Entertainment

Cinemalaya 2023 best film is a win for Filipino animators

‘Iti Mapukpukaw’ deserves to be shown nationwide

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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.

Iti Mapukpukaw

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

Now Playing: The Devil Wears Prada 2 — Still sharp, still human

Growth over gloss

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The Devil Wears Prada 2
All images are screenshots from the Final Trailer of The Devil Wears Prada 2

I didn’t watch The Devil Wears Prada when it first came out in 2006.

I came to it a few years later, at a time when I was still figuring things out—career, identity, even the kind of movies I allowed myself to enjoy. It wasn’t something I would’ve picked on my own back then.

At the time, it felt like a story about love versus career. I was about to graduate with a Mass Communication degree, unsure of where I was headed, trying to make sense of both ambition and connection.

Watching it again recently, it lands differently.

It’s less about choosing between two things—and more about understanding who you are, and having the courage to follow that honestly.

That’s what makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 feel so deliberate. It doesn’t just revisit the past. It builds on it.

Growth over spectacle

There’s a version of this sequel that could’ve leaned entirely on nostalgia. Bigger moments. Sharper outfits. A louder version of what already worked.

This isn’t that.

The film is grander, but in ways that feel earned. It embraces the 20-year gap instead of ignoring it, placing its characters exactly where you’d expect them to be—not in status, but in spirit.

Miranda Priestly still commands every room, but no longer feels as unassailable as she once did.

Andy Sachs carries experience. She’s no longer the green assistant, but an accomplished journalist whose relationship with Miranda still shapes her decisions.

Emily Charlton feels fully realized—no longer orbiting power, but owning her place within it.

And Nigel remains a pillar. Dependable to both Miranda and Andy, an almost invisible hand that guides more than it claims.

None of them feel stuck in who they were. That’s the point.

What it says about the work

This is where the film hit me the hardest.

Working in tech media, I constantly see the push toward generative AI—toward making everything faster, more efficient, more scalable. A lot of it is impressive. Some of it is genuinely useful.

But some of it is also unsettling.

We’re at a point where generative visuals can fool people. Where audio—music even—can sound convincing enough that you stop questioning where it came from. That’s the part that lingers.

Because music, for me, is personal. It’s how I process things. And realizing that something artificial can mimic that emotional weight—even if imperfectly—feels dangerous in a quieter, harder-to-define way.

This film doesn’t shout about AI. It doesn’t need to. Instead, it argues for something more fundamental.

That the human touch still matters.

That taste, judgment, and intention aren’t things you can replicate at scale.

That the pain of heartbreak, the joy of victory, and the complicated weight of living—these are things that come from experience. And experience leaves a mark. We leave a part of ourselves in everything we create, whether we mean to or not.

That’s something I don’t think can ever be fully replicated.

AI is a helpful tool. But it should not be relied upon for things that require a piece of our soul.

Direction that understands power

A lot of that message lands because of how The Devil Wears Prada 2 is directed.

Blocking and staging do most of the talking. Who stands where, who moves first, who stays still—these choices define power before any dialogue kicks in.

The camera follows emotion closely. Moments of uncertainty feel slightly unsteady. Scenes of control are composed and precise.

It’s not trying to impress you. It knows exactly what it’s doing.

Sound that knows its place

The sound design follows that same discipline.

Nothing competes. Nothing distracts.

Every element feels intentional–supporting the scene instead of demanding attention. It’s cohesive in a way that’s easy to overlook, but once you notice it, you realize how much it’s doing.

Dialogue that winks, but doesn’t linger

There are a few “wink” moments–lines that echo the original, callbacks that longtime fans will catch instantly.

But the film shows restraint.

It never lets those moments take over. They’re accents, not the foundation.

Nostalgia used with purpose

That restraint carries through how the film handles nostalgia as a whole.

It doesn’t rely on it. It uses it.

Parallels to the original are there, but they exist to highlight change—not to recreate what once worked.

It’s less about remembering.More about understanding what time has done.

Why it works now

What makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 land isn’t just that it’s well-made.

It’s that it feels necessary.

In a world that keeps pushing toward speed, output, and efficiency, this film slows things down just enough to remind you what actually matters.

The intention behind every line, every scene feels sharp—like it could only come from people who care. Who care about the craft. Who care about making something that connects.

It might sound like a tired argument. But it’s still true.

The breadth and depth of humans who care is irreplaceable.

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WATCH: Teaser trailer for DC Studios’ Clayface

DCU’s standalone horror thriller

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Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios

The teaser trailer for DC Studio’s horror thriller, Clayface, has just been released. It is the studio’s first-ever foray into the genre, with the film co-written by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins.

The R-rated standalone film is still part of the new James Gunn DC Universe, taking place within the main DCU timeline before the events of the 2025 Superman.

It stars Tom Rhys Harries as the titular Gotham City villain. He is joined by Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James.

The film opens internationally on October 21 and in North America on October 23.

Here’s a quick look at the film’s teaser trailer:

Clayface explores one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster.

The story revolves around the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and dark underbelly of scientific ambition.

Joining Watkins in his creative team are director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris, visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, costume designer Keith Madden, and casting director Lucy Bevan.

In addition, here’s a quick look at the movie’s teaser poster:

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DC’s Clayface teaser shows off a horror-filled superhero movie

Our first taste of James Gunn’s Gotham City will be frightening.

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Last year, James Gunn’s Superman sparked an impressive wave of excitement for the new DC Universe. Though this year’s spotlight is on Supergirl, Clayface is also getting an eponymous film, giving us our first taste of Gotham City in this bustling universe.

There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding this film. For one, Gotham City’s DCU debut is based on, arguably, a secondary villain, rather than any member of the Bat-Family. Secondly, Gunn has confirmed that the movie will heavily lean towards the horror genre, a feat others have tried but often failed.

Today, DC Studios has released the first teaser trailer for Clayface. And no, Gunn wasn’t kidding when he said this is going to be a horror film.

Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a rising movie star suddenly scarred by a violent attack. Desperate to resurrect his career, he resorts to a scientific experiment that turns his skin into moldable clay.

As the teaser hints, the film will not shy away from body horror, including shots of Hagen’s disfigured face either from the attack or from the clay. It’s a big departure from the more traditional style of Superman or Supergirl. But it’s a gamble that might pay off for a universe as young as the DCU.

It’s also apropos that the DCU’s first horror film is getting a horror-themed premiere. Clayface will premiere in cinemas on October 23, 2026.

SEE ALSO: Superman sequel, titled Man of Tomorrow, comes out in 2027

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