Official selection
Annecy International Animation Festival 2024
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2024
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024
Queer East Festival 2024
Honors
Best Supporting Actress for Dolly de Leon - Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2023
Philippines' submission to the 96th Academy Awards
Best Film - Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2023
NETPAC Award - Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2023
Director
Carl Joseph Papa
Writer
Carl Joseph Papa
Cast
Carlo Aquino, Dolly De Leon, Gio Gahol
contact
Project 8 Projects
“An excellent film that manages to reinvigorate the genre through its contextual uniqueness, while remaining pleasant to the eye from beginning to end”– Panos Kotzathanasis, ASIAN MOVIE PULSE
Eric (Carlo Aquino) leads a fairly typical life as an animator, holding a well-paying job and harbouring feelings for his co-worker Carlo (Gio Gahol). However, one conspicuous detail about Eric is his lack of a mouth, quite literally. One day, he receives a call from his mother, Rosalinda (Dolly De Leon), urging him to check up on his missing uncle, only to discover that his uncle has been deceased for several days. What follows, however, is not sadness, but the resurfacing of a childhood memory that robbed him of his voice. The alien who once abducted him returns to his life, wanting to take him away from Earth…
THE MISSING marks director Carl Joseph Papa's third feature-length animated film. Following MANANG BIRING (2015), the queer, surrealist hybrid of romance, drama and sci-fi THE MISSING once again embraces the challenge of digital rotoscope animation, inviting the audience to join Eric in experiencing the blend of illusion and reality, struggle and relief, love and support as he searches for his own voice. Additionally, Papa’s film features a star-studded cast including the internationally renowned actress Dolly De Leon (TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, 2022), talented newcomer Carlo Aquino (THIRD WORLD ROMANCE, 2023), and the brilliant Gio Gahol (SILA-SILA, 2019). Will Eric find his voice amidst the listening ears of his family and loved ones? – Xige Yi
Showings
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Mantra Warrior: The Legend of the Eight ...
Veerapatra Jinanavin
Bangkok-based Riff Studio launch their new franchise, rebooting the mighty mythological epic the Ramayana as an animated cyberpunk space opera with a Thai aesthetic and powerhouse mecha battles.
Sunburnt Unicorn
Nick Johnson
Lost in the sun-scorched desert, teenager Frankie encounters its unusual inhabitants as he seeks his missing father. An unconventional animated fantasy for young folks, full of wonder and dread.
Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain
Kenji Nakamura
The cult-classic anime series returns as a visually exquisite feature film, delivering hallucinatory supernatural thrills in Edo-era Japan with Pop Art panache, playful anachronism, and percussive pacing.