Pink Halo-Halo is one of the five official entries for the first ever Directors Showcase Category of the 2010 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. During the awards night of the 6th edition of Cinemalaya, it won Best Editing for Chuck Gutierrez. It also received a citation from the Cinemalaya Kids Treats as Jury's Selected Film for Children which describes the film as "a sensitive portrayal of a painful reality."
Pink Halo-Halo is a story of innocence being taken away from a child as his soldier-father battles it out in Mindanao. The limp-wristed Natoy (Paolo Constantino) copes with the absence of his father, by playing with his best friend, Aldrin, and flying kites. In the center of it all, is his mother Sonia (Angeli Bayani), who is pretty much left with the unpleasant and grim realities of provincial life. Her mother-in-law dislikes her, and money can be very hard-earned in the impoverished Masbate.
Director Joselito "Jay" Altarejós shows his disapproval of the war in Mindanao. His film is clouded with a sense of dread, especially in the farewell scene where the father, Lino (Allen Dizon), takes his final trip to Mindanao. His wife and child watch as the ship slowly drifts away. Altarejós resents the war, but manages to avoid condemning it outright. The director instead lets us focus in on the conflict as seen through the eyes of the child, who watches unflinchingly as the realities of the war gets told simply in a school play acted in by his uncle, Mating (Mark Fabillar).
When asked about how he feels about playing the ill-fated soldier in the film, Allen Dizon says: "Playing Lino was haunting. There is a scene in the film where the corporal stalls his final trip by playing the guitar. I got goosebumps doing it. It was intense. That was the last time his family was going to see him alive, and there he was unkowingly saying goodbye through a song." He also adds that he enjoyed working with all of his co-stars. "They're like family. I actually forgot that I was just an actor playing a role."
Pink Halo-Halo will open on August 11, 2010 at the following selected cinemas: Robinsons Galleria, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, Market Place Mandaluyong, Isetann Recto and SM Cebu.
It is suitable for all ages as it got a G rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.
SYNOPSIS. Natoy (Paolo Constantino) is just like any other child. He finds joy and excitement in the simplest of things -- especially in eating halo-halo filled with pink gelatin and red sago at the local halo-halo store owned by his godmother, Bing (Dexter Doria); and playing with his uncle, Mating (Mark Fabillar).
Things change suddenly when, as he and his mother Sonia (Angeli Bayani) are watching television, a news report about the ongoing war in Mindanao shows footage of a badly wounded soldier waiting for rescue. That soldier--almost bleeding to death, is his father, Corporal Lino Bolante (Allen Dizon).
As far away as the war, this story does not just show how the war in Mindanao robs a child of his innocence, but also shows the shadows of the wars that Filipino homes confront everyday.
The film was shot in Masbate and is the first full-length feature to use Tigaonon, the language of the people of Ticao Island in Masbate.