Hamog (Haze)

Teri Malvar will be presented with a Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at this screening.

The director of the excellent Bakal Boys and Brillante Mendoza’s former screenwriter, Ralston Jover delivers an empowering, thrilling, and impassioned tale of a gang of street kids, made up of Rashid (Zaijian Jaranilla), Jinky (Teri Malvar), Tisoy (Sam Quintana), and Moy (Bon Lentejas). The foursome may be ruthless scam artists who make a living stealing money and goods (mostly in broad daylight) from motorists, but they still have a stronger moral code than the corrupt society around them. After one of their heists goes horribly wrong, the film splits into two main narratives. The first half follows one of the boys as he doggedly arranges the funeral of another in the face of vast indifference. In the second, Jinky (a fiery Malvar, in a performance that blew us away and earned her a Rising Star Award) is kidnapped and forced to work as a maid in a twisted household. Anchored by absolutely stunning turns by the young cast and made from the stuff of the great tragedies, this poetic film lays bare the sad reality of an ill-ridden society but also offers some hope for the future.