Entertainment

Cinemalaya 2023 best film is a win for Filipino animators

‘Iti Mapukpukaw’ deserves to be shown nationwide

Published

August 23, 2023

Martynne De Leon

Note: This review contains minor spoilers from the film

It’s been a week since the Cinemalaya Film Festival 2023. However, the impact of this year’s film roster still lingers up to this day.

After watching almost all films from the line-up, I can say that the best film, Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing) is well-deserved of the award. With a powerful storyline, brilliant execution, and the creative animation — the film needs to be seen by more people.

A feat for Philippine animators

Cinemalaya is not new to animation entries, especially in the Short Film category. However, Iti Mapukpukaw is the first full-length entry to ever grace the premier independent film fest. That’s a huge win for Filipino animators.

Over 90 local animators worked on the film’s animation, which took around six months to complete. Iti Mapukpukaw features two art styles: rotoscope and traditional 2D hand drawing. Each one was used to narrate different but interconnected stories of the film.

As someone who uses Photoshop at work, it’s impressive how the filmmakers included graphic design elements in telling the story. It features Eric, a mouthless graphic designer in Makati whose past and present begin to unfold with the arrival of a “familiar alien.”

The film used several Photoshop references, which I think a lot of creatives will appreciate.

Powerful storyline

Iti Mapukpukaw is a visual feast for the audience. But the story is also well-written and rightfully weaved into the animation.

The first parts of the film give off a sci-fi vibe — with some fictional elements like alien, spaceship, planets and the like. As the film progressed, I was impressed with how everything is stitched together to tell a more complicated and powerful narrative.

It’s a story about losing parts of yourself after experiencing a traumatic phenomenon. It’s also about the hard, yet important process to eventually claiming those parts back.

Despite the difficult subject matter, Iti Mapukpukaw is told in a gentle, loving way without trying too hard.

A friend also commended how the film touched the LGBTQA+ topic very subtly, and without forcing it. In the first part of the film, Rosalinda (Eric’s mom, portrayed by Dolly de Leon) teased her son about Carlo (portrayed by Gio Gahol) as his potential suitor. As a member of the community, my friend says she appreciates this progressive portrayal of LGBTQA+ relationships in a Filipino film — that they are normal and accepted, no other explanations needed.

Brilliant actors

Iti Mapukpukaw cast is, hands-down, a brilliant ensemble.

Carlo Aquino, despite having no mouth (plus ears and eyes, eventually) in the film, portrayed Eric’s character so, so well. I was so intrigued of his back story even before it unfolded. He tells his story so well even without any lines (almost!) throughout the film.

Gio Gahol’s character, I believe, is the kind of person we all need, and we hope to become. He plays Carlo, Eric’s patient and lovable officemate who listens, stays, and tries to understand even through the toughest of times.

He is a huge contribution to the film’s charm, in my opinion. We all deserve a Carlo in our lives. Not to mention, Gio Gahol is a really great actor. I have seen him act in theatre plays as well, and he is very convincing every single time.

And of course, Golden Globe Nominee and Academy member Dolly de Leon’s role as Eric’s mom is such a delight. Her fun antics in the film proved she’s a natural. That’s why she won the Best Supporting Actress award for this film.

Golden Globe Nominee and Academy member Dolly de Leon with yours truly

During Dolly de Leon and Gio Gahol’s guesting in one episode of Ang Walang Podcast, one of the film’s producer Antoinette Jadaone mentioned that the actors were especially handpicked by Iti Mapukpukaw director Carl Joseph Papa to portray the three leading stars in the film.

According to them, it is rare to get your first choice because of multiple reasons like scheduling conflicts. Somehow, the universe aligned to cast them all together. It was meant to be.

Apart from the brilliant acting, it’s refreshing to watch an animated film with the actors using local languages: Ilocano and Tagalog.

A testament to Filipino values

Perhaps one of the overlooked elements of Iti Mapukpukaw that proves its charm is how Filipino it is — from the subtle gestures during the scenes to the big life problems in the story. It doesn’t try to follow any Western style. Instead, it is deeply grounded in Filipino roots and values which makes it more relatable to the Filipino audience.

As someone who has Ilocano roots myself, I believe more Ilocanos would be delighted to hear the language in the big screen.

Iti Mapukpukaw is overall an excellent film that deserves to be shown nationwide, and we hope it would be released in mainstream (especially regional) cinemas soon.

Entertainment

Street Fighter cast unveils film’s teaser video at TGA 2025

17 character posters also revealed

Published

December 13, 2025

GadgetMatch

The cast of Street Fighter surprised audiences at The Game Awards 2025 with the upcoming film’s first sneak peek.

In attendance were the film’s stars:

Noah Centineo (Ken)
Andrew Koji (Ryu)
Callina Liang (Chun-Li)
Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai (Akuma)
David Dastmalchian (M. Bison)
Cody Rhodes (Guile)
Andrew Schulz (Dan)
Vidyut Jammwal (Dhalsim)
Orville Peck (Vega)
Olivier Richters (Zangief)
Rayna Vallandingham (Juli)
Mel Jarson (Cammy)
Jason Momoa (Blanka/Producer)

The vertical teaser video, meant for social media consumption, briefly showcases each of the cast members. Aside from that, a total of 17 character posters have also been released.

View this post on Instagram

In cinemas in 2026, Street Fighter is set in 1993, where estranged fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior tournament.

Behind the brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face oof against each other — and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s game over.

The Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures film is directed by Kitao Sakurai. Executive producers are JJ Hook, Jay Ashenfelter, Kenzo Tsujimoto, and Haruhiro Tsujimoto.

Also starring in the film are Hirooki Goto (E. Honda), Alexander Volkanovski (Joe), Kyle Mooney (Marvin), and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Balrog).

The film will be the third live-action film adaptation of the Capcom video game series. It also serves as a reboot of the film series.

Entertainment

Supergirl gets its first teaser trailer

Milly Alcock stars as the titular character.

Published

December 12, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Before the new year starts, it’s already fair to assume that Supergirl might be one of the most anticipated movies of 2026. Premiering a year after the globally successful Superman, Supergirl will see the adventures of Clark Kent’s superpowered cousin, Kara Zor-El. Now, the next film in the sage finally has a teaser trailer.

As James Gunn mentioned previously, Supergirl will be based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Off traveling to other planets to party, Kara finds herself thrust back into the role of being a hero after a young girl named Ruthye Mary Knoll asks her for help.

Though the teaser trailer is mostly a montage of scenes, we already know what we can expect. According to Gunn, Supergirl will be tonally different from Superman, and we see this in the trailer.

However, we can still see influences from Gunn including the usage of “Call Me” by Blondie for the trailer. Also, the film’s space scenes look like they can fit right in with Guardians of the Galaxy.

Still, that’s what we have, and we’re excited. Supergirl will premiere on June 26, 2026.

The film will be directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella). Milly Alcock plays the titular character. Meanwhile, she will star alongside Eve Ridley as Ruthye Mary Knoll.

Entertainment

Now Playing: Scarlet

The revenge story experiments with the idea of self-discovery.

Published

December 11, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

You can’t go wrong with a revenge story. Watching a group of evildoers get their deserved comeuppance is always a good time. Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet promises such a tale worthy of the greats. However, Hosoda quickly sheds the veneer of revenge for a tale of self-discovery.

Scarlet, the film’s eponymous character, is a princess on a quest for revenge against her uncle, a usurper who ordered the death of her father. However, before she can deal the killing blow, her uncle outsmarts the attempt by poisoning her. She dies and is teleported into a purgatory called the Otherworld. There, she must fight against the other departed to exact revenge from the other side.

So much for revenge

A mix between Dante’s Inferno and Hamlet, Scarlet should have the makings of an excellent revenge story. However, though Scarlet keeps revenge as her main motivation throughout the entire film, she eventually finds a new quest in discovering what she wants to be after she gets her retribution.

She meets Hijiri, a pacifist paramedic from the modern era, who persistently asks her to reconsider seeking violent ends to her enemies. With Hijiri in tow, Scarlet discovers that there is more value in helping other people and giving her enemies a second chance.

Was it a shift well earned?

Most revenge stories today come with a similar twist where the main character reevaluates their murderous rampage to seek inner peace. This usually comes after the murderous rampage. After all, how do you redeem someone who hasn’t done anything wrong?

In stories like these, satisfaction comes when the main character kills minor villains. After getting their fun, a traumatic incident causes them to lose their drive to fall short of killing the main villain. In some situations, the character sacrifices themselves to save someone else. In others, they choose to forgive the villain.

Scarlet fast-forwards straight to the finish by choosing less violent measure right from the beginning. As hellbent as she is on killing her uncle, she fails at every step, usually because of stronger enemies. The only thing she becomes good at is sparing and forgiving her foes, often prodded by allies.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with writing a unique take on the revenge story. However, Scarlet wants audiences to learn its lesson without going through the grueling work that often comes with such a lesson.

Hosoda wants to play it off as the futility of vengeance, and he’s right in making that the moral of the story. However, this just doesn’t stick.

A beauty on the screen

Amid all the criticism, Mamoru Hosoda always manages to deliver visually appealing pieces for the big screen. Scarlet is no different. It features hand-drawn animation that looks three-dimensional and laid on top of realistic scenery.

For all its misgivings, Scarlet transports audiences to a picturesque purgatory with a clear target, the Infinite Lands. If you love fantasy world-building, the movie showcases a fantasy worthy of the name. Though I had problems with Scarlet’s character, I still looked forward to seeing what comes next over the horizon.