Birdshot

The Film Academy of the Philippines has officially selected Birdshot as the Philippine entry to the best foreign language film category of the 90th Oscar Awards.

The other films reviewed by the committee were Die Beautiful by Jun Lana; 1st SEM by Dexter Hernandez and Allan Ibanez; Ang Araw sa Likod Mo by Dominic Nuesa; Kita Kita by Sigfrid Bernardo; Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B by Prime Cruz; Patay na si Hesus by Victor Villanueva; Triptiko by Miguel Franco Micelena; and Sunday Beauty Queen by Baby Ruth Villarama.

Birdshot is directed by Mikhail Red and stars Mary Joy Apostol, Arnold Reyes, Ku Aquino and John Arcilla.

Birdshot is a coming-of-age thriller that tells the story of a young farm girl who wanders off into a Philippine forest reserve. Deep within the reservation she mistakenly shoots and kills a critically endangered and protected Philippine Eagle. As the local authorities begin a manhunt to track down the poacher of a national bird, their investigation leads them to an even more horrific discovery.

Maya, a naïve 14-year-old girl is tasked to watch over cornfields with her caretaker father Diego. Their isolated farmland is situated in the valley of the Sierra Madre in Isabela Northern Luzon. Often at conflict with her world-weary father, Maya dreams of an escape from her rural life. One day Diego entrusts Maya with his birdshot shotgun after teaching her how to hunt in the wilderness. Maya ventures on her own into the nearby protected forest, she later mistakenly shoots and kills an endangered Philippine Eagle in hopes to prove herself to her father. Upon discovering her crime, Diego decides to bury the shotgun and consume the carcass of the eagle to conceal the evidence. Later, authorities begin a manhunt to track down the eagle’s killer. Diego is ultimately apprehended as he surrenders himself to protect his daughter. Towards the end of the film Maya comes face to face with the consequences of her crime.

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