A dog’s loyalty to its owner is one of the greatest acts of love we might ever live to witness. Most fur parents even consider it a life source—a reason to wake up every morning and face an otherwise soulless world head-on. But in RUNO!, this very bond morphs into a superpower that even a zombie apocalypse can’t silence.
Photo: Cinemalaya, Runo Studios
While we’ve borne the brunt of ruthless downpours, this award-winning short film by Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin Pateña remains headstrong in bringing light, love, and lots of laughter to this month’s Cinemalaya festivities. The film festival may be over, but RUNO! and its unshakeable heart live on—a true-blue testament to the magic that happens when Filipinos give storytellers in animation a chance to flourish. We’d celebrate this fearless aspin (asong Pinoy) all year long if we could, the living dead be damned.
No one can resist a good dog story. More so, ones that don’t hesitate to turn their audiences into crying messes by their final acts. RUNO! takes the driving forces of these tear-jerkers and puts them front and center in a chaotic, zombie-infested Philippines that fosters fear and familiarity at every turn. We follow our titular character, a rescue dog who must reunite with her owner, Aimee, days into the outbreak in hopes of enjoying a well-deserved meal. Though near-death encounters plague the road ahead, Runo stops at nothing to find her way back into Aimee’s caring, comforting arms—the one place that danger can’t reach.
You need not be a dog person, let alone have a pet, to understand the earnest creativity that makes RUNO! a gem in local cinema. 14 minutes, though packed with purpose, barely scratch the surface of the film’s greatness, which has taken its passionate team to heights far greater than the movie house’s four corners.
Every Gripping Emotion All At Once
View this post on Instagram
RUNO! is a handful in every sense of the word. While other short films take time to flesh out all the emotions they could evoke, this animated adventure blazes through them—almost too swiftly at times, without letting them simmer first. But this is the exact urgency that fuels Runo in her quest to find Aimee, as if asking, “Who cares about these feelings at hand, least of all some small scratches, when my hooman is nowhere to be found?”
Admit it or not, those same heightened nerves would course through you, too, upon separating from your pet against both your wills amid zombie-filled streets. This rings true, at the very least, to the Cinemalaya crowd, who were in stitches one minute, on the edge of their seats the next, and crying buckets not long after.
It’s especially worrisome watching a wounded Runo brave an apocalypse on an empty stomach, just a hair’s breadth away from becoming the undead’s next meal. The dwindling hope in her eyes practically seeped through the screen with every empty sari-sari store she walked past, and no one could deny the cracks in their hearts that surfaced upon seeing the starving pup mistake a zombie’s intestines for longganisa.
Lost in an all-too-familiar apocalyptic Metro Manila, Runo expends almost every ounce of her energy scouring for food, while Aimee’s whereabouts remain unknown. That’s why we can’t help but bring out the waterworks when the film enters its final minutes and ends on a bittersweet note that’ll have you rushing home and holding your fur babies a little closer every night onward.
The Humor (and Culture) in the Details
View this post on Instagram
Though RUNO! runs at a rapid-fire pace, it still gives audiences enough time to take in the details that strengthen its impact. If you’ve ever wondered how a zombie outbreak would transform the Philippines, this just might be one of the closest (and silliest) interpretations we’ll get.
Every scene tinkers with bright light and warm hues—a stark contrast from the gruesome grayscales that shroud most apocalyptic flicks—to set the tone of an innocent pup’s interactions with the living dead. Runo happens upon abandoned outlets of our favorite fast food joints. Meanwhile, zombies of all wacky shapes and sizes bring historic landmarks like the EDSA People Power Monument and the National Shrine of Mother Mary into view. Even the witty graffiti and banners on neighboring houses stand out, sprinkling amusement throughout our protagonist’s otherwise harrowing adventure.
Before Cinemalaya, the minds behind RUNO! brought their labor of love to this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF). Now, with a Best Screenplay award under its belt, it fills us with utmost pride to witness this animated gem help Filipino culture and art transcend geographical borders. If a two-dimensional rescue dog can make it to the global stage, who’s to say it won’t be in the cards for us someday, too?
A Better, Brighter Future for Our Pets
View this post on Instagram
There’s no telling what the future of Philippine animation will be years from now. But with remarkable and purposeful shorts like RUNO! at its helm, we reckon it’ll be in excellent hands.
Catolico and Pateña’s brainchild steals the show while saying little to nothing at all. Cinemalaya mainstay Nour Hooshmand puts Aimee (and the film, by extension) in a tender, vulnerable light, masterfully portraying the power of friendship that even the most vicious, brain-eating creatures can’t hold a candle to.
View this post on Instagram
If there’s one thing RUNO! gets right about Filipino fur parents, it’s that they’d protect their pets to the ends of the earth. Zombies and other apocalyptic hazards may not exist in real life, but systemic cruelty does. And while these harmful crimes against animals, especially strays, persist, it’s up to us to advocate for more fruitful environments that nurture our everyday lives and those of the fur babies around us.
ALSO READ: BINI Mikha Adopts a Dog From Pawssion Project—Here’s the Heartwarming Story Behind It
What were your favorite entries to this year’s Cinemalaya film festival? Sound off and share your picks with us in the comments below!
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com’s Facebook Page. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com community at WIM Squad, and join our Viber group to stay updated with the latest around the Philippines and beyond!
