Jaime Pacena II
Director
Dan Villegas, Angel Tomas
Producers
Philippines
Country
Logline

In 1996 Manila, two star-crossed lovers torn between faith, family, and a collapsing system finds love and solace in a place that listens, shelters, and ultimately traps them.

Short Synopsis

1996, Metro Manila, a city overwhelmed by inequity and routine. Ozzy, a Mass Communication student raised in a devout Catholic home, finds purpose in ritual and silence. Onie, a student activist is a son of a disillusioned politician. Alongside their friends they navigate the delicate balance between hope and disillusionment as they plan for their life after graduation.

Through small tender moments, fire appears symbolically throughout the film, a cigarette, the sun beating down and the sunset in a parking lot. All these build a sense of quiet tension. Their love grows in a small bar called The Scouts, a place of refuge, confessional, and eventual tomb.

On graduation night in the hot sweaty environment of the small bar, they held a celebration packed beyond capacity. Ozzy carries a secret, she is pregnant. Meanwhile Onie prepares to propose. A fire breaks out and in the chaos, the crowd pushes on a door that should be pulled, sealing their fate.

Jaime Pacena II
Jaime Pacena II

Jaime Pacena II is a curator, visual artist, filmmaker and teacher based in Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. He is a full-time instructor at Asia Pacific College under the Multimedia Arts Department and works as the in-house Curator of CANVAS.PH and Marahuyo Art Projects. He was a grantee of Jenysys Programme for Creators by the Japan Foundation in 2010, Arts Network Asia Singapore in 2012, The Asia Center Cultural Exchange Program by the Japan Foundation in 2018, 2020 and 2021. He attended the Rikuzentakata Artist-in- Residence in Iwate Japan in 2013, 2016 and 2019. His debut feature film, Kono Basho (This Place) won the Best Direction, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography and Best Actress at Cinemalaya Film Festival 2024 and Prix Du Jury Lyceen at the 31st Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France. It was also part of the official selection at the 20th Osaka Asian Film Festival - Spotlight Section and 47th Moscow International Film Festival - Questions of Cost Section.

Angel Tomas
Angel Tomas

Angel Tomas, based in Quezon City, is an upcoming film and TV producer with experience in both mainstream and independent projects. She has worked as production manager on major series like Replacing Chef Chico (Netflix, 2023), Simula sa Gitna (Prime Video, 2023), Suntok sa Buwan (TV5, 2022), and The Kangks Show (WeTV, 2021). Her associate producer debut Rookie (2023) won the Audience Award at Cinemalaya. In 2024, she was associate producer on Kono Basho, which won the Prix du Jury Lucerne in Vesoul, and Sunshine, which won the Crystal Bear in Berlin. Other credits include Uninvited (2024) and Takeshi’s Castle Philippines (2023)

Dan Villegas
Dan Villegas

Dan Villegas is an acclaimed Filipino director, cinematographer, and producer. A three-time winner of Best Cinematography, he directed Netflix’s Replacing Chef Chico, Amazon’s Cattleya Killer, and is co-founder of Project 8 Projects, producing globally recognized Filipino cinema, including Sunshine.