Awaken

Directed by Ato Bautista

One night the docile teenager Rey is mauled as he passes by a drinking spree of street toughies: Pogi, Jopet, Kahoy and Taba. Pogi hates Rey for the simple reason that he secretly loves Rey’s girlfriend. Jopet, a self-claimed police asset, finds Rey a convenient substitute for pouring out his hatred for his handler, a sadistic cop. Kahoy and Taba join in for the sake of camaraderie. Rey regains consciousness and finds his tormentors drunk and asleep… The director: “In the Philippines we see all these things and we don’t even recognize it, because we’re used to it. We’re very passive. But we need to wake up!”