The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has selected a lineup of seven (7) feature projects for the First Cut Lab Feature happening from April 11 to 17, 2019.
The First Cut Lab, an international project development and editing lab, is designed to help filmmakers improve their film projects in development and in the post-production stage.
Accepted feature projects for this year’s First Cut Lab under projects in the development stage include Dancing the Tide by Xeph Suarez, Everybody Leaves by Phyllis Grande, Fan Girl by Antoinette Jadaone, Purple Sun by Carlo Catu, Karaoke News by John Paul Su, Thanatos by E. Del Mundo, Babae at Baril (The Girl and the Gun) by Rae Red, and The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk by Jordan dela Cruz. On the other hand, selected feature projects in post-production are Hayop Ka! (You Son of a Bitch!) by Avid Liongoren and John Denver Trending by Arden Rod Condez.
Feature Projects in Development Stage
Dancing the Tide
Director: Xeph Suarez
Producers: Roderick Cabrido and Omar Sortijas
Logline: ASTRI, a 16-year old Sama Badjao transwoman, is forced to leave her long-time boyfriend, TAMBULAH, to marry a woman betrothed to her even before she was born.
Everybody Leaves
Director: Phyllis Grande
Producer: Alemberg Ang
Logline: Set in present Japan, a Japanese-Filipina exchange student spends her last months searching for her father while cleaning the houses of people who died lonely deaths.
Fan Girl
Director: Antoinette Jadaone
Producers: Dan Villegas and Bianca Balbuena
Production Companies: Epicmedia and Project 8 cor. San Joaquin Projects
Logline: An obsessed teenage fan finds herself inside a mansion with her celebrity idol she thought she knew and learns exactly why they say never meet your heroes.
Purple Sun
Director: Carlo Catu
Producer: April Batican and Bianca Balbuena
Logline: Purple Sun is a love story between two Filipino men and a Japanese woman set in the majestic landscape and unique culture of Japan. It is a film about the cross-cultural understanding between Filipinos and Japanese in regards to love, sex, and their way of living.
Karaoke News
Director: John Paul Su
Producer: Manet Dayrit
Logline: When a staged karaoke lounge hostage operation goes awry, an investigative journalist must use creative means to unravel and expose the truth.
Thanatos
Director: E. Del Mundo
Producer: Pamela Reyes
Logline: A troubled teen, Samboy, recruits his best friend to be part of a militia that will massacre 58 people.
Babae at Baril (The Girl and the Gun)
Director: Rae Red
Producer: lana Bernardez
Logline: A local department store saleslady has had enough of being an underdog when she finds a gun right on her doorstep one night. Her life drastically changes as she discovers how much power owning a gun can give you.
The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk
Director: Jordan dela Cruz
Producers: Alemberg Ang, Arleeen Cuevas, John Badalu, and Siege Ledesma
Production Companies: VY/AC Productions and Cinematografica
Logline: When the life of his pregnant girlfriend is threatened by a mysterious illness, Joseph, a reluctant teenage father-to-be, embarks on a quest to save his beloved. His surreal odyssey begins in the Philippines, transitions to the soul-devouring labor camps of Arabia, and ends at the peak of mythical Mount Gulsuk.
Feature Projects in Post-Production
Hayop Ka! (You Son of a Bitch!)
Director: Avid Liongoren
Producers: Joyce Bernal, Piolo Pascual, Erickson Raymundo, and E. Del Mundo
Production Company: Rocketsheep Studio
Logline: Nimfa the pretty pussycat is a perfume sales kitty at a department store. Her boyfriend, Roger the macho mongrel, is a janitor. Nimfa meets Inigo the bourgeoisie business dog and chemistry ignites! Will Nimfa and Roger’s love keep them together, or will Inigo’s high society charms tear them apart?
John Denver Trending
Director: Arden Rod Condez
Producers: Sheron Dayoc and Sonny Calvento
Production Companies: What If Films Philippines and Southern Lantern Pictures (With Support from Outpost Visual Frontier and Tinker Bulb Productions)
Logline: A 14-year-old farmboy’s life is upended when a video of him brutally attacking a classmate went viral.
On the other hand, two (2) documentary projects will be selected for the First Cut Lab Docs and will be announced in the next coming days. Grantees of SineSaysay Documentary Lab and Showcase will also participate in the Doc Lab.
