Juan Balucas at ang Bayabas
August 25 Sat 4 p.m.

Directed by: Franco G. Arce

Starring: Archie Alemania, Rolando T. Inocencio, Peter Vallejos, Gabby Padilla, Brooke Chantelle Estillore, Randy de Silva, Ynahbel Moran, Bernard Laxa, Rainier Morales, and Nourish Icon Lapuz as Juan Balucas

Synopsis: A film about a young boy’s journey to save his father who has been mistaken to be Juan Tamad and turned into a stone by the mystical creature Ibong Badarna.

The film features Nourish “Icon” Lapus, as JUAN BALUCAS, the son of JOHN (Archie Alemania) who has been mistaken to be Juan Tamad and turned into stone by the mystical creature IBONG BADARNA (Randy de Silva) to avoid him from inflicting laziness to all mankind. To save his father, Juan enters an agreement with the queen of the “diwatas” REYNA SUKI (Gabby Padilla) under some conditions set by the queen. First, he must obtain the song of Badarna, and then some water from the “Bukal ng Buhay” before the full moon passes. With the help of an engkanto named APO (Rolando T. Inocencio), and NONI (Peter Vallejos) a nuno sa punso, Juan sets off his quest. To fulfill his mission, he must first possess an object from the dreaded King Crab SIPIT (Rainier Morales) and pass thru TAMBO (Bernard Laxa) a “kapre” who guards the passage to Badarna’s lair before he can reach the mystical bird.

After saving his father, Juan gets stuck in a purgatory between two dimensions. Left with only the water from the “bukal ng buhay”, Juan faces self-conflicts, hunger and struggles to keep his sanity under the dead guava tree. Will he be able to have something to eat? Is there still a chance for him to get back to his family in the real world? Or will he just lie down like Juan Tamad, waiting for the fruit to fall from its tree. What he does next will dictate his fate.

Ticket price: 175.00php

Watch the trailer here: