Joe Gruta

Lola Edna bears the challenges of her debilitating dementia, while killing time in a facility for the elderlies. She collects photos from occasional visitors, mostly strangers, in the hope of remembering her long-lost daughter and granddaughter. She's ill-tempered, a bully to the other old people and to her caregivers. Until she meets Angel, a new caregiver who tempers her behavior. Love-hate relationship ensues between them, until Lola Edna snaps to hurt herself. Contemplative transformation follows and she eventually finds a friend in Angel who not only pampers her with utmost care and attention, but also reunites her with the other grannies and caregivers. On her 65th birthday, Angel surprises her with a revelation that changes their relation from being best buddies, to becoming inseparable soulmates and kindred-spirits.

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As the EDSA Revolution unfolds, a mother, son, and daughter who live in a slum near Malacañang Palace grapple with the murder of their patriarch in the hands of corrupt policemen, turning from passive victims of social injustice into active participants in the final hours of the uprising.

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A historical drama. A story of struggle, hard work, and hope – even when the very reason for hope is all of a sudden gone. A group of farmers in Bicol are at the mercy of Don Jose, a strict and abusive landlord. 20-year-old Lucio, son of Carding, a former member of the Hukbalahap, their follow corn-growers and respective families, anticipate the arrival of President Ramon Magsaysay in their area, for genuine land reform to take place.

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Maya was walking home in her province when the service stops beside her and offers her to hitch. She innocently takes the ride to reach home faster. To Maya’s horror, the service did not stop at her place. She soon realizes she has been taken, along with the other kids who are inside the crammed school service. Soon, Maya finds herself hours and hours away from home, in an unfamiliar land -Manila. By dusk, the children are dropped off along the national highway to work by begging for alms. Forced to struggle with the harsh conditions of street life, Maya continues to hope for her dreams and chase for her freedom that may never happen.

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Only the famous family that doesn't weep can help reunite a desperate woman with her own.

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Typhoon survivors fall victim to syndicate that forces the to beg on the streets.

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A mentally-challenged guy was put into trial after allegedly raping his teacher. And as Amanda, Julian, and Ronald try to mount a convincing defense, they discover soon that they're all connected in more ways than just the case.

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The movie Edna is a unique take about real and imagined fears of overseas Filipino workers. Staged in three parts- the film attempts to walk the audience from a thrilling arrival to an astonishing departure.

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Amidst the vast sugar plantations of Negros in Southern Philippines, a matriarch lies in the throes of death. Her children rush home to confront the crisis as news of the impending death of their well-loved mother spreads among the community. There, in their ancestral house, the siblings are forced to deal with the issues of inheritance, tradition and the family legacy. It is a familiar tale. After all, every family has its story. And to each one, its own deserved secrets.

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Melba is the wife of a slain farmer-leader whose murder is attributed to an incumbent governor. She goes to the city to appeal the case and to seek out a new life after the tragedy. Working as a staff member at the office of City Councilor, she is introduced to the life inside politics. Eventually she will be deeply involved, as her decision to marry the budding politician lays a carefully planned agenda.

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On a storm-ravaged island that has seen its share of tragedy, a person who had been assumed dead reappears and ignites a frenzy of reactions, ranging from ecstatic religious fervor to fear.

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In the 1970s, a widow in a remote village takes over her husband’s barber shop. She becomes the laughing stock of the male-dominated community and in the process discovers freedom and liberation.

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The film splits itself between two timelines. In 2006, Ada is basing her thesis on a massacre that occurred twenty years prior in a village called Acacia. Her mother Cecilia was part of a fact-finding mission into a massacre, and Ada’s inquiries bring up her history as a member of the NPA. The other timeline traces the relationship of Ka Felix and Ka Jimmy, two rebels who fall in love, despite the movement’s laws against such a pairing.

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A 2012 documentary about the making and the legacy of the 1982 drama masterpiece directed by Ishmael Bernal that ended up being one of the greatest Asian films of all time. The revelations about the theory of "Who killed Elsa?" will be answered and also, the impact of the film to the Filipino culture and society.

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When Paulino Mungcal and his co-worker in a lahar-filled quarry unexpectedly dig up the remains of his 2-year daughter Marikit, they discover that she showed no signs of decay. Could this be a miracle, and could she -- despite death – cure the sick? Inspired by whatever healing power the deceased child may have, Pol asks the church to declare her a saint. But how, when her resurgence stirs up emotions buried by time, and shores up questions about pure love, guilt, sin and salvation?

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Years ago, Tina (Andi Eigenmann) was sent away to the United States to live with her aunt because of an incident involving her parents that has never been explained to her. She moves back to the Philippines into their old home, hoping for a new start. Unfortunately for her, shes not alone in the house. The kitchen is home to a demonic, human-eating refrigerator. Tina must dig into the past to discover the truth about what happened to her parents, and to find a way to defeat the infernal appliance.

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After suffering from a vehicular accident, Rosa and her sons transfer to the province. She hopes that the new place will heal the rift between her and her younger son, Rommel. Little does she know that their lives will be at risk when the vengeful ghost of the woman without face threatens them. As she struggles to find a way to end the hauntings, she discovers a truth that will change her life forever.

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Rafael is a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War. When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. But Rafael's brother is the head of the local guerillas, and considers anyone who cooperates with the Americans to be a traitor. Rafael quickly finds himself forced to make the impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by ordinary civilians in an occupied country.

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The heart-tugging story of children who scavenge for metal scraps in the murky waters of Manila Bay, often risking their lives in the process.

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Middle-aged Manila storeowner Amelita supplements her tiny income by collecting bets for the popular numbers game of jueteng. While looking out for police crackdowns, the masterfully persuasive Amelita cajoles all comers into placing wagers.

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Spanning from 1971 to 1987, in rural areas under the Marcos regime, a poor farming family struggle to overcome challenges brought on by corruption and greed for power.

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Crime does not pay, so the adage goes. But feisty and outspoken Rosa (Rosanna Roces)--however sharp-witted--does not know any better. Doggedly out for bigger money, she is quick to rebuff even her lover Dado's (Diether Ocampo) pitch for a new life. What will they risk to succeed? What will they give to taste the sweet pleasure of living peacefully and not running away from law and the syndicate anymore? Will their love for each other endure in the end?

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A neglected and unloved orphan raised by poor relatives in the slums of Manila is wrongfully convicted of murder that resulted from a heist he was compelled to join. Unable to prove his innocence and his minor age, he is thrown into the cruel, perilous and horrifying world of death row where he is introduced to other inmates all awaiting their execution by lethal injection. One of them is a 70-year-old man who detests the jungle of jail and is feared by all the convicts. He would serve as the boy’s protector and savior and in the process touch and shape enormously the violated youth’s life in prison and beyond.

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Three boys are confronted with what they perceive as a challenge to prove their masculinity in a story about sexual awakening. Paul is a show-off whose obnoxious ways mask deep insecurities. Cris is the klutz who tries to please everyone but ends up pleasing no one. And Caloy is the scholarly over-protected son more interested in surfing the net than meeting people. They are out to prove themselves real men but they almost always fall flat on their faces. During an out-of-town school seminar, the trio sees a good chance to finally visit a prostitution house with the three other villains in their lives trying also vainly to thwart their every move by picturing them as bad boys. So Paul, Cris and Caloy enter the red house but, instead of losing their innocence, they uncover the shocking reality that girls forced to work there are minors.

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A man appears to a female reporter and claims he is the famous kidnapper that has the world astir and promises to turn himself in if she listens to his story. Though she is suspicious of him, she starts to fall more and more into his story.

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In the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, a volcano dormant for more than 400 years, the residents of the whole town of San Simon in Pampanga was engulfed by dust and thick mudflow called lahar. The whole surviving residents of the devastated community are relocated to transitional evacuation center, a tent city, where different and unique personalities meet: Sheila, a migrant worker from Germany who is struggling to keep her family intact at all costs; Sonia who is looking for her missing husband while pretending as a handicapped so she can beg on the streets; Ditas, who returns in Pampanga after getting pregnant in Manila; and Elena, a mother who lost her whole family in the eruption, yet she keeps a positive outlook in life that as long as she remembers her relatives no amount of tragedy could keep her from reminiscing of their once peaceful lives.

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Andie and Ira sincerely think that they are deeply in love and ready to face the world. They attempt to tie the knot and build a life of their own. Their parents are shocked by their children's behavior until they realize their shortcomings led the kids to run away from their boarding school.

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Recognized as the longest and most award-winning drama anthology in the country, Charo Santos-Concio narrates real-life stories of people with well-crafted storylines, excellent performances by its actors, and topnotch production details.

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When plain orphan Elsa begins having visions of the Virgin Mary, the rest of the residents of her isolated village find themselves questioning their own beliefs and values. Soon, Elsa is healing people with a variety of ailments. As word of this phenomenon spreads, tourists, pilgrims, patients and a documentary filmmaker all arrive on a quest to partake in the miracle.

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Julio, a young fisherman from a provincial village, descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one.

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