Cinemalaya 19 marks ‘many firsts’

This year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is marking many “firsts” in its 19 years of existence.

The annual film festival was previously held the event at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), its original home. But with the CCP Main Building still undergoing rehabilitation, the 19th edition of the film festival will take place at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), from Aug. 4 to 13.

For its 10-day run, the Cinemalaya films will be screened at three meeting rooms: Cinema Rizal (Meeting Room 1), Cinema Bonifacio (Meeting Rooms 2 and 3) and Cinema Felipe (Meeting Room 4). The fringe events and talkbacks will be held at the Cinema Palma (Meeting Room 5), while the exhibitions and filmmakers’ profiles will be on display at the Executive Lounge.

“We hope to retain the unique community spirit of the festival, which was one of the main considerations when we were deciding on the venue. If we look at the history of the convention center, PICC is quite conducive for film screenings, having hosted the Manila International Film Festival in the 1980s,” said CCP president Margie Moran-Floirendo.

Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. president Laurice Guillen pointed out during a press conference the many “firsts” of the 2023 edition for the organization and the participants.

“The 19th batch of full-length filmmakers, who are recipients of a seed grant from the CCP, also received for the first time a counterpart amount of P1 million each, an additional seed grant from the FDCP (Film Development Council of the Philippines). In addition, the FDCP has also awarded a hundred thousand each to the 10 shorts in the competition,” she remarked.

“Aside from being the first recipients of the grants from FDCP, there are other firsts for this batch. First, the semifinalists underwent the first film lab, designed by Cinemalaya, a training project designed by the Cinemalaya Film Institute to better prepare the first-time feature filmmakers in all aspects of filmmaking,” she continued.

“Second, the films were hatched during the pandemic — from writing, submission, selection to preproduction. The conception and development of these projects took place during this period of uncertainty. In fact, the entire competition process was conducted through video conferencing including the film lab,” she said.

“And so, we are curious to see the effects and the influence of the pandemic on their films. So that is what we look forward to in the 19th edition of Cinemalaya.”

Cinemalaya competition chairman Jose “Joey” Javier Reyes officially introduced the roster of titles participating this year.

The 10 competing full-length films are Ang Duyan ng Magiting (The Cradle of the Brave) by Dustin Celestino; As If It’s True by John Rogers; Bulawan nga Usa (Golden Deer) by Kenneth dela Cruz; Gitling by Jopy Arnaldo; Huling Palabas (Fin) by Ryan Espinosa Machado; Iti Mapukpukaw (The Missing) by Carl Joseph  Papa; Maria by She Andes; Rookie by Samantha Lee and Natts Jadaone; Tether by Gian Arre; and When This Is All Over by Kevin Mayuga.

According to direk Joey, “For the first time in Cinemalaya for the feature films, we are featuring a documentary film and a film, which involves animation which means we are opening the doors to the various kinds of films for competition in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, out of the close to 150 entries in the short films category, only 10 titles made it to the cut.

“The 10 (finalists) that would best represent what we believe is the future of Philippine cinema,” declared director Joey.

“What is even more encouraging and enriching about this is that a great number of these filmmakers do not only come from what they call Imperial Manila but rather all the regions of our country. And this is an invigorating fact which should show the direction of where cinema is going.”

In the competition for the short film category are Ang Kining Binalaybay Kag Ambahanon Ko Para Sa Imo (These Rhymes and Rhythms Meant For You) by Kent John Desamparado; Golden Bells by Kurt Soberano; Hinakdal (Condemned) by Arvin Belarmino; Hm Hm Mhm by Sam Villa-Real and Kim Timan; Kokuryo: The Untold Story of Bb. Undas 2019 by Diokko Manuel Dionisio and Makoko Sa Baybay (I Am Going To The Beach) by Mike Cabarles.

Completing the lineup of short film entries are Maudi nga Arapaap (Last Dream) by Daniel Magayon; Sibuyas ni Perfecto (Perfecto’s Onion) by Januar Yap; Sota (Horse Caretaker) by Mae Tanagon; and Tong Adlaw nga Nag-snow sa Pinas (The Day It Snowed in the Philippines) by Joshua Caesar Medroso.

Themed “ilumiNasyon,” the Cinemalaya 19 “aims to challenge filmmakers and audiences beyond just skimming the surface and take deep dives to illumine the depths that might inform, reshape and challenge the way we think through and experience this work in progress called the nation,” said festival director Chris Millado.

“Cinemalaya Festival 19 affirms the integrity of the filmmakers’ vision as it continues to illuminate the continuing project of nation, thus the theme for Cinemalaya Festival 19 is ilumiNasyon,” he further explained.

The opening and closing films will be announced soon and the awarding night will happen on Aug. 13. Aside from the film screenings and live events, there will also be talkbacks, forums, exhibit, trade fair and book launches, among others.

The festival’s mainstays are Retrospective, a lookback on winning films of past Cinemalaya editions; Best of the Festivals, which showcases the best films from local festivals; Visions of Asia, featuring award-winning Asian and Netpac films; Premieres, a showcase of never-before-screen films; and Dokyu, which screens award-winning documentaries.

Millado also announced that the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video will hold screenings of its pre-selected entries, from Aug. 5 to 7, at the CCP Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez (CCP Blackbox Theater) and the awarding night is on Aug. 12.

The marketing and sales office of the Cinemalaya film festival tickets will be located at the main lobby of the PICC. This time, there will be seat numbers to address the long queues for the entrance of the screenings, shared CCP VP and artistic director Dennis Marasigan.

For details, visit CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and Cinemalaya website (www.cinemalaya.org). Follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya Facebook pages and other social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok.