“Bilyarista,” a billiards drama starring Venice Film Festival best actor winner John Arcilla and featuring cameo appearances from legendary pool players Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, is making its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India ( IFFI ) in Goa.

The feature, directed by Phil Giordano, follows Aya ( Loisa Andalio ), a young girl from Manila’s slums who dreams of becoming a billiards world champion but is manipulated by her hustler uncle Itoy, played by Arcilla, into playing dangerous underground gambling matches after her father’s murder.

Giordano, an Italian-American filmmaker who previously directed Arcilla in the short film “Supot” (2016), was drawn to the project nearly a decade ago after encountering the Philippines’ under

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