INDEPENDENT FILMS. WOMEN'S STORIES.
DistantPlay is a Philippine-based independent film production company dedicated to creating women-centered narrative films. Our work explores intergenerational trauma, inherited memory, and the systems that shape women's lives. Founded during the pandemic. DistantPlay is rooted in the belief that storytelling is an act of resistance--one that preserves voice, authorship, and agency when silence is imposed.
FILM CATALOGUE
ROAD TO HAPPY
90 minutes
​A self-proclaimed celebrity is on his way to his next gig when he finds a homeless girl hitching a ride in his van.​​
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CAST: VJ Mendoza, Darlyn Izabelle Salang, Smokey Manaloto
KEY CREATIVES
Writer: Mina Cruz DOP/Editor: Allan Balberona Music: Ian Joseph Tan
Director: Joel Ferrer Producers: Mina Cruz, VJ Mendoza​
TAMBAYO NA DAYAT (SEA LULLABIES)
15 minutes
​Distancing herself from controlling traditions, a Filipina mermaid has been living carefree in the city for years, until her daughter arrives to fetch her home.
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CAST: Burn Flores, Serena Magiliw
KEY CREATIVES
Writer/Director/Producer: Mina Cruz
DOP: Allan Balberona Additional Cinematography: Russ Llarena
Music: DistantPlay Studio​ Editors: Allan Balberona, Mina Cruz, Russ Llarena
LEAVING THE RAVEN'S NEST
15 minutes
A middle-aged son longs for a life outside his mother’s cluttered home as they both struggle with codependency.
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CAST: Robert Joshuan San Luis, Joy Ras
KEY CREATIVES
Writer/Director: Mina Cruz
DOP: Ar-jen Manlapig Editor: Van Esperanza Music: Kat Nobleza
Production Designers: Raven Mae Lilang, Michelle Alejandro
OUR REDIRECTED HOPES
13 minutes
A vague dream gives former lovers a final chance to re connect. The man has turned into a hybrid zombie, the woman gets a chance to speak her thoughts, and they both face the second to final stage of their lost relationship. ​
CAST: Vic Medina, Mina Cruz
KEY CREATIVES
Writer/Director/Producer: Mina Cruz
DOP/Editor: Allan Balberona Production Manager: Jen Balberona
Music: Mina Cruz
RECURRENCIA
9 minutes
A dark experimental war movie though the war has been long gone. A woman lives and re-lives the memories day after day. Again and again her memories bring her back to the Manila Massacre by Japanese soldiers at the end of World War II.
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CAST: Mina Cruz
KEY CREATIVES
Writer/Director/Producer: Mina Cruz
DOP/Editor: Allan Balberona Production Manager: Jen Balberona
