Slingshot

About a month after Holy Week, a major national election will take place. What future does it hold for a motley group of 'tiradors' – local slang for petty thieves – whose daily survival depends on their fast fingers and brute strength? The young tiradors all live in an old dilapidated tenement building in the slums of Manila where they ply their trade. Via pick-pocketing, burglary, and gang initiations they instil a sense of fear and optimism among their peers, their outlook bleak and desperate despite the promises of change by local politicians. (Peccadillo Pictures)