Director | Maria Estela Paiso
Script | Maria Estela Paiso
Director of photography | Eric Bico
Editing | Maria Estela Paiso
Animators | Maria Estela Paiso, Vladimer Castañeto, Shaine Robles, Tricia Bernasor
Sound designer | Lawrence S. Ang
Composers | KASHIRA (Tatz Maven, Calix, U-Pistol)
Main cast | Leonardo Cuaresma, Joel Elejorde, Luis Fontilla, Ranel Madela, Rea Jane Realizo, Noraiza Alog, Moises Dulatre
Producer | Gale Osorio
Production company | MalasMalas Studios
Standing by the beach, teenage Sita confesses to her mother that she almost drowned in these waters when she was a child. In turn, her mother admits that though she grew up by the sea, she never learned how to swim.
Sita and her mother turn into half-fish-half-humans and swim through their turbulent past in Zambales, all while listening to the local fisherfolk recount the territorial aggression of China in the West Philippine Sea.
About the director:
Maria Estela Paiso sometimes thinks that her dreams are memories from an alternate life she lives when she’s asleep. A filmmaker from the Philippines, she has been in post-production since 2016 and has also been creating hiphop music videos under the alias metromaria. She forayed into directing in 2021 with her first short Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol (It’s Raining Frogs Outside), and was part of the 2024 Cannes Fortnight Directors’ Factory. She spends her free time trying to get a 100 at karaoke.