent Philippine history.

Martin travels to Itbayat island of the Batan group, on the far north of the Phillipines, to record the customs of its inhabitants and their life away from modern civilization. Itbayat is open to visitors only in the summer; the storms raging in the region completely isolate the islanders for the rest of the year. The camera gives them the chance to tell their stories. "I was interested in understanding the characteristics of the community beyond its practices and traditions", says the director. (Filmjourney.org)

Martin brings a profound poetry to this legacy, creating a world that is at once mysterious and recognizable, and a film that uses the silent form and modernist piano score to struggle against the repressions of politics, religion and art. In marrying the history of a nation with a historical film form through his unique vision, Martin has created one of the truly original works of contemporary Filipino cinema.

Mimicking early silent films, Independencia creates a lush metaphor that plays with cinematic illusions and the cultural and mythical history of the Philippines. (imdb)

In the "Day" segment, Piolo Pacual portrays the role of William, a drug addict who tries to rebuild his sense of self and reconnect with the people around him. For the "Night" segment, Pascual portrays the role of Philip, who works as a bodyguard for a mayor's son. The bodyguard believes that his boss considers him as part of the family but after a shooting incident, he realizes his real worth to his boss. As he struggles to hide, he is slowly consumed by the claws of darkness lurking the city. (imdb)

It's not certain whether a film is really being shot, but you can see behind the scenes the way young Filipino film makers work. And also why they are so widely discussed. Because of their zest for work. (KG)

A burlesque, harsh satire about the mistress of Philippine film production, the Chinese-Filipino producer Mother Lily. (Raya Martin)

In another lifetime, a Spanish couple takes drugs and teleports through their television set. A troubled young man travels through the countryside and meets a lost woman. During the trip, they discover a museum housing the expatriated paintings of the most important Filipino artist of the revolution. Eventually, the Spanish couple disappears toward their colony. Inspired by one of the earliest teleportation accounts, which happened between the Philippines and Mexico during the colonial period. (imdb)

A conquistador counts his blessings in Raya Martin's Ars Colonia, a hand-coloured effigy shot on hi-8 analogue video, transferred to 35mm. (Andréa Picard)

As one video wants to be a film, a filmmaker travels across the world in search of another filmmaker. (MUBI)

Now Showing captures the joyful and carefree ways of a young Filipina in the time of That's Entertainment, a popular talent-variety show hosted by German Moreno.

A famous American filmmaker travels to the Yucatán to scout locations for his last movie. The Mayan Apocalypse intercedes. (imdb)

Synopsis A group of friends, sharing a passion for cinema, assemble in Corregidor, a small island in Manila Bay that has preserved relics from the Pacific War as its foremost attractions. There, they explore the island and retire in a rustic mansion used once to make silent films. Outside the city, the woods and sea become a meeting place for more movie personalities and it all becomes a celebration of what was left behind.

A serial killer in Payatas leaves the bodies of young boys in the dump as two Jesuit priests try to solve the murders. (imdb)

In the early 1990s, a teenager and his gang of friends enjoy their summer playing games as they grow up. (imdb)