CINEMALAYA, 2017

Kiko Boksingero, directed by Thop Nazareno, is the shortest full length film in the Cinemalaya 2017 that runs for only 79 minutes. Despite the short time, it was enjoyable, endearing and heartwarming to watch because of all the emotion-packed scenes. It was filled with charisma and kindness but straightforward at the same time. The story was unfolded in a very simple

way, trimming away unnecessary pieces and fillers and focusing only on the main drama.

The movie was not really about boxing. It showed how Kiko lives with his Yaya Diday, who took responsibility in raising him after losing his mother. Without his yaya knowing, Kiko goes to the abandoned house of his father who is a professional boxer, to practice boxing using the old punching bag and boxing gloves left there.

All of a sudden, Kiko's father ruturns to Baguio and he trains and teaches Kiko the basics in boxing. They start to share a bond and connection over their interest in boxing.

Noel Comia Jr. and Yayo Aguila gave comforting scenes that will really hit the viewers right at their soft spots until the last part. Yul Severo provided all the edge and the exact roughness the film needed. Comia, Aguila and Severo deserve the praises and merits for their portrayals as Kiko, Didang and George respectively.

The film shows, not tells the story; giving the audience their own realizations. It maintained all the emotions from the beginning and ended with a heartfelt punch.

KIKO BOKSINGERO: a bittersweet story of

longing

REQUITED: a road usually travelled

"Requited," written and directed by Nerissa Picadizo, is a story of a defying biker who suffers from Parkinson's Disease as he pedals and fulfills his journey to the treacherous terrain of Mt. Pinatubo with the woman he desires.

With Chi Capulong' strong sound design, the film started compelling with Matt's (Jake Cuenca) character steering the streets of Ortigas to EDSA and then the way out to the countryside - leaving the metro for an adventure to the lahar-filled mountain of Pinatubo.

The slow-paced rhythm of the first few minutes of the film helped in building the rough character of Matt but falls short in the succeeding parts. And with the long distance that he is traversing, it obviously shows that he is running away from something and as he never answered any call from Sandy (Anna Luna), even breaking his phone then throwing it away.

As the story progress, Sandy was able to catch up with him. At this point, the tension rises as they pedal along the highways. It is not surprising that Jake was able to pull-off the stamina needed in the movie as he is known as a tri-athlete in real life but in the film he was a disease-stricken architect – longing for Sandy's attention.

Sandy is a volleyball player, who happens to be the woman that he desires but chooses to be as friends. She is committed to a foreigner guy named Chris. With her vibrant aura, she tries to break the wall between them.

The shifting of emotions and the vagueness of the conversations bungled badly, making Jeyow Evangelista's cinematography of the picturesque and magical mountain of Pinatubo fall off and make no sense at all. But the with shaky scenes along the trail, it remind us that it is not too easy to shot these kinds of scene because of the natural phenomena that might happen.

In addition, their chemistry on screen fails to establish and progress along the way.

The film has so much potential but then fails to translate because it was too literal. There were too many questions left the audience hanging, particularly its climax and ending. Even the audience burst into surprise. Instead of crying because of the turn out of events that happened to Sandy, the cinema was in laughter.

"Requited" is one of the Cinemalaya 2017 full-length film entries. Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival is now on its 13th year of showcasing local and international films. The festival runs from August 4 to 13 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 1, TriNoma, Fairview Terraces, U.P. Town Center, and now in Pampanga at Marquee Mall.

For ticket and schedule inquires, visit www.ticketworld.com and www.cinemalay.org.