Abstract of the Film

“PERA-PERAHANG LATA” (Penny from the Tin Can) is a short film about the plight of a factory worker during the Christmas season.

“The Christmas season is a time of gift-giving and Christmas decors. And the film takes place at this supposedly happy season. Happy… mainly if you look into the margin up the poverty line… For Nilo, the idealism of a youthful man is slowly being succumbed by disillusionment. And this film traces the plight of this man who is trying to make up for his guilt, but he ends up seeing another tragedy from it.”

“Pera-Perahang Lata” explores the many facets of a struggling life in a world that is full of unpredictable moments – where some things are really beyond one’s control. And this film exposes both the rich culture of the able Filipinos and the struggle of lower-middle to lower-class Filipinos in the Manila commune set during the Pinoy Christmas season – amidst the exciting tradition of gift-giving, caroling, and the “Simbang Gabi.”

The tin can is the film’s binding factor. More than just costing the main character his living and another person’s death, the utilizing of the tin can on asking for alms and the children transforming them into musical instruments for their Christmas carols, the it represents a very frequent element that Filipinos use everyday.

The setting is during the Christmas season where the needy, middle class, and rich people come together sharing gifts, giving and receiving alms, adorning their homes, offices, and other establishments with Christmas decors, and attending the “Simbang Gabi.” The various city streets really live up to the season.

Life is a collaboration of journeys – with every person met along the way – there is a totally new effect to the person’s path, and to the other people he comes across with.

While journeying around everyday, come to think of it… If you tend to become more observant and more critical about the things you see, hear, and experience, you’ll get certain realizations, or even more questions about life and the society. And that’s how this film came to be.