Marichu G. Tellano

Circumcision is an important part of the culture of most Filipinos. It is practiced for a variety of reasons or beliefs, be it religion or health. Circumcision is one of the most important events after the holy day, every year in Sitio Igbarawan. This is the opportunity that young people (and a few adults) look forward to but miss but it is also a big step so that they can be called fully young. Kadoy, 9, has no idea that he will be circumcised this year. Fear still prevailed over him but one incident embarrassed and lowered his self -esteem. This is what pushed him to face this great test of his manhood. Will he be able to withstand this test? Will he be able to regain his low self -esteem and that of the girl he loves?

Two lads, best friends since childhood reunite at the beach but as their bond gets stronger they are reminded of their fears to a mythical creature inherent in the place.

A fisherman living along the Bicol River searches for his missing wife. His faith in God is tested when he finally finds her.

When they have no one to pass their "mutya" forward so they can finally die, aging "aswangs" in Antique are believed to seek for the mystical lake in Negros where they can just turn into ashes and disappear forever. This is the story of a 78 year old aswang and the young man who helped her find the lake.

Hernan, a lowly informal dweller, gets engaged in a trivial property dispute with his neighbor. He is criminally charged with attempted murder after a heated altercation. He brings out a bolo from the kitchen to confront his neighbor. At that time his wife is slaving herself in Dubai as an OFW, and he is left to give unconditional care to her 2 children from her first marriage.

Lorna, a mother of two, just lost her husband, a fisherman one morning in a tragic sea accident. She was left with no choice but to raise her own family. In a town where women are regarded as inferior, she defies the odds by being the first woman “mangingisda” in order to feed her kids. Will she be able to rule out the ways of the sea? How long till’ the community accepts her defiance?"

After saving a drowning child 13 feet under the sea, a man has to adapt to living with his developing scales and gills.

After years of imprisonment in the Middle East for a crime he did not commit, Lino finally returns to his small town. He hopes to relive his lost dreams and bring back everything that was taken away from him. With his red suitcase filled with misery and uncertainty, he reunites with his past. Revisiting what he left behind, he discovers that life went on without him. As he tries to fill the emptiness, he realizes that he is now the void.

Mina, a pretty and intelligent 18-year-old student in a town, falls victim to a viral sex video the circulated in her school. This forced her mother Rita, an overseas Filipino worker in the Middle East, to go on an emergency leave to take care of her only daughter who was severely affected by the incident. In the following days, strange things start to happen to Mina at home and at school. Her nose bleeds endlessly, a python appears in their home, and she sees the spirits of her ancestors come to their house. A healer, an old woman from the next barrio, is called to treat Mina’s strange afflictions. The old woman surmises that Mina’s ancestors had come to tell her of an important message but Mina is stubborn and continues to ignore the signs communicated.

ITAN's parents, 12, Sambal Ayta, have fully decided that he will not continue his education. He said that he has reached Grade 6 enough where he can read and write, he said he will only help the family to get the heart of the banana and eat in the mountains. The study is not supposed to be for curls like him, but only for those who are stretched. Itan's dream seemed to crumble and despair until he found a broken computer keyboard.

Gubat, a tikbalang, transforms into a teenage boy and searches for the truth. In the mountain, he meets Darren, an American botanist who is looking for rafflesias. His interactions with the American unravel his inner desires that he has never faced before.