Festival Note
In the year 2044, Manila feels closer than ever to obliteration. Junie, a longtime fixture in the city’s rave scene, is ready to call it quits. He arrives for his last rave but runs into Chito, the ex-friend/ex-lover he hasn’t seen in 20 years. The encounter cracks open their history, forcing them to confront their past and future. As they go in for one last dance, they ponder not only the end of love, but the end of the universe itself.
Sa taong 2044, ang Maynila ay mas malapit kaysa kailanman sa pagkawasak. Si Junie, isang matagal nang kabit sa eksena ng rave sa lungsod, ay handang magbitiw. Dumating siya para sa kanyang huling rave ngunit nakatagpo si Chito, ang dating kaibigan/dating manliligaw na hindi niya nakita sa loob ng 20 taon. Binuksan ng engkwentro ang kanilang kasaysayan, pinipilit silang harapin ang kanilang nakaraan at hinaharap. Sa pagpasok nila para sa isang huling sayaw, pinag-iisipan nila hindi lamang ang katapusan ng pag-ibig, kundi ang katapusan ng sandaigdig.
Apa Agbayani is a writer and director from Manila working through his feelings with magic. He’s finishing a Film MFA at Columbia University in New York. “Abutan man tayo ng house lights” is his third short film after “Somewhere all the boys are birds” (2023), which premiered at NewFest 35 in New York, and “We kept warm” (2021).