It’s that time of year again when movie houses across the archipelago exclusively screen quality genre movies via the annual Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP), a week-long celebration of diverse Filipino movies that will run until Sept. 19.
Themed “Pamilya, Pagkakaibigan, Pag-ibig,” the PPP 2019 is organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in partnership with the National Cinema Association of the Philippines.
In the last three years, PPP has created a culture of support from the audience and FDCP intends to continue this tradition to continuously engage moviegoers nationwide to patronize local films.
Here are the must watch film entries in this year’s edition of the PPP:
‘Tropa’movie ‘G!’
Starring Mccoy De Leon, Jameson Blake, Paulo Angeles, Mark Oblea, and Kira Ballinger, G! is PPP's ultimate “barkada” movie, which most millennials can relate with.
The movie, which follows the story of a cancer-stricken guy determined to tick off all the items on his bucket list, highlights a series of good times, bad times, cherished bonding moments which make the central characters realize the value of love, friendship, family and life.
G! revolves around the friendship of Dom, Bry and Wacks, close buddies who embark on a roadtrip to fulfill the bucket list of Sam. On board Sam’s pickup, the group headed North to tick off Sam’s list which Sam believed will provide him a regret-free goodbye to life: get drunk ‘til you drop; skinny-dipping; get a tattoo; lose his V- Status (virgin); and experience “real” happiness.
A frivolous and mundane list seemingly typical for any teener but Sam’s list simply wanted to have fun while life permits. And fun reached its peak after the group met Sandy, a sexy, daring woman who’s more than willing to participate in Sam’s goal to lose his virginity. Unfortunately, Sam and Sandy were too drunk that night to have sex. The next morning, they found Sandy dead… and from the looks of it, she was killed. But by whom, how and why? Thus began the wacky adventure of the group as they deal with this unfortunate incident.
“The movie is the bucket list of every millennial. We interviewed people, young people to craft the story,” said Dondon Santos who directed the film produced by Cineko Productions.“We’re giving sex a different treatment based on how young people talk about it these days, or how they deal with it for the first time,” Santos ended.
’The Panti Sisters’
For the very first time, director Jun Robles Lana brings together three of the most beautiful faces to the big screen to tell one incredible story about family and sisterhood.
Martin Del Rosario (Born Beautiful), Christian Bables (Signal Rock), and Paolo Ballesteros (Die Beautiful) reunite with Lana to bring this brand new family comedy to audiences all over the country as part of the PPP3.
In the film, audiences will get to know Daniel (Del Rosario), Samuel (Bables), and Gabriel (Ballesteros), the three gay brothers brought together by their dying father (John Arcilla) only to find themselves in a difficult situation when their father asks each of them for a grandchild in exchange for an extravagant inheritance. Living their lives separate from each other, the three are asked to move back to the mansion as they go against the odds to bear a child with the same Panti DNA.
The three must set aside their differences in order to really know what it means to become a true Panti. They might even realize the true meaning of family along the way. The Panti Sisters is a funny story about acceptance, respect and loving your own skin no matter what color of PANTIes you wear.
The Panti Sisters aims to tell the story of the modern Filipino as we kick off the celebrations of the 100th year anniversary of Philippine Cinema. Black Sheep, The IdeaFirst Company, and Quantum Films all collaborate to bring the story of The Panti Sisters to cinemas nationwide.
The film also stars Carmi Martin, Rosanna Roces, Roxanne Barcelo, Via Antonio, Ali Forbes, and Joross Gamboa.
‘I’m Ellenya L.’
This entry with Maris Racal in the title role is making a lot of buzz of late. I’m Ellenya L., like what its stars say about the movie, “it’s very much now, it’s very relevant.”Just like any millennial, she exemplifies every stereotype of her generation. Her whole lifestyle revolves around social media, and her "weird" effort trying to be famous.
Ellenya lives with her loving and supportive father, Daddy Toots, who is a musician, and her conservative and traditional grandmother, Lola Madz. Ellenya’s best friend, Peng, lives next door. He’s a talented photographer, who is wary of the image she portrays online.
Ellenya’s actions online are patterned and curated to the lifestyle of her idol who is a famous digital personality (Sue Ramirez).
“Everyone will get to enjoy the movie. This is not just for the millennials. It’s also for the younger and older generations, the Gen X and Gen Z. At its core, I’m Ellenya L. is a story about family, love, and embracing your real self,” Maris Racal told Manila Standard in an interview.
“Her whole lifestyle revolves around social media and trying to be famous. She would do whatever it takes to be the next online sensation,” Maris said of her character.
Produced by Spring Films, N2 Productions and Cobalt Entertainment, I’m Ellenya L. also marks the directorial debut of comedian Boy 2 Quizon.
‘Cuddle Weather’
In this Regal Entertainment movie, Sue Ramirez and co-star RK Bagatsing portray characters that are in the prostitution industry.But despite the seriousness of the film’s subject, it falls under the romantic-comedy genre.
Sue is Adela, an experienced sex worker who aspires to become a high-end prostitute. RK is Ram, a waitlisted seaman who ventures into prostitution to earn money for his family.
“I play the role of Adela Johnson. It’s the most fearless role that I’ve taken on,” Sue said of her character.
It is ‘love at first sound’ when they meet. They’re having a boring sex with their respective clients in adjacent motel rooms, until they hear each other’s sexy moans which ultimately help them reach their orgasm. Ram later on finds out how skilled Adela is. He then convinces her to teach him the ways of a hustler sex worker in exchange of a fee.
They start a mentor-mentee relationship which slowly turns into an odd romance. They become ‘cuddle partners’ which means that at the end of every night of countless fucking, they can always count on each other’s hugs to comfort their overused and underloved bodies to sleep.
But as their connection deepens, both Adela and Ram start to doubt their capacity to start and maintain a serious relationship. Having seen too much loveless lovemaking, both have become too good a prostitute to believe that happiness can come without a price.