When This Is All Over 2023

A24-hour lockdown in a pristine Manila high-rise frames the uneasy life of a young man known only as The Guy Juan Karlos Labajo. Trapped within his upscale condominium, he longs to reunite with his mother in the United States and, to fund that escape, slides into selling recreational drugs to the city’s affluent residents. The routine monotony of his days is punctuated by the glittering but hollow world outside his glass walls, where luxury masks distance and loneliness.

Tanya [Nour Hooshmand] and Taylor [Chaye Mogg], two privileged residents, approach him with a bold, reckless idea: throw an illegal party to break the suffocating monotony of quarantine life. The plan promises a rush, a temporary lift from the grinding stillness of confinement. The Guy sees a chance not only to entertain but to leverage the event for a visa opportunity, as Taylor’s ties to the U.S. Embassy hint at a possible escape hatch. He agrees to help orchestrate the gathering, hoping it might serve as his doorway out of a life he finds increasingly capricious and brittle.

While scouting venues and laying out the night’s details, The Guy spends long hours on the building’s rooftop, where the city noise fades and the city’s social hierarchies feel most tangible. There, he meets Rosemarie [Jorrybell Agoto], a diligent, kind-hearted staff member who keeps the building running with quiet competence. Their first interactions carry a chill, but a tentative friendship slowly forms, giving The Guy a rare sense of grounding amid the chaos above the streets.

As preparations intensify, The Guy is pulled deeper into the hedonistic circuit that his wealthy clients inhabit. The party becomes a sensory storm: psychedelic visuals, a pulsating soundtrack, and a tide of substances that blur the line between control and surrender. The night promises release, yet its aftershocks reveal the sharp divide between the residents who live in privilege and the staff who keep the building functioning day by day.

When the illegal gathering is discovered, consequences ripple through the building. The staff, especially Rosemarie, face disciplinary repercussions that highlight the steep costs of indulgence for those who wield power and the quiet, invisible labor of the many who keep a place like this livable. The Guy grapples with guilt as he witnesses the fallout of his choices, recognizing that his attempt to escape has come at others’ expense and dignity.

In a quiet, measured act of contrition, The Guy seeks out Rosemarie to apologize, hoping to bridge the widening gap between them. But when he finds her, her expression is unreadable, leaving the future of their connection unresolved. The ending lingers on the contrasts—the gleam of luxury and the burden of labor, the lure of freedom and the price exacted by desire—inviting audiences to reflect on what escape truly costs and what remains when the party ends.