Ronald Arguelles

Born with both male and female genitals, but raised like a boy by his conservative family, Adam goes through all the things prepubescent boys go through, including a fascination with strange animals he takes for pets and being smitten by a lovely girl. His bucolic world turns upside down when he gets his first menstrual period setting him off on a journey that tests the spiritual and physical limits of sexual identity and into a new world of ambiguity and desire.

Tia Madre is a horror story told through the eyes of a child: a clingy, hyper-imaginative and slightly twisted 10-year old girl named Camille whose mother Emilia inexplicably changes into something else, something more sinister, something more violent, something more distant, something that isn’t her mother anymore and quite possibly isn’t human.

A 50-year-old widow who hasn’t quite moved on from her husband’s death convinces herself that a pop star is the reincarnation of her dead husband. But is it really all in her head? And just how far will she go to prove it isn’t?

A young woman who leads a lonely, mundane existence in the real world but who has the perfect life in her lucid dreams which she can somehow control, meets a mysterious stranger who challenges her to turn her dream life into something a bit more adventurous. Then her dreams become more real than her reality and the line between the two starts to blur.

A 30-year old man who returns home to Manila 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.

After his mother dies suddenly, Samuel goes into a mysterious cave that claims to grant wishes and asks for his mother’s life back.

Eight year-old Yael, shy to a fault, lives in her own private world. One day she finds out about a pen that can "translate" the thoughts and feelings of nervous people.

Crisanto and Dolores’ marriage is going through a rough patch. Going through a marital crisis, a couple’s marriage is tested when Crisanto is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease as Dolores sinks deeper into depression. Paglisan tells the story of how a married couple attempt to survive together through fading memories and fleeting identities.

Three months after a painful breakup, a woman's despair magically conjures up a powerful typhoon.

A troubled young woman enters a rehab facility that houses a deadly secret.

Being the legitimate son, Janus was given the stressful responsibility to take care of his father’s funeral. With the presence of a senator, constant phone calls from his mother (who was in the United States), and the conflict between his scandalous sister and his father’s mistress; the funeral became dramatic, chaotic, and hilarious.

A transgender sex worker in her late 40s along Fields Avenue whose only aspiration is to have breast implants for her profession unexpectedly assumes the role of a mother to her orphaned niece, a transgender youth who is only beginning to discover her own sexuality. As she works more shifts to save for her implants, troubles arise when she begins to feel the weight of her struggles – being an aging sex worker in fast-evolving society, a partner to her young fiancé, and a parent to a teenager she just met. Her difficult confrontations eventually lead her to a new attitude towards life, and a unique recipe to a famous Kapampangan dish, Sisig.

A year ago, Badger is one of the best gymnasts in the Philippines. He wants to be the very best, until his reckless best friend sabotaged his athletic career. Now, Badger is miserably working as a distributor, selling alcoholic beverages to the managers of bars and supermarkets. To his delight, Badger receives a new opportunity to pursue his quest to be the best Filipino gymnast. He immediately resigns from his job. His reckless best friend, who fulfills his desires through this job, gets pissed and vows to stop Badger’s dreams once again.

An aging spy, his delusional wife, and promiscuous son are driven into madness as they confront the terrors caused by the monster known as The Shadow.

The love story, shown through the perspective of different genders, paints how a real relationship works. It eschews the narrative for emotions and established that love knows no gender when it pains or soothes, when it hurts and heals.

In the wake of her husband's death, Chedeng, 66, decides to come out of the closet. Her best friend Apple, 63, beheads her live-in partner in a fit of rage. Bound by friendship, the two elderly women, together with the severed head placed inside a Louis Vuitton bag, set off an adventure to find Chedeng's ex-girlfriend.

Primo, gifted with a good eye for production design, ventures into the working world with a great desire to succeed. Unprepared for the harsh realities of the real world, Primo experienced failure, heartbreak and regret in a series of unfortunate events. Life didn’t turn out as he had expected: He wasted away, wallowing in grief, and jumped from one odd job to another for more than a decade. While trying to make ends meet at the peak of his misfortunes, he experiences a technological glitch with his old desktop computer and gets a chance to re-write his life.

An 80-year old woman decides that she will be an old maid. But when the woman tries to leave her husband for sixty years, their children forbid their parents to separate.

Martin is a rich, sheltered youth who gets transformed into an aswang by his yaya, Nay Luisa. She teaches him how to hunt the poor and the weak for food, in Manila, a city that consistently dehumanizes and neglects the marginalized.

During the World War 2, Japanese soldiers raid houses in the Philippines. Thousands of men were shot and killed while women were brought to the Bahay na Pula and raped. The Bahay na Pula is being demolished. From the 1000+ comfort women, only a few remain alive, or fighting to be alive.

While Mt. Banahaw is the place where fertile streams of spirituality, mysticism, the occult, and the environment combine to provide a potent ground for the transmission and exchange of secret and sacred knowledge, it can be said to be a bazaar peddling bizarre mysteries.

Felix is a friendless achiever in high school whose life changes after the arrival of the half-American Snyder brothers, entangling him in their dark ambitions.

Once upon a time, you were born. In the Philippines, there was no science education when you were a child. When they began to offer it in your adulthood, you leapt at the chance and studied harder than everyone else. You learned of kingdoms and species and genes and atoms. Science helped you to see the bigger world beyond. You studied so well, an American university paid you to keep studying with them, so you left. You gained mastery over the evolution of birds there, but you missed home the whole time. You lost your first wife and son to Science. So with degree in hand, you went back to your people. You found that they had burned their forests, and had exploded their seas. So you gave a new bird to your people; because, now you knew how to use it to save them. This was the piding. And the rest is the story of Oliver Carlos.

Alex is a 23 year old gay girl based in Manila. She is out to most people except her best friend Jess who she has been secretly in love with since they were kids. When Jess discovers the truth about Alex, they are forced to confront the feelings they have for each other.

Stories abound in Cebu about a woman rumored to be a murderous monster, but behind the myth is a mother seeking justice.

In the world of semi-pro basketball, a beautiful bookie recruits a naïve but promising player to the underworld of game-fixing.

Drug-dealing and sex-starved goons mistakenly disturbs the peaceful lives of a frail witch and her grandchild in a remote town in the mountains.

After spending the last 30 years in prison, Horacia is immediately released when someone else confessed to the crime. Still overwhelmed by her new freedom, she comes to the painful realization that her aristocratic former lover had set her up. As kidnappings targeting the wealthy begin to proliferate, Horacia sees the opportunity to plot her revenge.

A news team investigating rumors of aswang killings in a remote barrio are attacked by a group of soldiers, forcing them to run for their lives in the deeps of the forest, where more mystery and danger lay in wait.

The story of Nick Joaquin, who only accepted the National Artist Award on the condition that the Marcos administration release a well-known writer who was being unjustly detained during Martial Law.

Amid legalized corruption, a son struggles to prove to his father that he is fit to survive in a dog-eat-dog society.

About the notorious batang hamog loitering in main thoroughfares such as EDSA.

A young drag queen, Dodong, who joins a barangay gay pageant to gain acceptance in his father’s community. He is instead met with hostility from his father, who chases him into a jungle, where he sobs to a lone bright star. What follows is the strangest night in his entire life, and an even stranger nine months when he realises he is pregnant. Dodong deals with ridicule from a barangay who does not believe him.

An intertwined love stories within a dysfunctional extended family for three generations. It tells how each generation understands and perceives the idea of love.

Manang Biring is a feisty but terminally-ill old lady who has learned to accept her imminent demise. Until one day, she receives a letter from her long-estranged daughter abroad announcing of her return for the holidays.

The biggest names in the country’s film industry speak up about the evolution of Philippine films and how it has transformed today’s industry.

Alice is a thirty year old Filipino trans woman who flew to Korea to chase after her boyfriend who she discovers is now living with his new girlfriend. Joon is a twenty five year old Korean musician who is being pressured by his traditional parents to find a more stable job and girlfriend. At a bridge in the middle of Seoul, the two brokenhearted souls fatedly cross paths.

A group of friends, prompted by the frequent sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects or U.F.O.'s in Zambales in the mid-nineties, decide to take a trip to the province to retrace the legend of the sightings. They then befriend a local, who they presume is their age group, not knowing exactly who or what he is. Little do they know that the local will become the spark that would threaten to ruin the friendship that has already been strained with many things that have been left unsaid.

Red, a shy orphan who spent most of his childhood in a girly bar, grew up to be the town's best fixer. When a rich kid was gunned down in a drug bust that went wrong, Red was hired by Art, a spoiled socialite, to fix the mess.

While driving along the Quezon Province's famed Old Maharlika Highway, which has been referred to as "Bitukang Manok" because of its sharp curves, three groups of strangers find themselves isolated and trapped by mysterious forces. Here, surrounded by a menacing forest, they must confront their psychological demons as they spiral down deeper into their neurosis.

Many have been aspiring for the position of Major Mac Favila, who is every cadet's ideal officer considering he is sharp, snappy, witty, and most of all, the most masculine among the school's many officers. Private Abel Sarmiento, who was abused when he was a child and Cain Fujika, a Filipino-Japanese whose mother worked abroad as a japayuki are the top contenders for his position.

Manila is besieged by the worst typhoon to hit the country. Talk of the world coming to an end hangs in the air. And five men find themselves stranded inside a police station with a prisoner who may o may not be the devil. It's going to be a long night.

A woman struggling to meet airline baggage requirements meets a man who comes to her aid. They form a friendship that helps them mend each other's hearts.

Desperately finding ways to support their sickly child, Noel and Liza welcome a new addition to their family, Ben, a rich foreigner who is hoping to build a family of his own. Together they play the game of deceit and make believe, but the truth is far from being hidden as the soap operas they consume daily that vividly mirror what they have been hiding all along.

Lorna is sixty year old woman who is constantly searching for the right man, having failed at so many relationships. Having lived close to a lifetime alone, she decides to take another stab at moving on and more importantly, love.

ISLANDS explores a cinematic journey of two astronauts. As they enter Earth’s atmosphere the structure transforms. The spacecraft becomes the meteor from a myth of a tribesman; it triggers an old lady’s memory of a lover from her past. As these diverse characters converge in a plane of reality, we confront a particular form of gravity we covertly feel—falling in love.

It is 1989. After losing his home, Allan Borromeo moves back into his mother’s house in Eden Homes, an upper middle class subdivision, with his wife Donna and teenage son Jasper. Here, their lives will change—Allan gets involved in a marijuana grow-op, Donna has an affair with their gardener, and Jasper experiences his first love and heartbreak. But unknown to the homeowners, a half-man, half-snake creature lurks and peers into their lives via home videos secretly recorded by Its creator, Waldo, a mad scientist.

Three friends are in their quarter life crisis. Seeking adventure and thrills, they spend most of their weekend nights on brothels and night clubs. One night, an unexpected incident will change their lives permanently.

One day, in the small peaceful town of Barrio Malinawon, seven young punks, who call themselves the Iskalawags because of their shared love for Filipino action movies (particularly those starred by their idol Jeric Raval), decide to set out on a mini quest to find the tree that according to Palot-the gang's de facto leader-bears the lone papaya fruit as large as the belly of Intoy's father.

A father who works abroad as an OFW ends up secretly playing a superhero role in a Japanese TV show.

Philip and Bastian are lovers. Philip has taken the responsibility to help his older brother’s family in the slums. However, when Bastian pursues painting and can no longer provide for Philip, Philip resorts to hustling in order to help his brother’s family. When Bastian catches Philip being picked up by a gay man in a car, he decides to keep everything inside. Can Philip and Bastian’s love prevail despite the odds?

Estela, an idealistic, call center slacker is mentored by Trevor, a pragmatic, senior agent. Their interaction develops into an unconventional relationship that would challenge their most personal convictions.

Four interconnected stories during the height of the Martial Law crackdown against rebels. The palpable aura of fear leaves Filipinos in a state of paralysis, unable or unwilling to move until the dark cloud of history passes over.

Alfad, a Lumad whose soul returns to his homeland to settle unfinished businesses and to finally rest. It is based on the Lumad’s belief that when a person dies his soul goes back to his homeland.

Andres is a well-liked, respected, and middle-aged fisherman who rents out commercial spaces to people in the town market. Ge seems to have everything a man could ever need: a loving family, a home, sustenance, and good friends he can trust. One day, he discovers several bricks of shabu floating in the sea. With his discovery, everything begins to change.

A documentary produced by Cinema One that sees through fully restored film in the eyes of young filmmakers.

A local albino is searching for his identity. Believing that he is the son of an American, he tries to learn English through reading translations and definitions from a Tagalog-English dictionary.

An erotic, psychological drama-thriller set on the gritty streets of Raon, Quiapo, Manila - a third world commercial avenue where everything from dildos, car parts and home accessories is available for a price. It is against this backdrop that the shrewd Ramiro, owner of an electronics shop, through a process of bartering and bargaining, convinceshis ill-tempered and non-too-bright employee Nestor to give him videos of his naked wife in exchange for the erasure of his debts.

After a series of unpleasant events in her life, Pascalina receives news that her Aunt Taba is dying but cannot do so unless she passes on a curse. Pascalina visits her dying aunt thinking that the news is only a big joke. But Pascalina begins to experience changes in her life that will push her to the edge of madness and monstrosity.

In a quaint provincial town, an elderly man awaits his inevitable fate.

On the eve of the 2010 Miss Universe pageant, an unwelcomed guest enters into the drama of three gay friends.

A woman runs her criminal syndicate all the while taking care of her family.

A man gets involved with two mystic sisters who happened to save him from dying ashore.

A professional horror movie extra prepares for her first ever acting award nomination.

BIG BOY is a coming-of-age tale about a boy and his family in 1950s Mindoro, Philippines, and how he is groomed into becoming the poster boy for his parent's home-based business. The film is an experimental portrait of a family amidst change -- an experience that will engage audiences in something strange but familiar.

Life in a remote village in the Visayas turns upside down when villagers are stricken by an unknown disease. As the village chief and doctor try to control the situation, they discover that the dead are rising from their graves.

A group of government workers: their happy-go-lucky circumstance, failed responsibilities, and reckless work ethic. It delves into the world of a government agency where non-stop discussion of intrigues and personal frailties is the order of the day.

Welcome to the hometown of Yoyong, Poklat, Boying and Uding. Here, there are no big shopping malls, no tall buildings. There are only huge mountains and vast fields as far as the eye can see, and clouds that seem to be always embracing the mountains. Life is simple for the four boys. They are content and very happy if they could eat three meals a day and are able to play. All of them, except for Uding who is an orphan, have left their homes in the mountains because they couldn’t bear the harsh treatment of their parents.

A mail-order bride on her way to her dreams.

Story of an aswang who finds a boarder just to eat his innards afterwards

A subtle and brilliant sexual awakening of a boy, who is torn between following his wishes or away from them, even though the world that opens before it is too powerful to be ignored in this way.

An examination of poverty and violence and the influence it has on two boys who live in a slum.

A documentary filmmaker from Manila sets out to cover the Sinulog Festival in Cebu, but gets in over his head when he meets a retired, corrupt politician who is ready to tell all.

Metrosexual jologs (or country bumpkins) Joven, Rodel and Cris move to Manila to make it in the big city in this comedy that pokes fun at modern Filipino society. At odds with almost everyone they meet, the outsiders struggle to fit in no matter how hard they try. Luckily their gay hairdresser Vitarich is there to dole out pearls of wisdom.

Rekados is a magic-realist tragicomedy of three generations of cooks in the slums that own a karinderia. Josefina, the matriarch whose traditional skill in cooking keeps the family alive; Laura, the daughter who prefers cooking to please her customers and the man she desires; and caught in between the two is Pinay, the granddaughter who mimics Kris Aquino to get a basketball player of her own. In their small world of the kitchen that empowers and imprisons them, they cook dishes that symbolize their affection: adobo; kare-kare; dinuguan; and pansit. Each of them brings different flavors as they mix with each other and the men of their desires.

Rome and Juliet follows the romantic journey and soul mating of two straight women caught in a web of forbidden love. Juliet (a conservative pre-school teacher) is a bride to be who befriends and hires Rome (a liberated businesswoman) as her wedding planner. As they go through the preparations, Rome and Juliet develop a deep friendship, a soulful connection and a love that is physically consummated. But conflicts arise when Marc, the groom, who is a young politician, shockingly discovers the ongoing relationship between the two women. Angered and humiliated, Marc calls off the wedding and a huge scandal explodes, leaving Rome and Juliet in a state of emotional turmoil.

Gigi from Arakan Valley is a woman rebel who teaches young comrades the facets of their struggle as they remain to be in waiting after they were ambushed. In a nearby village, Junjun and his fellow soldiers take a rest. He attempts to chance upon a girl he longs for, but instead encounters a balyan/tagbawian (shaman) in a very disturbing situation. Somewhere, two kids, Abyan and Busaw, trek the forest back to their mother. Huling Balyan ng Buhi : O Ang Sinalirap nga Asoy Nila weaves the tales of rebels in waiting, playful soldiers at rest and a troubled balyan (village healer) in a very ambiguous predicament. A quandary that will usher them all to one encounter that can bring to light the questions of transcendence.