Raymond Red is one of the founding figures of modern Philippine independent and alternative cinema. Emerging in the 1980s with groundbreaking Super 8 and 16mm shorts, he helped open a path for Filipino filmmaking outside the commercial studio system before moving into features including the historical works Bayani and Sakay and, later, Manila Skies. In 2000, he became the first Filipino filmmaker to win the Cannes Short Film Palme d’Or, for Anino. Red is also widely recognized as a mentor to generations of Filipino independent filmmakers. His latest work, the period crime thriller Manila’s Finest (2025), set in 1969 Manila on the eve of martial law, screens at NYAFF with Red and star Piolo Pascual appearing in person.

Piolo Pascual is a Filipino actor, singer, and producer the local long known ago crowned the Philippines’ “Ultimate Heartthrob.” He started in the 1990s and has barely come up for air since, which is how a heartthrob turns into a pop culture household name and stays one. He came up opposite Judy Ann Santos and has spent the years since refusing to pick a lane: mainstream blockbusters one year, hard auteur cinema the next. His filmography runs from Erik Matti’s neo-noir On the Job, which played Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, to Lav Diaz’s eight-hour Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis. 2025 alone gave us The Ride, Meet, Greet & Bye, and Raymond Red’s Manila’s Finest, which walked off with eight awards at the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival, more than any other entry in that edition. He is also a multi-awarded television lead and a multi-platinum recording artist. Behind the camera, Pascual co-founded Spring Films and, as producer or Spring Films principal, helped bring to the screen titles including Kimmy Dora, Kita Kita, Hayop Ka! and Manila’s Finest. Few Filipino stars have moved so easily between mass appeal, festival cinema, music, television, and production.