Xeph Suarez

A beguiling series of psychedelic random footage encapsulates pieces of memories of children survivors during the Marawi siege. They revisit their stories of survival in the onset of the war. These little dreamers still hope that one day, they will return in their normal and playful lives and revive the place they once called home.

Mara is scared of water. She has a rare condition that keeps her from touching any forms of liquid. As a single mother, her only pearl is her frisky son Elim, who was later on diagnosed with a life threathening disease. The boy’s only request is to learn how to swim.

As the city of Zamboanga celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, a couple tries to survive to survive the drought that has been wrecking havoc on their flower farm and raise enough money for the wife's imminent childbirth. Meanwhile, a tragedy – which will be later be known as the 2013 Zamboanga Siege – is about to strike.

Astri is a 16-year old transwoman in a relationship with 17-year old Tambulah. Although it’s an unusual sight at the community where they live, nobody bothers them. Subsisting on the coins people throw at them when they perform their traditional dance at the sea. Everything is perfect except that Sama Bajao traditions and a pact made long ago require Astri to marry a woman she hardly knows.

Toto, 8, and Jr, 10, are victims of a recent armed conflict in their city. While playing among the war ruins, they discuss and re-enact their individual war experiences. This story is set in Zamboanga City after the standoff in 2013 between the forces of the Republic of the Philippines and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Habier Malik.

Astri, a Muslim trans woman, and her boyfriend Tambulah are blissfully living together in the their conservative Sama Badjao community. Their happiness is short-lived when Astri turns 16, her father reminds her that as a “man”, she must honor their tradition by marrying Sitti, the girl promised to Astri when they were born. Astri does not want to dishonor her father and defy their community’s custom. The three do not want this wedding to push through. And so they devise ways to prevent the wedding from happening, all to no avail. In the end, the three have to confront desperate choices they wished they didn’t have to make.

A beguiling series of psychedelic random footage encapsulates pieces of memories of children survivors during the Marawi siege. They revisit their stories of survival in the onset of the war. These little dreamers still hope that one day, they will return in their normal and playful lives and revive the place they once called home.

Mara is scared of water. She has a rare condition that keeps her from touching any forms of liquid. As a single mother, her only pearl is her frisky son Elim, who was later on diagnosed with a life threathening disease. The boy’s only request is to learn how to swim.

As the city of Zamboanga celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, a couple tries to survive to survive the drought that has been wrecking havoc on their flower farm and raise enough money for the wife's imminent childbirth. Meanwhile, a tragedy – which will be later be known as the 2013 Zamboanga Siege – is about to strike.

Astri is a 16-year old transwoman in a relationship with 17-year old Tambulah. Although it’s an unusual sight at the community where they live, nobody bothers them. Subsisting on the coins people throw at them when they perform their traditional dance at the sea. Everything is perfect except that Sama Bajao traditions and a pact made long ago require Astri to marry a woman she hardly knows.

Astri is a 16-year old transwoman in a relationship with 17-year old Tambulah. Although it’s an unusual sight at the community where they live, nobody bothers them. Subsisting on the coins people throw at them when they perform their traditional dance at the sea. Everything is perfect except that Sama Bajao traditions and a pact made long ago require Astri to marry a woman she hardly knows.

Toto, 8, and Jr, 10, are victims of a recent armed conflict in their city. While playing among the war ruins, they discuss and re-enact their individual war experiences. This story is set in Zamboanga City after the standoff in 2013 between the forces of the Republic of the Philippines and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Habier Malik.

Toto, 8, and Jr, 10, are victims of a recent armed conflict in their city. While playing among the war ruins, they discuss and re-enact their individual war experiences. This story is set in Zamboanga City after the standoff in 2013 between the forces of the Republic of the Philippines and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Habier Malik.

Toto, 8, and Jr, 10, are victims of a recent armed conflict in their city. While playing among the war ruins, they discuss and re-enact their individual war experiences. This story is set in Zamboanga City after the standoff in 2013 between the forces of the Republic of the Philippines and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Habier Malik.

Astri, a Muslim trans woman, and her boyfriend Tambulah are blissfully living together in the their conservative Sama Badjao community. Their happiness is short-lived when Astri turns 16, her father reminds her that as a “man”, she must honor their tradition by marrying Sitti, the girl promised to Astri when they were born. Astri does not want to dishonor her father and defy their community’s custom. The three do not want this wedding to push through. And so they devise ways to prevent the wedding from happening, all to no avail. In the end, the three have to confront desperate choices they wished they didn’t have to make.

A pregnant woman, suspicious of her husband’s romantic relationship with his carabao, schemes to banish her beastly rival and reclaim her title as the fairest creature of the land.