Slingshot

From acclaimed and prolific Filipino bad-boy director Brillante Mendoza (The Masseur, Kinatay, Serbis) comes Slingshot, a gripping and exhilarating portrayal of teenage thugs, slippery chancers and petty thieves, all out to get what they can and pocket a profit in the teeming slums of Asia’s notorious city of sin, Manila. Starring Nathan Lopez from The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Slingshot is a riveting exposé of life on the other side of the tracks.

About a month after Holy Week, a major national election will take place. What future does it hold for a motley group of ‘tiradors’ - local slang for petty thieves - whose daily survival depends on their fast fingers and brute strength? The young tiradors all live in an old dilapidated tenement building in the slums of Manila where they ply their trade. Via pick-pocketing, burglary, and gang initiations they instil a sense of fear and optimism among their peers, their outlook bleak and desperate despite the promises of change by local politicians.

“Superb... makes the streets, alleys and crushing deprivations of Manila come to wrenching life.” - Chicago Tribune