The Film Academy of the Philippines selected Birdshot as the official entry to The Oscars next year.
The filmmakers made the announcement through their Facebook page earlier today.
Birdshot centers around Maya, the young daughter of a hunter who lives adjacent to a reservation. She shoots a Philippine eagle, not knowing it is an endangered animal and is suddenly pulled into a dangerous manhunt with an abusive local police force.
The film is directed by 25-year-old Mikhail Red and is produced by Pamela Reyes. It stars veteran actor John Arcilla, Ku Aquino, and is the debut film of child actress Mary Joy Apostol who plays Maya.
Birdshot won Best Film at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival earlier this year.
It was also part of last month’s Pistang Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) festival.
Check out the trailer for the film below:
