MANILA, Philippines—There are film festivals and film festivals, but UST’s Cinevita at the University of Santo Tomas is unique because it focuses on positive, life-affirming features, short films and documentaries.

This is a focus that isn’t easy to find, and yet, many moviegoers feel a need for it, so Cinevita deserves our appreciative patronage. Its second edition will unreel from March 5 to 7 at UST’s TARC Auditorium. The keynote speaker this year is Inquirer columnist and section editor, Nestor U. Torre.

Orphans

Sponsored by UST’s The Varsitarian campus publication, Cinevita 2008’s screening schedule starts with Brilliante Mendoza’s “Foster Child” at 9 a.m. The Seiko Films production makes a good opening film for Cinevita because it tells the story of a surrogate mother (Cherry Pie Picache) who takes care of foundlings and orphans before they get adopted.

Its companion film at 10:30 a.m. is “A Child from China,” Aurora Santiago’s short documentary about an American couple adopting Chinese children who are victims of China’s one-child policy. At 11 a.m., Brilliante Mendoza speaks at a forum.

At 1 p.m, Richard Attenborough’s “Five People You Meet in Heaven” dramatizes the search for the meaning of life. It’s about an 83-year-old war veteran who dies while trying to save a girl at an amusement park. When he awakens in the afterlife, he encounters five people who help him understand his life.

This is followed at 4 p.m. by Joey Velasco’s 20-minute docu, “Kambas ng Lipunan,” which tells the stories of the children in “Hapag ng Pag-asa,” Velasco’s celebrated painting that “reinvents” the Last Supper.

The day’s screenings end with “Endo,” Jade Castro’s feature film about young Filipinos who go from one dead-end job to the next. “Endo” stars Ina Feleo and Jason Abalos.

The festival screenings on March 6 start early, at 8 a.m., with “Estropa,” a 13-minute docu by Sheryl Rose Andres and Michael Galang, on life along the railways in Tondo, Manila. Its specific focus is on the rap songs composed by some of the people living there, about their personal experiences.

At 8:15, Jim Libiran’s “Tribu” is similarly focused on the “tribes” of young gangsters who roam the streets of Manila in search of quick fixes and dangerous thrills.

At 10 a.m., “Shadowlands” dramatizes the love affair between writers, C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) and Joy Gresham (Debra Winger).

Richard Legaspi’s 15-minute “Ambulansya” screens at 1 p.m., followed at 1:15 p.m. by “Numbalikdiwa,” a full-length feature starring Maricel Soriano, Albert Martinez and Meryll Soriano. At 2:45 p.m., Isaiah Reyes’ “Anino” is about a photographer’s experiences in the “soulless” city. “Tunay na Buhay” at 3:30 p.m. is about the difficult life of an impoverished girl. And, at 4 p.m., Auraeus Solito’s “Pisay” relates the stories of eight Philippine Science High School students in the volatile 1980s.

American forces

Cinevita’s final day starts at 8 a.m. with the bracing feature, “Pay It Forward.” At 10 a.m., “Karsel” dramatizes a teenager’s efforts to free herself from her overly controlling mother’s grasp. At 10:30 a.m., “Tutos” is about a tailor’s relationship with his only child. “Unconventional Warfare” at 11 a.m. deals with the history of American forces in Mindanao.

At 1 p.m., “Barako” vivifies the theme of social relations. At 3:30 p.m., “Tirador” is about the lives of small-time crooks in Quiapo. “Sonda” at 5 p.m. deals with abortion. And “Still Life” concludes the festival at 6 p.m., with its story about a visual artist’s self-imposed exile.