‘Kalel, 15’ starring Elijah Canlas to stream this December

Elijah Canlas and the late Eddie Garcia in “Kalel, 15.” Image: Facebook/@Kalel15movie

Award-winning film “Kalel, 15” will stream in December on Netflix.

The IdeaFirst Company made the announcement today, Nov. 17 on its social media pages.

https://twitter.com/theideafirst_co/status/1328536583956402176

The film, which follows the struggles of a teen diagnosed with HIV, was recently recognized at the prestigious Gawad Urian film awards.

Lead actor Elijah Canlas, 20, took home the best actor award for his performance in the film penned by esteemed director and writer Jun Robles Lana, who received the best screenplay award.

The trailer may be viewed from the Talinn Black Nights Film Festival’s YouTube channel:

The movie happens to be Canlas’s first lead role in a feature film, and he told Inquirer Entertainment that it was “a passion project that’s five years in the making.”

He auditioned for the role back in 2014 but did not get the part, and eventually, the project was shelved. While meeting Lana in his search for a talent manager, Lana tapped him for the film in 2018. Even without reading the screenplay, Canlas agreed to it.

“Kalel, 15” has received international accolades, including best director for Lana at the Talinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, best actor for Canlas at the Asian Film Festival in Rome, and best editing for Benjamin Tolentino at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Macau.

The film premiered in Europe and had a limited release in the country last December. It stars late screen legend Eddie Garcia, Jaclyn Jose as Kalel’s mother and Gabby Padilla. JB

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