The 8th Edition of the Parmata Film Exhibition highlights the creative outputs of the Reading Visual Art class of Melver Ritz Gomez, showcasing young Ilokano talent that pushes the boundaries of cinema through experimental styles and narrative choices.

Bi Gan reaches for the audience with ‘Resurrection,’ a film that dives into a man’s dreams in a world that has stopped dreaming. Each chapter invites us to remember why we keep dreaming — and watching movies.

‘The Loved One’ lays bare how love, in all forms, is (un)questionable, (im)patient, and most of the time, (un)kind.

Now in its third year, the PeliCuliat Film Festival keeps Kapampangan stories at the center; family, love, grief, social realities, and history shaped by emerging filmmakers.

Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ favors atmosphere over brutality; visually striking, emotionally suggestive, but hesitant to fully embrace the ruin it gestures toward.

There's comfort in familiarity that 'Shelter' embodies in spades, like a quick grab from your local fast food joint.

Some have pointed out the mawkishness of ‘Rental Family’ — too sentimental, people-pleaser, and even unrealistic. But these points, the wholesomeness, and its ability to shed a tear make it great, easy to appreciate, love, and rewatch.

In a sea of forgettable thrillers dumped on streaming platforms, a handful of films survive the streaming curse and are still being released in theaters with the same quality as these made-for-streaming films. For the case of ‘The Housemaid,’ while scenes from this film are something you would see posted over and over again on Facebook reels or TikTok, and the film’s ‘Gone Girl’-esque approach was done way too many times now, there’s a charm to this film that makes it worthy to sit through. 

‘It Was Just An Accident’ is both a bold, remarkable feat of powerful performances and filmmaking precision, and an angry, passionate protest against state oppression.

Through its artistic eccentricities and a vast alteration of the franchise's textual and tonal DNA, 'Return to Silent Hill' is surprisingly one of the more viscerally experiential pieces of genre filmmaking under the guise of translating a video game property to the big screen.

If we bare them down to their simplest forms, a lot of the ideas in ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ shouldn't mesh together at all. Except it really does.

‘Primate’ is a brisk, riotous picture that delivers what you’d expect from its synopsis, and does so with striking visual aptness and a whole lot of blood.

Rian Johnson captures magic for a third time in a row with the newest installment of ‘Knives Out,’ led by a superb Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig. Faith, forgiveness, and locked rooms all collide to make something surprisingly tender and relevant.

Maraming gustong gawin ang ‘Love You So Bad.’ Ang malaking kaso nga lang, masyadong mabilis ang pagbabahagi ang lahat ng relasyon, karakter at storyline. ‘Di man lamang hinimay-himay, basta bato lang ng bato; bahala na sa audience kung sasapul ba sa ulo nila o hindi. Nung umalis nga ako sa sinehan, wala akong dala-dala na galing sa pelikula, maliban lang sa naririndi kong mga tainga. 

‘Scarlet’ is a volatile picture in more ways than one, settling for operatic bombast but still desiring to be a reconstruction of the Shakespearean tale with only a slither of the finesse.

‘The Ugly Stepsister’ is a bold social commentary on how women are not born with a criterion for perfection in mind, but instead are deliberately instilled for ages.

‘Call Me Mother’ demonstrates that motherhood transcends gender and is not defined by birth or blood. It comes in many forms, each leaving a meaningful impact on a child’s life.

‘Unmarry’ by Jeffrey Jeturian explores annulment as a grueling negotiation with law, memory, and selfhood. Anchored by strong performances, the film is restrained, compassionate, and at times, heartbreaking.

At the end of the day, I would have loved for ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins’ to explore more of colonial horror and how it haunts generations, but it barely gives us anything to work with.

The Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, commonly referred to as Gawad Alternatibo, remains a testament to the enduring power of alternative cinema as a space for voices that push, question, and reimagine. Across narrative, experimental, documentary, and animation short films, this year’s lineup brings together works that move away from familiar formulas and instead sit with stories that are often overlooked, uneasy, or hard to pin down. These films are grounded in lived experience, shaped by personal, political, and social realities, and made with an intent to question how stories are usually told. For 37 years, the Gawad Alternatibo continues to champion alternative filmmaking as a form of resistance.