Philippine filmmaker Raymond Red is back in a major way with Himpapawid (Manila Skies) (2009), his first feature since his short film Anino (Shadows), which won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2000. The world premiere goes down at the Tokyo International Film Festival Main Competition (Oct. 17-25), and it will be the closing film of the Cinemanila International Film Festival on Oct. 25. The synopsis of the film, from Red’s website:

Inspired by a true event, Himpapawid (Manila Skies) tackles the astounding story of a lone deranged hijacker who is pushed to the edge as he struggles with the oppression of surviving in modern Philippine society. The film dwells on the common story of a desperate simple man from the countryside searching for a decent means of living in the big city, Manila. He keeps stumbling as he moves from one “station of the cross” to another. In dire straits, he later joins an amateur gang plotting a heist to get even with a corrupt employer. This ultimately goes wayward and ends in devastation. Further hounded by guilt that his father is helplessly ill in the province, he draws his last straw and plots the insane hijacking of a plane to finally take him to his ultimate destination – home or hell.