Ikaw ang Manggad Ko
2022 | Short Film | 15 Minutes
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Synopsis:
Ikaw Ang Manggad Ko is a thriller drama short film about a teenage girl named Ashley, who along with her mother, visits her grandmother for the first time in hopes of a solution for her illness. Family secrets begin to unfold and the family begins to struggle as Ashley tries to overcome a certain tradition full of trauma, lies, and guilt.
Ikaw Ang Manggad Ko is a thriller drama short film about a teenage girl named Ashley, who along with her mother, visits her grandmother for the first time in hopes of a solution for her illness. Family secrets begin to unfold and the family begins to struggle as Ashley tries to overcome a certain tradition full of trauma, lies, and guilt.
Background
“Ikaw ang Manggad ko” is a film about traditions, generational trauma, and abuse. The film tells its message through its story. a narrative-driven thriller drama set in contemporary times that dissects how this “tradition” affected the complicated relationship dynamics between generations in a family and in this story between Lola, Mother, and Ashley.
The story starts with Ashley and Mother seeking Lola’s help and Lola offering their tradition to “help” Ashley get “better.” The film revolves around the concept of following traditions that have been followed by generations but that we don’t fully understand and how they have affected those who are practicing them. Traditions that may have been seen as harmless but have had underlying effects and have much more sinister implications.
The College of Business and Accountancy’s official film entry for Central Philippine University’s Sigrab Film Festival 2022 is directed by Don Pedregosa and written by him and Mephil Buyco and filmed with the help of the Les Creatives Production team. My job as the director is to weave this story into a cohesive visual experience from the poster, script, cinematography, and music.
The script relied on its characters’ interactions to push the story forward. The film mostly used still camera angles to emphasize the dynamics between the characters and a structured composition to appear uncanny. We used a dark color palette to complement the mood and depth of the film.
One of the most important aspects of the film is its original soundtrack. I knew I wanted to use music specially composed for the film itself. I wanted something that sounded dramatic and played with the innocence of a mother’s love and how sometimes it can be fanatical.
We worked with Beauty Magtiza, an Ilonggo musician that we already worked with on a previous film. She wrote “Ikaw ang Manggad ko,” a ballad about a mother expressing her devotion to her daughter.
This soundtrack was the final piece to finalize our film and bring life to it.
Director: Don Pedregosa
Cinematography: Kyle Del Rosario & Ryan Solen
Writers: Don Pedregosa & Mephil Buyco
Casting: Don Pedregosa & Mephil Buyco
Editor: Zyra Labating
Production Design: Amal Diocena
Producer: Alyanna Comprendio
