‘Agapito’ Trailer: Band of Pinsetters Lead Sole Filipino Short Film Entry in Cannes
‘Agapito’ Trailer: Band of Pinsetters Lead Sole Filipino Short Film Entry in Cannes
Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero’s latest short film, Agapito, has debuted its first trailer after premiering in the Short Film Competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this May.
Set in a bygone duckpin bowling alley, the film follows a makeshift family of pinsetters as they prepare a song-and-dance number for a special visitor.
Belarmino and Romero broke through internationally as a director-writer duo in 2022 with the Cinéfondation feature-in-development Ria, which won the Centre National du Cinema Award.
In 2024, their short film Radikals screened as the lone Filipino entry in Semaine de la Critique. After several years of collaboration, Agapito is their first co-directing effort, continuing their streak of films that blend multiple genres.
While Romero has served only as a writer for these previous projects, she is now one of five female directors who competed in this year’s official selection and is the first Filipina director to have a film in contention for the Short Film Palme d’Or.
Agapito stars FAMAS-nominated actress Nour Hooshmand (Blue Room) and André Miguel (Kantil), alongside an ensemble composed of actors Jeremy Mayores, Anton Nolasco, Veronica Reyes, Joel Garcia, Bullet Dumas, Rhonn Mercene, and Zee Narciso.
The narrative draws from the personal histories of both directors—Romero’s father once ran a multi-sport facility in Cavite, Philippines, and Belarmino’s brother has lived experiences as a person with special needs.
“One day last year, we encountered news about the existence of a duckpin alley, which still operated like in the olden days, where humans were behind the backdraft, setting the pins manually instead of machines, which are typically used today,” said Romero. “We were thrilled upon seeing this, and wanted to make a material about it.”
The film is produced by Carlos Ortiz and Jon Galvez of 901 Studios, an up-and-coming film and video production company in the Philippines, and by Mick Quito of Limit Break Studios, who also serves as the film’s VFX supervisor.
“We were always on the lookout for exciting projects to produce where we can collaborate and support filmmakers to bring their unique stories to life,” said Ortiz and Galvez. “After meeting Arvin at a short film screening and having long talks about film, we connected with him through a shared love for independent filmmaking.”
“Then during a screening at Cinemalaya 2024, we asked Arvin and Kyla if they were open to [collaborating] and [making] a film. They said yes and we were all excited. Days later, [the two] reached out with a concept that aligned with something we had been reading about. It felt like everything had fallen into place perfectly. From that moment, we were determined to give Arvin and Kyla the creative freedom they needed to focus on the art, all while approaching the project with no expectations—just for the love of filmmaking,” they added.
Kristine de Leon, a frequent collaborator of Belarmino and Romero and producer of Ria and Radikals, returns as a co-producer on the film.
The film is an international co-production between the Philippines and France, uniting emerging Philippine production companies 901 Studios, Astral 88, Katalog Films, Crowning Glory, and Limit Break Studios with established international powerhouses Daluyong Studios (Renoir, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking) and DW France (House of My Fathers). Agapito recently teamed up with Lights On for international sales.
Agapito is one of 11 short films culled from a competitive pool of 4,781 submissions worldwide. It is only the fourth Filipino short film to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or, following Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s Imago in 2016 and Judgement in 2018, and Raymond Red’s Anino, which won in 2000.
Agapito premiered at the Salle Debussy and Salle Bazin in Cannes last May 23.
