Endo

96min | Philippines | 2008 – Tagalog with English Subtitles

In this luminous awards-laden romance, people break up & fall in love while sitting on the pavement or overpass, as the world whizzes by. The title ‘Endo’ is slang for ‘End of Contract’ for short-term temp workers with no job security and no future, a common predicament of the Philippines’ new generation. Leo and Candy, his Material Girl, have sex in a motel ‘suite’ wallpapered with images of the colonial old city. She leaves him when he can’t commit to her or offer a better life. Then he meets dreamy & practical Tanya, who dances with him on the street outside a club to save on the entry fee and fantasises about a dream home that’s “easy to clean, small but beautiful, on the beach” (unlike Candy who wants a big house serviced by maids—“Doesn’t everyone?”); Tanya who wants to see the world ny getting a job on a cruise ship. Unable to commit to either dream of fulfilment, Leo drifts. In the 5-star hotel where she works, Tanya weeps bitterly in the bathroom over the negative pregnancy test, and we weep over Leo’s dad’s pampered, beloved rooster Cocky, whose only purpose is to love and be loved. Please don’t leave me & the Philippines, Leo pleads with Tanya, “when I’m with you I feel I can dream.” (Alice Skinhead)

Director: Jade Castro
Writers: Jade Castro, Michiko Yamamoto

Casts: Jason Abalos, Ina Feleo, C.J. Javarata

Awards

Best Performance (Jason Abalos); Best Editing; Best Sound and Aural Orchestration (Young Critics Circle Awards 2008)

Best Picture, Students’ Choice (TANGLAW Awards 2008) 

Best Picture, Teachers’ Choice; Best Editing (PASADO Awards 2008) 

Special Jury Priz; Best Actress (Ina Feleo); Best Editing (Cinemalaya 2007) 

Official Selection (Festival des 3 Continents 2007 In Nantes, France) 

Official Selection (Philippine Cinema Tribute, Paris Cinema Film Festival 2008)

Best Screenplay; Best Actor (Jason Abalos) (Gawad URIAN 2008 / Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino)