SCHOOL SERVICE

Maya is a victim of the “school service”, a vehicle that looks like a regular school bus. She was just walking home from school when the bus stopped beside her and the driver offered her a ride. However, the bus did not stop at her place. Maya was taken, together with other kids, to Manila to become a beggar. At dusk, the kids are dropped off in the street so they can start working chasing after passers-by and cars, begging for alms. Maya begins a horrific life in a strange city and cannot stop thinking about how to get home. But that might never happen. The film offers shocking portrayal of children living in the streets in the Philippines, working for organized crime rings. The film was presented at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2018 and the Warsaw International Film Festival 2018.

Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio started as a music video director for Filipino top singers and directed variety shows and soap operas on Philippine Television. He started directing independent feature films in 2014 and, in 2016, his film “Area”, won the Best Director Award at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) and Special Jury Prizes at the Eurasia International Film Festival 2017 in Kazakhstan and Houston International Film Festival 2017.