Cinema One Originals announced this year’s finalists which offer more diverse, audacious stories—a vampire thriller, a religious mystery, a romance fantasy, a coming-of-age drama, comedy, action and more—in the much-awaited film festival happening in September this year.
Festival director and Cinema One channel head Ronald Arguelles named the following projects as the 15th Cinema One Originals finalists which will be awarded with a P3 million production budget each:
1. Ascendant by Sherad Anthony Sanchez
In the religious drama/mystery film Ascendant, a mysterious death in the convent drives an unpredictable Mother Prioress to investigate three nuns under her care, but she is not looking for justice. The corpse returns to haunt for justice, but haunted back by the ghosts of the nun’s murky pasts. The question is, who is haunting who?
2. Lucid by Natts Jadaone, Victor Villanueva, and Dan Villegas
Ann Cruz is a luminous dreamer in romance/fantasy movie Lucid. Her dreams are the exact opposite of her mundane, routinary life. In one of her fabricated dreams, she meets a mysterious man who challenges her to make her dreams more adventurous. As she crosses paths with another lucid dreamer, she realizes her dreams are far more alive than her reality making her question if it is worth staying in there or not.
3. Metamorphosis by J.E. Tiglao
The film is a coming-of-age story about Adam, a 14-year-old kid who was born with a secret of having both male and female genitals.
4. O by Kevin Dayrit
Maria, a morgue-intern, meets vampire “drug lord” Matilda in O. In this thriller, Matilda forces Maria to become a blood pusher in exchange for her life, selling dried blood sachets to modern-day, harmless vampires.
5. Sila-Sila by Giancarlo Abrahan
A 30-year-old man returns to Manila in Sila-Sila and is forced to confront his old life, his old friends, and his ex-boyfriend at their high school reunion where the drama of the past and the present collide.
6. Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo by Denise O’Hara
The film is a romance drama. When Alex finds out that Carlo is not ready to commit to a relationship Alex must ask herself if love can survive without any commitment.
7. Utopia by Dustin Celestino and Dustin Uy
This action entry, is about the stories of a videographer, a rookie police officer, and an undercover agent which intertwine in the labyrinth of a violent city’s underbelly.
8. Yours Truly, Shirley by Nigel Santos
In this comedy flick Yours Truly, Shirley, a 50-year-old widow believes that the young pop star is the reincarnation of her dead husband. How far would she go to prove herself right?
These exciting stories were carefully chosen by the selection committee members—Ronald Arguelles, Black Sheep head Kriz Gazmen, iWant creative manager Nico Hernandez, Rappler film critic Oggs Cruz, and film writers Jinky Laurel and Lilit Reyes—from over 130 entries submitted.
The biggest C1 Originals yet, the festival is part of the 100th year celebration of the Philippine Cinema and the 25th year celebration of leading cable channel Cinema One. Catch these films in various cinemas in September 2019.