About

'Life in Metro Manila can be monstrous. So monstrous, in fact, that one really ought to consider just becoming a real monster. This is the sentiment that fuels Pascalina, which takes its titular heroine through a very terrible day in the big city, before she learns of a supernatural inheritance that will change everything. Shot in grainy, claustrophobic Digital Harinezumi (a format which replicates the look of old Super 8 home movies), the movie captures all the rough edges of Metro Manila, fully revealing the monsters that lurk at every corner.' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

'Pascalina to me is a film about the alienation experienced by the working-class single woman in a society that places a premium on image and meeting expectations. For those lacking in ambition or social skill, it is a merciless world. Those that can't keep up dissipate like faceless and voiceless phantoms, or are pushed to unleash one's hidden monsters. Yes it is a monster story if it is to be seen in this light. The film is also about the city and its spaces that feed the so-called inner monster—the daily commute, the ladies room as battlefield, both the high-rises and dingy cubicles where urban workers toil 9 to 5, as well as the bars and clubs and motels they go to after pay-day … Pascalina is a tribute to the dead women whom I have loved and have been a great influence to me—friends and aunts and grandmothers. Their brief lives are the stories I will never tire of telling' Pam Miras

Ages 18+