SHADOW BEHIND THE MOON

In 1993, “internal refugees” caught between rebel fire and the military’s attempts to purge the state of communist groups try to survive in the Philippines’ Marag Valley. Trapped in the middle of this no man’s land, Emma and Nardo befriend Joel, a soldier tasked with camp security. On the night of a lunar eclipse, the trio engages in seemingly harmless discussion, but questions about trust and friendship lie just below the surface. In a time of armed conflict, where do their true allegiances lie? And can anyone in this apparent love triangle be trusted? In a single, almost-two-hour take, the camera tracks the protagonists as they move in and around a shack, framing them in tight shots that mirror their confinement. The characters interact through a barrage of back and forth exchanges punctuated by the sounds of machine gun fire as they attempt to discern one another’s true feelings and motivations. Which of the three will escape this hell unscathed?