Radikals

A young rookie from a bizarre chicken-dance group faces a heckler after being the worst dancer at a performance -- leading him to a series of strange events that reveal what the group does to their weakest link.

Arvin Belarmino is a Filipino filmmaker raised both in Cavite and Manila. His movie Kyel was a short film finalist for Cinemalaya 2015. Nakaw (2016), codirected with Noel Escondo, was premiered at Instituto Cervantes' 15th PELICULA>PELIKULA in 2016. Following films include Tarang (2020), Hinakdal (2023), Radikals (2024), selected for the 63rd Semaine de la Critique Cannes 2024 Short Film Competition, and Agapito (2025), codirected with Kyla Romero.

In his university years, Belarmino stumbled upon a small art collective near the college where he was taking up Information Technology. This collective, Lirio Salvador’s Espasyo, became a stepping stone for his interest in the experimental art scene and served as Belarmino’s unofficial film school, turning his hobby into a passion for filmmaking. Eventually, this led to the creation of his film Radikals in 2024.