Original Title: Halaw
Director: Sheron Dayoc
Philippines
Filipino, Tagalog with subtitles
78 min
World Cinema

Synopsis:
Solidarity, hope, and fear beget friendship in this tale of a perilous journey across the South China Sea. A motley group of individuals - from children hoping to be reunited with absent mothers and would-be prostitutes to human traffickers preying on the locals’ desperation - cross paths while waiting to be smuggled by boat, destination Malaysia. The possibilities for a bright future seem increasingly distant as they near the shore in this slow-burning, suspense-filled verité drama.