Pandanggo has three stories with parallel themes converging in one event, the Kasilonawan Festival in Obando: a career woman learning to dance tango who is torn between her dance partner and live-in partner has to choose the man who will satisfy her dream of raising a family; a wife whose wish to conceive a baby boy to make her husband happy brings her feet to the festival, but fate has other plans of bringing the child into her life; and a modern woman who, amidst her medical condition that might render her childless for the rest of her life, finds connection with an ancient lore about fertility.
A story of an over-the-hill prostitute whose life savings are stolen during the Holy Week.
A young boy frequently visits an old man who lives alone, keeping him always in good company. One night, he chances upon the old man watching a dated clip of himself as a cross-dressing boy. This sparks within the young boy an interest to find out more about the old man's past. What he ultimately discovers aids both him and the old man towards a richer understanding of how the weight of life and identity should be carried.
Mara is scared of water. She has a rare condition that keeps her from touching any forms of liquid. As a single mother, her only pearl is her frisky son Elim, who was later on diagnosed with a life threathening disease. The boy’s only request is to learn how to swim.
Kaye arrives at the airport in Pampanga where she waits for her estranged father to fetch her. Arriving late, her father tells her they have to wait for another arrival later that day. In those first few hours they spend together, how do they both attempt to get to know each other?
Little Mia has a lot of questions about death even if she is only 7 years old. She has always heard about it but never fully understood it. And as she experiences the loss of her own father, she struggles to see her mother’s sadness grow heavier each day. Mia seeks help instead from the shadow puppets her father left her, to cope and understand the meaning of life and death.
Alona attempts to possess her heart's desire: a man who frequents her fantasies and the toilet of the Naga City bus terminal.
Consuelo, a ghost who has haunted Escolta for many years, finds a respite from her loneliness in Joey, a young man who has just died. As the two ghosts pass the time before Joey moves to the afterlife, Consuelo questions her reasons for staying put.
Ten years ago, Ginny, an Architecture student, and Marco, a History professor, began a one-of-a-kind and unpredictable love story. In the five years that they were together, they brought out the best in each other, which included Marco’s unrealized dream of becoming a chef. Together, they worked towards their dream of opening up a restaurant, but when Ginny realized her own pursuits were different from his, she rejected his wedding proposal and left the country for a Masters degree in Architecture. At present, Ginny co-owns a one-stop Architecture and Interior Design firm specializing in Restoration. She receives an email from Marco, which was written and sent after their break-up, meant to be read four years later. It makes her feel even more regretful of leaving the love of her life.
In a quaint provincial town, an elderly man awaits his inevitable fate.
Rashid Ali returns to his Maguindanao hometown after studying and working for more than 25 years in Barcelona, Spain. Idealistic, he dreams of using what he learned in Europe to improve the lives of his people. But nothing has changed since he left. Politicians remain corrupt, poverty is widespread, his people desperate.
Gene works for the local underworld syndicate but always treats his abductees with kindness. He begins a dangerous affair with ex-bar girl Dolor, who's routinely beaten by her rich husband. When the cops move in on Gene's gang and Dolor's husband winds up dead, the couple flees with the law and their enemies in hot pursuit.
The episodically connected lives of four college friends unfold throughout the incipient martial law years, as they struggle to define their sexual and professional desires and how best to attain them.
Two filmmakers try to create a film venturing on the life of Jose Rizal. Before they do that, they try to investigate on the heroism of the Philippine national hero. Of particular focus is his supposed retraction of his views against the Roman Catholic Church during the Spanish regime in the Philippines which he expressed primarily through his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The investigation was done mainly by "interviewing" key individuals in the life of Rizal such as his mother Teodora Alonso, his siblings Paciano, Trinidad, and Narcisa, his love interest and supposed wife Josephine Bracken, and the Jesuit priest who supposedly witnessed Rizal's retraction, Fr. Balaguer. Eventually, the two filmmakers would end up "interviewing" Rizal himself to get to the bottom of the issue.
In a time in the Philippines when the concept of divorce does not exist, a young woman has an affair with a married man. Eventually, they move in together, and that is when the problems start.
A journalist investigates a woman with the name of China Doll. Soon, he discovers his knowledge of her turns out to be dangerous.
On a storm-ravaged island that has seen its share of tragedy, a person who had been assumed dead reappears and ignites a frenzy of reactions, ranging from ecstatic religious fervor to fear.
Trisha, a Filipino transgender woman, suddenly dies while being crowned in a beauty pageant. Her last wish was to be presented as a different celebrity on each night of her wake, but her conservative father wants to bury her as a man.
A young woman tired of being the rebound girl makes rules for herself to avoid that situation. But she is immediately challenged when she makes a connection with another heartbroken young man.
Ferry owner Benjamin has a regular passenger, Chedeng, who is studying to become a midwife. Chedeng has a friend and neighbour, Maria, and without either of them knowing about it they both have a relationship with Benjamin. When Mary finds out she’s pregnant, things get difficult.