'i grew an inch when my father died' Courtesy of IFFR Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Three boys in a riverside village on the island of Leyte in the Philippines are at the center of writer-director-cinematographer P. R. Monencillo Patindol's feature debut, i grew an inch when my father died. But the film, world premiering on Friday, Jan. 30 in the Bright Future lineup, dedicated to first features "representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking," of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). But despite its young protagonists, it's not all fun and games here. When their abusive father is murdered by a neighbor, two brothers, Ge and Kenken, must grapple with loss while navigating their friendship with the killer's son, Ricor. The IFFR website promises "a deeply felt debut about the complexities of crime and inherited guilt." Related Stories Music Harry Styles Fans in Uproar Over "Gross" Tour Ticket Costs: "A Shock to the System" Movies 'The Prophet': A Pastor Turns to Witchcraft in a Cinematic Meditation on Doubt, Darkness, and "Shiny Objects" Patindol wrote the screenplay with Giancarlo Abrahan, who also served as producer of the movie, in the Cebuano language, which was a cinematic community collaboration. James Kenneth Cayunda, Ricor Ventilanon, and Gerald Polea star. The striking visuals of i grew an inch when my father died include desaturated color with splashes of color, including blood red, and a mix of static and handheld camera work. Patindol shared with THR how he developed and made the film and discussed its complex social themes and aesthetics. It all started with the filmmaker's second short film, Shoredust (2024). "During the COVID pandemic, I wanted to rediscover home and film in my hometown," he tells THR. "I've been away from home for almost two decades. So, I asked my parents to help me gather local youths from our community who wanted to participate in filming. I didn't really have a concept yet, and we started out as a group of five, and I taught them filmmaking, training them on camera operation, sound recording, and production itself. And there was this waiting for sparks." In the end, the creative group grew to 12 members. 'i grew an inch when my father died' Courtesy of IFFR The team ended up filming Shoredust. But during the shoot, they encountered a group of children swimming in a river. "During a break, some of my crew members teased one boy, so I asked why," recalls Patindol. "They told me about this incident between two fathers, both drunk, where one fatally stabbed the other. The boy being teased was the son of the killer. But also playing in the same river was the son of the man who was murdered. Despite this, the two boys remained close, and I became curious about how such a friendship could endure amid the bloodshed." With this as a core inspiration for i grew an inch, Patindol was ready to make another film in the community. "Shoredust felt really rewarding as an experience, so I wanted to film another one," he tells THR. "The crew consisted of the cast of the short, and we also expanded and invited more people, including team members' cousins and their neighbors. Actually, the two lead actors of that short film became my associate directors of photography for the feature. There were times when I was in Manila, and I would need them to film something, so we would do pre-production online, they would then shoot and send me the footage. And I was really blown away." The filmmaker didn't want to involve the two boys who have remained friends despite the father of one killing the other's father. "I hoped to be sensitive to the real story by staying away from it," Patindol explains. "I wanted to explore how friendships endure amidst loss and unimaginable circumstances. The film is inspired by that incident, but it tells its own story." i grew an inch sees two brothers, sons of a murdered man, react differently to the trauma. The filmmaker cites the famous line from Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore, "closing your eyes isn't going to change anything." The older brother refuses to see his grief, yet he is haunted by images of his father. James Kenneth Cayunda in 'i grew an inch when my father died' Courtesy of IFFR In contrast, the younger brother Kenken "stops speaking to those who expect him to talk after witnessing the murder - yet he speaks to a creature he has just met, as if it were a friend," he explains. "Both try to process what happened, but their home offers no space for it. Here is a family who cannot look each other in the eye and fear confronting their shared loss." For Kenken, losing his father also triggers a longing to connect with a father figure, which comes in the form of an invisible "creature" offering to be present, listen and provide com