Status : Rejected
An ageing, lonely and curious woman seeks love, passion and companionship in the tricky yet enchanting online world.
Fresh from a Best Actress win at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Filipino screen icon Ruby Ruiz (whose recent starring role in Australian drama “First Light” is now officially vying for an Oscar nomination) shines as Virginia, a quirky, naïve and stubborn 69-year-old widow determined to escape loneliness.
After repeated rejections for a US visa, Virginia still dwells on her late, unfaithful husband and shares a flat with her divorced daughter. A sharp-tongued friend suggests social media to brighten her dreary routine – and perhaps even find an American fiancé. Virginia reinvents herself online as a young nurse, complete with a fake profile photo. Then Steve Johnson appears. He is a divorced American war veteran who looks like George Clooney, sweet but occasionally naughty. Virginia is instantly smitten.
After directing 18 shorts, Vahn Leinard Pascual makes his feature debut with this absurdist dramedy about the allure and dangers of online relationships, tenderly dedicated to his grandmother.
Edvinas Pukšta
Biography
Vahn Leinard Pascual (2000) is a queer Filipino filmmaker with a distinctive visual style shaped by his background in production design. His short films exploring political and queer themes have received recognition at major festivals. “Sina Alexa, Xander at ang Universe” (2020) was acclaimed at the Metro Manila Film Festival and Toronto Queer Film Festival, while “Alingasngas ng mga Kuliglig” (2021) won Best Picture at the International Silent Film Festival Manila. In 2022, CNN Philippines Life named him one of the “eight emerging Filipino directors to watch out for”. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) awarded him the Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) for Cinema.
Filmography
(valik/Selected): Mundong Walang Katiyakan (2021, short), Alingasngas ng mga kuliglig (2022, short), Mary Go Round, Mary Go Round (2023, short), Status: Rejected (2026)
Award for the best film, grant of 5000€ by
Screenings
