Cinemalaya award-winning film “Huling Palabas (Fin)” | Image: Facebook/Cinemalaya
Cinemalaya 2023 entry and award-winning film “Huling Palabas (Fin)” has been invited to compete in the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
Written and directed by Ryan Machado, “Huling Palabas” has been included in the competing list under the Generation 14 Plus section of the festival.
Direk Machado took to Instagram to announce the milestone by penning a gratitude message to the team behind their movie.
“With great pride, honor, and excitement, I am thrilled to announce that our film, Huling Palabas has been invited to compete at the Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival 2024 under the Generation 14plus section,” he began.
The director then went on to express appreciation for the individuals who contributed to the film and the fulfillment of “a long-time dream.”
“I consider this a huge achievement and the realization of a long-time dream. None of this would have been possible without the support of the individuals, organizations, and institutions who contributed to the creation of this film,” expressed Machado.
“A massive thanks goes especially to the people who were part of the production team. Thank you for believing in my story and vision. Each of you played a significant role in the journey of Huling Palabas. Salamat din sa akong pamilya kag paryente nga nagbulig kag nagsuporta sa among pelikula,” added the director.
“Huling Palabas” won for Machado the Best Director award and the Best Supporting Actor honor for one of the cast members at the 19th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival last year.
Interviewed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in September, the film director clarified that the indie movie is not a boy love story, as it aims to showcase a relationship that is purely platonic between the two boy leads.
“People assume that it’s a BL story from the get-go because the film seemed to have that trajectory at the start. They expect that something romantic will happen between the two leads when, realistically, there’s none. They’re just friends and their relationship is purely platonic. That’s also what we wanted to clear up,” he said.
“Huling Palabas” tells the story of a 16-year-old boy named Andoy as he searches for his long-lost father and seeks his true identity. His reality becomes puzzling when two movie-like characters appear in his hometown.