Ma' Rosa
(RANENYY ANGEL)

Ma' Rosa has four children. She owns a tiny grocery in a poor neighborhood of Manila where she is known and appreciated by all. To make two ends meet, she and her husband Nestor also illegally sell narcotics. One day, they are arrested. Facing corrupt police officers, Rosa’s children will do everything they can to redeem their parents’ freedom.
“Rosa and her husband’s grocery is really a tiny shop. They make the equivalent of ten dollars a day or so. How can you survive on so little? To me, telling the story that affects 80% of the Filipino population is telling about the whole country. The 20% that compose the wealthy classes don’t represent the nation. An artist is an instrument, the reflection of what is happening around him. Whether you are a painter, a musician, a writer, you are inspired by your nearby environment. It wasn't about signing a plea, but making this film for me was a necessity. This story had to be told. My film tells the story of ordinary people.” Brillante Mendoza