Eve Baswel
Director
John Torres, Jules Katanyag
Producer
Philippines
Country
Logline

12 hours before the collapse of the Manila Film Center in 1981, we follow the lives of the construction workers working tirelessly to complete the impossible deadline of finishing the building in less than two weeks before its opening.

Short Synopsis

The tragedy of the death of 168 workers, when a section of the Manila Film Center, the First Lady's vanity project, collapsed during its rushed construction in 1981, serves as the basis for this film. Faced with an impossible deadline, and working under horrendous conditions, stories of desperation emerge: Jun rejects his friend's dream of overseas labor, unwilling to surrender his dignity as a slave in a foreign land. Weary from endless toil, Kiko stands on the edge of roof, practicing his fateful and final dive. Trapped by destitution, Jing receives devastating news about his wife's peril that he might not be able to solve. Then panic – three workers staring at concrete that refuses to harden, not knowing that 12 hours into their shift, tragedy would strike. As authorities impose a media blackout, buried workers sing a song, awaiting a rescue that would never come.