THE LIST ] Coming-of-age films

Growing up is hard to do. Sometimes you need a movie to speed it up. We asked five of our favorite filmmakers what their favorite coming-of-age films are.

Raymond Lee, producer/writer, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros
Oro, Plata, Mata The story, the dialogue, the art direction, the direction, Maya Valdez, the sex, the boy who played Angie Ferro's son, Joel Torre, Joel Torre's character's character arc. E.T. Favorite ko yan nu'ng bata ako. The Mighty Because I love a good tearjerker. Phorpa (The Cup) Quietly devastating.

Jade Castro, director/writer, Endo
Rushmore It's so childish, and then it grows up before our very eyes. Nu'ng pinanood ko sa sine first time, hindi ako tumayo sa upuan ko tapos pinanood ko uli kaagad yung kasunod na screening. Na-high ako. Kaka-end lang ng pagiging teenager ko noon. Hanggang ngayon di pa ko sawa. All About Lily Chou Chou. 'Yung alienation at heartbreak at sense of chaos. I think the mood is perfect. When I think about how much I love this film, I realize my kind of "coming of age" is different now from those films I loved as a kid. I feel the painful process of growing up when i watch it. The coming-of-age films i first loved in my adolescence: Stand By Me, Empire of the Sun, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The coming of age films I first loved around my late teens: Welcome to the Dollhouse, Billy Elliot, Beautiful Thing, The Sweet Hereafter.

Quark Henares, director, Keka
So many of my favorite films are coming-of-age. Off the top of my head, though, I love The 400 Blows, Almost Famous and Ghost World. All About Lily Chou Chou is super good too, and The Ice Storm has some really great coming-of-age moments. And Thumbsucker. Shet andami.

Michiko Yamamoto, writer, Magnifico, Ang Pagdadalaga...
Siguro About A Boy. 'Yun una kong naisip e. Kasi it's hip, funny, tapos double coming-of-age story pa. I also love the soundtrack.

Coreen Jimenez, writer, Big Time
Reality Bites Kasi nga I'm a late bloomer, so for me it works. Ma Vie En Rose It's just so irrepressibly inspiring. Bagets It's hard to find a Tagalog movie that's so whimsical and so funny and still so heartfelt.