Movies by Jess Mendoza

Ben & Sam

Ben & Sam

A college heartthrob meets a college newbie - a challenge, a tension, a discovery, and a love that will change everything between them.

Pedicab

Pedicab

A tragic-comic portrait of a dysfunctional family and the disquieting blind faith they invoke as they dream of going home.

The Legend of China Doll

The Legend of China Doll

A journalist investigates a woman with the name of China Doll. Soon, he discovers his knowledge of her turns out to be dangerous.

Pektus

Pektus

The story of a day in the lives of two men in the city -both proud, indifferent, and bound by the confines of their milieu and their choices in life- and their incidental yet preordained meeting in a one-way alley that would change their lives thereafter. Raising questions of how far people have control over what happens in their lives, the film seeks to explore circumstance versus choice, breaking points, and second chances.

Watch List

Watch List

Set against the drug wars in the Philippines, Maria's husband is murdered in mysterious circumstances and is left to fend for her three children in a police state. As she delves into Manila’s dark underworld of cops, criminals, and drugs to find answers, she realizes the truth is never black and white, and that she must explore her own darkness to keep her family safe.

Neomanila

Neomanila

Toto, a teenage orphan, is recruited by a notorious death squad. Irma, the groups leader, soon becomes a maternal figure to the young boy. As the two form a familial bond, their loyalties will be put to the test when one of their targets turns out to be a familiar face.

Baconaua

Baconaua

After a turbulent squall in the night, villagers wake up to the astonishing sight of the sea that has turned red.

Purgatoryo

Purgatoryo

A story of Ilyong, recently-dead man killed by the police, after he was caught stealing. This is the beginning of his story, his death. Soon after, he was brought into a sleazy funeral home, run by Violet, a greedy homosexual who has learned to survive by renting out the dead bodies in his funeral home to Simon. Along for the ride is Jojo, a police officer who is under the payroll of Simon and who supplies the dead bodies for Violet to take care of and make money from. Violet has two workers, On-on and Dyograd.

Swap

Swap

"Swap" takes us to the internal conflict of a young father, torn between solving a crime and committing another crime when one day his only son is kidnapped and the criminals demand him to steal another kid in exchange of his son's life.

The Sorrows of Sita

The Sorrows of Sita

A woman returns to the village of Kagbunga in the Bikol region carrying the ashes of her only son via the old train that circles her universe like the tandayag, the primordial serpent. In a filial act of mourning, she will reckon and reconcile the thin line that exists between tragedy and transcendence and prove and that even the most broken life can be restored to its moments.

Sa Gabing Nanahimik Ang Mga Kuliglig

Sa Gabing Nanahimik Ang Mga Kuliglig

A priest is caught up in a situation, which will compel him to choose between the mandate of the church and his obligations as a citizen under the law of the people.

Smaller and Smaller Circles

Smaller and Smaller Circles

A serial killer in Payatas leaves the bodies of young boys in the dump as two Jesuit priests try to solve the murders.

Taxicab

Taxicab

Set at the inauguration of the new President is the inter-woven tales of people dealing with daily lives: their relationships, desires and their means of survival. A taxi driver trying to stop his best friend from leaving for the province while his ex-wife comes back to his life; a young actor doing extra job as male prostitute; a Fil-Am trying to fill his need for drugs; and a young cigarette vendor who also act as pimp at night. All of them get through their harsh realities with hopes of a better tomorrow while their fate awaits them to cr...

As One

As One

A thriller about a never-ending war, a town ravaged by a devastating storm, and the woman caught in between.

Historiographika Errata

Historiographika Errata

A disillusioned and suicidal Rizal, a cross-dressing Bonifacio gripped with paranoia, an ex-Katipunero who joins the US army to save his own neck, and a widow whose sex-for-food errands lead her to become the first ever Makapili. These are the historical mosaics that will form a singular hypothesis as to why we are like this as a people and up to now still reeling from our damaged culture.

The Natural Phenomenon Of Madness

The Natural Phenomenon Of Madness

Two years after she was raped, a woman agrees to meet with her rapist in the beautiful ruins of Intramuros. As they have the same blood type, her rapist asks her to donate blood for his operation claiming this will lengthen his life and will give him ample time to seek redemption. The woman refuses to do so as she rediscovers she is still a victim of unrequited love towards her rapist. Told in two separate perspectives, the story revolves around how the woman and man pick the pieces of their broken lives after the rape, meeting every so ofte...

Sitio

Sitio

The film depicts the troubles of Jonas and his sisters Carmina and Tricia , who have moved to their family’s old farm after Jonas’ real estate business sank. Jonas hires the help of some local men to put up a fence around their property, and while they all seem helpful at first, they become an indelible source of frustration for him and his sisters.

Tres

Tres

It is a trilogy which follows the story of three individuals must go through desperate measures to hide their secrets.