'Iti Mapukpukaw' fails to make the cut at Oscars

MANILA -- The animated Filipino film "Iti Mapukpukaw" or "The Missing, the country's entry for Oscars' best international feature film, failed to make the shortlist for the prestigious award.

• ‘Iti Mapukpukaw’ is PH official entry to 96th Academy Awards

This, after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on December 22 (Manila time) the shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Academy Awards. The Philippine entry was not included in the list of international feature films that made the cut.

The films who made the cut are:

Armenia, “Amerikatsi”
Bhutan, “The Monk and the Gun”
Denmark, “The Promised Land”
Finland, “Fallen Leaves”
France, “The Taste of Things”
Germany, “The Teachers’ Lounge”
Iceland, “Godland”
Italy, “Io Capitano”
Japan, “Perfect Days”
Mexico, “Totem”
Morocco, “The Mother of All Lies”
Spain, “Society of the Snow”
Tunisia, “Four Daughters”
Ukraine, “20 Days in Mariupol”
United Kingdom, “The Zone of Interest”

Directed by Carl Joseph Papa, "Iti Mapukpukaw" is the big winner at the 2023 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival which features Dolly de Leon, Carlo Aquino, and Gio Gahol.

• Stars, director of 'Iti Mapukpukaw' begin journey to Oscars
• 'Iti Mapukpukaw' tops Cinemalaya 2023 with 3 wins including Best Film

"Iti Mapukpukaw" is a Filipino-Ilocano rotoscope animated film that follows Eric’s (Aquino) life as it twists and turns after the arrival of an alien, and the death of his uncle; both of which trigger Eric to remember his past and untangle his memories.

Papa started writing the story, which is partly based on his own experience, in 2018. He hopes that the film can be a way to tell victims of abuse that it's never too late to speak up.

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