Kanibal (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Kanibal is a 17-minute drama, thriller and horror film from the Philippines. Written and directed by Michael Baylon, it follows a struggling meat vendor confronting the harsh human cost of a mayor’s plan to privatize a public market.

Kanibal is a 2026 Filipino short film that places an ordinary market dispute against a darker, more unsettling backdrop. Its story centers on a struggling meat vendor whose livelihood is threatened when a mayor advocates privatizing the public market.

Written and directed by Michael Baylon, the film combines drama, thriller and horror elements within a 17-minute runtime. The premise gives its social conflict a sharply personal focus, connecting political and economic change to the experience of one vulnerable worker.

Kanibal movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows Lea, a struggling meat vendor confronted by the proposed privatization of her public market. Mayor Lin supports the plan, setting up a conflict between an official vision of “progress” and the immediate consequences for people who depend on the market to survive.

With the public market and meat trade at the center of its premise, Kanibal frames privatization as more than an administrative decision. The story points toward the brutal cost such change can impose, while its thriller and horror classification suggests that the conflict is presented with an increasingly disturbing edge.

What to expect

Kanibal is a compact film built around social tension, economic insecurity and a confrontation over public space. The drama comes from the clash between a market vendor and a mayor’s privatization push, while the thriller and horror genres indicate a darker treatment of that conflict.

At 17 minutes, the film has a short-form structure rather than the scope of a feature-length political drama. Its focus remains on the market, the proposed changes and the people directly affected by them.

Cast and creative team

Michael Baylon writes and directs Kanibal. Rowen Jean Ledesma plays Lea, the struggling meat vendor at the center of the story, while Roselle Lao portrays Mayor Lin. Ma. Lourdes Maculada appears as Anecita, Lia Sophia Sajonia as Anne and Julian Paul Larroder as Bobot.

• Rowen Jean Ledesma as Lea
• Roselle Lao as Mayor Lin
• Ma. Lourdes Maculada as Anecita
• Lia Sophia Sajonia as Anne
• Julian Paul Larroder as Bobot

Release and production context

Kanibal is a 2026 production from the Philippines with a runtime of 17 minutes. It is listed with a release date of September 23, 2026, and is produced by ReelOne Media and Cine ni Mango Productions. The supplied metadata does not specify a spoken language.

Production companies: ReelOne Media, Cine ni Mango Productions

Movies Dock view

Kanibal presents a concise, genre-blending premise about privatization and the pressure placed on a market worker caught in its path. With Michael Baylon handling both the writing and direction, the film brings a focused social conflict into a short drama, thriller and horror format.

Film data:
TMDB