(SPOT.ph) All eyes have been on director Mikhail Red since the release of the critically acclaimed Birdshot, which was awarded Best Picture in the Asian Future category at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, aside from being the Philippines' submission to the 90th Academy Awards and the first Filipino film to be released on Netflix. That's why movie buffs couldn't wait to see Neomanila, a crime thriller that premiered at the 2017 QCinema International Film Festival. It won the Audience Choice Award and the Best Artistic Achievement Award at the festival's Circle Competition. It was announced in January that Neomanila and Red's new horror film Eerie would be opening in theaters, and now you can mark your calendars for March 13 for Neomanila's nationwide screening.

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Set in drug war-crazed Manila, the film follows the story of Irma (Eula Valdez), a hitwoman and the head of an infamous death squad. She recruits the young Toto (Timothy Castillo) to be part of the group and trains him to become an assassin. Soon enough, the orphaned Toto comes to see Irma as a mother.

Described by The Hollywood Reporter as a "slick thriller," Neomanila also earned Mycko David the prize for Best Cinematography at the Gawad Urian Awards.

Neomanila opens in theaters on March 13.