RUNO!

RUNO!
by Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin Pateña

13:57 MINUTES | Animation, Comedy | PG | Violence

CAST
Nour Hooshmand

PRODUCTION
DIRECTORS – Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin R. Pateña
SCREENPLAY – Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin R. Pateña
EDITORS – Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin R. Pateña
ORIGINAL MUSICAL SCORE – Nicholai Minion
SOUND DESIGNER – Nicholai Minion
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS – Ed Lejano, Manet A. Dayrit, Geo Lomuntad, Carl Joseph E. Papa
PRODUCERS – Geo Lomuntad, Carl Joseph E. Papa, Rebekah Sarabosing
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER – Rory Esguerra

LOGLINE
A few days after the apocalypse started in the Philippines, a silly Filipino stray rescue aspin dog is dead set on fetching her student owner through a long, dangerous journey to defeat her worst enemy: an empty food bowl.

SYNOPSIS
A hungry rescue dog named Runo heads to find her owner, Aimee, in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. She escapes near-death encounters, but still gets bitten in the end. In an act of sheer love, Aimee refuses to give up on Runo.

FILMMAKER’S PROFILE

Hailing from Quezon City and Laguna respectively, Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin R. Pateña crossed paths in their freshman year in iACADEMY. From classmates to directors and writers of their first animated short film RUNO!, the film became a finalist in SIKAP’s SAPLING Pitch Lab, won Most Promising Project in iNDIEGENIUS (2025), and also received the QCShort’s 2025 grant, RUNO!

Catolico and Pateña are currently mentees of VISION Creative Unit under Keith Sicat, where their worlds expanded, their dreams became bigger, and their love for animation and films prospered. Pateña currently resides in a rented house with her family and her cat in Makati, while Catolico currently misses their four weiner dogs and beloved clingy aspin, Burrito

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

RUNO! is an epic adventure where one goes through great lengths to find someone who loves you regardless of who you are. That someone reciprocates this love and goes through the same lengths for you. It is a story built on the belief that there is someone out there for everyone.

By having an aspin hero who is looked down upon because of her breed, Runo continues to be a lovable and silly dog despite being in a dangerous world. Even after she has tragedically transformed, she perseveres, and through this, she is seen and loved.

A friendship – no matter the differences and hardships – will forever be unbreakable. We can all learn from a bond that transcends death and the undeath.

We know dogs are loyal companions that have the utmost unconditional love for their humans. Our love for our canine companions have always gone above and beyond. Yet, we don’t usually expect the same love from people.

RUNO! is a love letter to all aspins. Every dog deserves to be loved and cherished, regardless of pedigree or breed.