Follows a young Toronto man whose life is utterly transformed during a journey to his birthplace of Smokey Mountain, one of The Philippines' most notorious slums.
Cinematography
Smokey Mountain itself—the most haunting character on screen.
Direction
Guez lets the location breathe; no hand-holding for the viewer.
Director
Mateo Guez
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Smokey Mountain was a real 50-meter garbage dump in Manila that housed 30,000 people until its 1995 closure; smaller unofficial dumps persist.
Director Mateo Guez spent months in the community before filming; several residents appear as themselves, blurring fiction and documentary.
CA
PH
