“Iti Mapukpukaw” made headlines last year as the first full-length feature film to win Cinemalaya’s Best Film award—and it’s now available to stream online. The film starring Carlo Aquino, Dolly de Leon, and Gio Gahol is now available on Netflix in Southeast Asian territories.
The movie is about Eric (Carlo Aquino), an animator, as he navigates several attempted alien abductions trying to take him away from earth, his mother (Dolly de Leon), and his crush (Gio Gahol). Being drawn without a mouth, Eric uses a whiteboard to communicate with others.
Shot in rotoscope, the film was first filmed in live-action and then traced over by artists frame by frame after filming.
Major themes of the movie include childhood trauma, sexual assault, death, and child abuse—but make no mistake, it’s also a masterclass in healing and reclamation of the self.
“In a just and kind world, this story, this movie would not have existed. It was a coping mechanism for me so in a way it became an outlet. It was not easy to write down, but there was a constant internal nudge in me that kept me going. The story of Eric had to be told,” director Carl Joseph Papa told Inquirer.net USA and Canada.
After debuting at Cinemalaya last year, “Iti Mapukpukaw” made its rounds at international film festivals such as the Osaka Asian Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival to name a few.
Aside from taking home Cinemalaya’s Best Film Award, the film also won the Netpac Jury Award and Best Supporting Actress thanks to Dolly de Leon’s performance.
We’re glad to see more critically acclaimed local films streaming online and we’re hoping this is just the start of it.