Manila Skies (Unclassified 18+)

(Himpapawid) Dir: Raymond Red, Philippines, 110mins, digital

Raul is one of the angry millions of underclass Filipino urban-migrant males: under-employed, sexually frustrated, under the thumb of bureaucracy and corruption. And under no illusions it will ever get better. All he wants to do is go back to his provincial home and dying father. But when one get rich-quick scheme goes horribly wrong, an even more desperate one becomes the only option. Pioneer Philippine independent filmmaker Raymond Red’s new film is both a Taxi Driver for the mean streets of Manila and an expose (in the tradition of Lino Brocka) of the social context behind a notorious real-life tragedy: the life and death of homemade parachute hijacker, Augusto Lakandula.

Australian premiere.