Up Cineastes' Studio

Short and innocent glimpses of human relationships through the lens of a photobooth aching for connection.

A gaggle of friends and observers ponder the fate of a relationship as they watch it collapse in this independent drama from the Philippines. Cris is a documentary filmmaker with a well-regarded body of work and a large community of friends and admirers. Cris is also gay, and possesses a voracious sexual appetite, claiming to have had sex with over 4,000 men during his years of frequent cruising. But Cris has fallen for Eric, and has sworn off meaningless sex for the pleasures of monogamy. However, while Cris wants Eric and Eric alone, Eric himself isn't so sure he feels exactly the same way and is both puzzled and annoyed with Cris' rather ironic jealousy. The tensions between the two take a heavy toll on Cris, leading to a suicide attempt, and as his friends watch from a distance, any number of them speculate on what's going on between Cris and Eric.

In the Bagong Lipunan Negros Island, Philippines of 1985, a family of dumaan farmers and their community faces a brutal threat of the Amomonggo. While the community struggles for their rights and safety, the Magbuelas family is haunted by the tragic loss of their first-born Isio in Escalante and the trouble of preserving the childhood life of their remaining child Ani.

Two strangers walking in a circular road find themselves in another place where they have to drift in the middle of who they are and who they want to be.

A war-torn grandmother, Lola Mame conceals her past from her tenacious and curious grandson Sen. He is persistent in uncovering his grandmother's past. He is motivated not only by academic recquirement but also his longing to puzzle a part of his identity. However, for Lola Mame, there is no secret kept forever. The past is a continuing present.

An ambitious dancer hallucinates her other self while practicing the piece.

After losing both parents, two brothers search the skies for solace and clarity. Could the answer be really out of this world?

Adrian, a sweet and young boy, helps prepare his Lolo's funeral which he mistakes as a birthday party.