Tag: Cinemalaya 2022

Cinemalaya 2022 Winners: ‘The Baseball Player’, ‘Blue Room’, & More Bag the Balanghai Trophies
The 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has awarded its much-revered Balanghai trophies to the winning entries in a program held at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo last August 14.

The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo was named Best Film, Best Screenplay for Obispo, Best Editing for Zig Dulay, and Best Actor for Tommy Alejandrino, who starred as a Moro child soldier dreaming to become a baseball player.

Meanwhile, the box office hit Blue Room by Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan took home the Special Jury Prize, as well as the Best Direction for Dagñalan, Best Cinematography for Neil Daza, Best Supporting Actor for Soliman Cruz, and Best Production Design for Marxie Maolen Fadul. Blue Room follows the members of the indie rock band Rebel Rebel who are arrested for drug possession and must decide if they would use their privilege to get away with it.

Other winners of this year’s Cinemalaya include Max Eigenmann who won the Best Actress award for her performance in 12 Weeks by Anna Isabella Matutina, which also won the NETPAC Award; Ruby Ruiz winning the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Christian Paolo Lat’s Ginhawa; Kargo by TM Malones won the Audience Choice Award; Pepe Manikan for Best Sound in Bula Sa Langit; and Isha Abubakar of Retirada for Best Musical Score.

Meanwhile, here is the list of winners for the Short Film Category:
- Best Short Film & NETPAC Award – Zig Dulay’s Black Rainbow
- Best Direction & Special Jury Prize – Gabriella Serrano’s Dikit
- Audience Choice Award – Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras (The Dreams That Are Written On The Sand) by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico
After two years of streaming online due to the pandemic, Cinemalaya officially returned to onsite screening this year. Twelve finalists from the pool of 2020 and 2021 Cinemalaya entries competed for the full-length category and 12 films also competed for the Short film category.

The Cinemalaya finalists will continue to screen in select partner cinemas nationwide until August 16. The festival will also go to Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte on September 9 to 15, followed by its online run in October via the CCP Vimeo Account.

For more information, visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites.

ALSO READ
Cinemalaya 18 Reviews: ‘Blue Room,’ ‘The Baseball Player,’ and opening film ‘Leonor Will Never Die’
Cinemalaya 18 Reviews: ‘Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?’ and ‘Kaluskos’
Cinemalaya 2022 Unveils Lineup of Full-Length Films & Short Films

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Homestream image courtesy of Cinemalaya.
August 15, 2022
Cinemalaya 18 Reviews: ‘Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?’ and ‘Kaluskos’

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?

Directed by Real Florido
Cast: JC De Vera and Janine Gutierrez
My Rating:
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This is the fourth movie I’ve seen Janine Gutierrez in and I’m now convinced she can nail any role that is thrown at her. She brings so much honesty into her performances that you forget she just played a different character in her last movie. There’s a very lived-in, natural way about her portrayals that makes her characters seem so real. In ‘Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?’ she expands her range even further by playing the deaf and mute artist Nat with such bravura that I was absolutely transfixed.

Unfortunately, the film’s narrative structure takes on a non-linear form, which conflates the movie’s story and makes it feel incohesive. There’s the story of the challenges of a deaf-mute person, the toxic relationship she has with her husband Migs (a solid performance by JC De Vera), and the feminist undertones that come from having such an oppressive husband. The narrative jumps in and out of flashbacks and certain narrative points come at a much later time than when they are needed.

Because certain backstory elements aren’t revealed until much later, what we experience in this film is the drama, the after effects, and these don’t grip us or hold on to us because they feel unmotivated. Why are the couple breaking up? How did they get to this point? Was Migs always this controlling? The answers come so much later that by the time that they do, I have already made judgments on certain characters that weren’t warranted or I’m totally disconnected from other characters completely.

The non-linear structure (which is very reminiscent of the film ‘Blue Valentine’ to me) feels more cosmetic than functional. And there are certain storylines that I feel could have been explored (the world and struggles of the deaf and mute community) and a subplot with a farmer’s son, who is also deaf and mute, that Migs wants to teach sign language. While it shows Migs’ savior complex at work, it never really goes anywhere narratively and never really completes that it feels out of place.

There’s a lot of promise in this film but it needs to be able to take all the story elements and bring it back to what seems like the main point of the film, which is to fully explore the deterioration of this couple’s marriage. The film is a great showcase for its two lead actors, though, of how much they can convey without speaking one line of dialogue. If anything, watch it for their performances.

Kaluskos

Directed by Roman S. Perez Jr.
Cast: Coleen Garcia, Queenzy Calma, Karl Medina
My Rating:
BUY TICKETS

‘Kaluskos’ is a horror film about a separated couple fighting over custody of their daughter. Career woman Rebecca (Coleen Garcia) has sole custody of her daughter Amaya (Queenzy Calma), which her ex-husband (played by Karl Medina) is fighting to overturn. Rebecca, who is dedicated to her job, is not at all connected to Amaya but will fight tooth and nail to keep her out of spite as her ex-husband cheated on her. But Amaya has begun to exhibit violent tendencies and strange behaviour and Rebecca is discovering that being a mother is a lot harder to do alone.

Director Roman Perez Jr. is in quite a rush to get to the horror that he never really settles down to establish the setting, the characters, and the rules of this world.

We never really get to know Rebecca’s job or how hard she works (it’s always mentioned but we never really get to see it) and because Rebecca never seems to really connect with her daughter, it’s hard for us to believe she really loves her when things start to go awry. We have no idea what Amaya was like before so when she starts acting strange or violent, we don’t know if this is due to the custody battle or if the child had always this issue growing under her, or if this is the effect of some supernatural element that is hinted upon in the film.

In fact, the film is in such a rush to get to it that there are scenes when foreboding music is already at play in some normal, mundane scenes. In other moments, the camera is already angled in a peculiar way to suggest someone is watching, hidden, but the scene doesn’t really call for it.

Without grounding the film in its setting and its world, Rebecca’s descent into madness feels rushed and not properly motivated. There are also quite a number of imagery and narrative elements that seem arbitrary. There’s a dream sequence of Rebecca on a boat, floating near the shore and she sees her daughter under the water but this image has no real connection to the story or the supernatural element that is uncovered as the story unfolds.

The world seems small, operating only within the mechanics needed for the film to move forward and this is what makes ‘Kaluskos’ struggle to find its fear factor. I don’t see this happening to me or anyone around me. Detached from the real world, ‘Kaluskos’ seems to be an isolated story that is just there for Rebecca and Amaya. It never really turns their custody battle or Rebecca’s maternal issues as something universal and it makes the film feel small.

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Cinemalaya 18 runs until August 14, 2022. at the CCP, and will hold screenings at select Ayala Malls Cinemas and SM Cinemas until August 16, 2022. Online streaming is scheduled for October 2022.

ALSO READ:
Cinemalaya 18 Reviews: ‘Blue Room,’ ‘The Baseball Player,’ and opening film ‘Leonor Will Never Die’
‘Riding the Waves: 15 Years of Cinemalaya’ and More Books to Be Launched During the Film Festival
Award-Winning Documentaries to Close This Year’s Cinemalaya 18

August 12, 2022
Here are the Visual Art Exhibitions at this Year’s Cinemalaya

As the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival goes on-site, five (5) parallel exhibitions for Cinemalaya viewers are presented.

The exhibitions include the Cinemalaya 18 Competition Films Exhibit which showcases primarily memorabilia from the set and some behind-the-scenes’ images from the 11 full-length films and 12 short films. This exhibit can be found at the Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco or the Little Theater Lobby located on the ground floor of CCP.

To showcase the roster of films for screening at this year’s festival, Cinemalaya 18 Festival Posters Exhibit at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala or the Second Floor Hallway Gallery displays the film posters for the Cinemalaya 18 Main Competition (Full-Length and Short Films), Retrospective Shorts section, Tribute, and 34th Gawad Alternatibo. It also carries the poster of the opening film, Leonor Will Never Die, and the closing films — the documentaries Delikado followed by We Don’t Dance for Nothing. This is a first for the festival to close its run with documentary films to mark their importance in succeeding festivals.

An exhibition highlighting the recently conferred National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts at the Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino or Third Floor Hallway Gallery is dedicated to Nora Aunor, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and Ricardo “Ricky” Lee.

To provide a glimpse of their artistic practices, images from the films written by Lee namely Himala (1982) featuring Aunor, and the trilogy Brutal (1980), Moral (1982), and Karnal (1983) directed by Diaz-Abaya are featured on the exhibit.

Cinemalaya Filmmakers’ Images Exhibit presents filmmakers who have joined the competition since 2005, along with their award-winning film entries. Located at the Bulwagang Juan Luna or the Main Gallery on the third floor, Cinemalaya filmmakers in the past 18 years can leave their autographs on their photos while visitors can drop by at the Cinemalaya Lounge by Latitude.

Idan Cruz, better known as actor John Lloyd Cruz captures the Cinemalaya 18 Filmmakers’ Portraits displayed at the Main Theater Lobby on the first floor. Since 2017, Cruz has been working on art photography and videography. This year, Cinemalaya chose the renowned actor as its official exhibition photographer – a shift in roles as the actor once directed in front of the camera took the turn to guide the filmmakers behind the scene for their photoshoot. Cruz took portraits of 18 filmmakers among the 26 in competition.

These five exhibitions are part of the 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival ongoing at the CCP until August 14. You can visit them at the CCP from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

For more details about the exhibitions, visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites. Follow the CCP and Cinemalaya official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

August 10, 2022
CCP to Conduct the Cinemalaya 2022 Konek

The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Cinemalaya Foundation Inc. and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), present Cinemalaya Konek, a three-day event slated on August 10 and 12-13, at CCP.

Cinemalaya Konek provides a venue for filmmakers to interact, network and connect with film industry players.

Cinemalaya Konek has three (3) activities which are: Interaction/Panel Discussion, Networking + Filmmakers Night, and Business Matching.

The first activity, Interaction/Panel Discussion is divided into two (2) parts, Konek 1: Film Producing in Cinema and Streaming Platform wherein film producers – Alemberg Ang, Ida Del Mundo, and Daphne Chiu will do a discussion about their process, inspirations, and motivations in producing films, and Konek 2: Filmmaking and Film Programming for International Festivals where Cinemalaya Film Juries – Frederic Auburtin, Makiko Wakai, and Madonna Tarrayo will share their experiences in filmmaking, programming, and participation to international festivals.

Konek 1 and Konek 2 will be held on August 10, 2022, from 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm and 5:00 pm to 5:45 pm respectively at the CCP Cinemalaya Tent.

The second activity, Networking & Filmmakers Night will help different filmmakers and directors in networking with film producers, post-production companies, embassies, industry players, and stakeholders on August 10, 2022, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the CCP Cinemalaya Tent.

The last activity, Business Matching will take place on August 12, 2022, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and on August 13, 2022, from 10:00 am – 1:30 pm at CCP Cinemalaya Tent.

Cinemalaya Konek is a fringe activity of the Cinemalaya Film Festival that opened on August 5 at the CCP.

For more information on the 18th Cinemalaya Film Festival screening schedules and other offerings, check out the CCP website www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and Cinemalaya social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

August 10, 2022
Cinemalaya 2022 Main Jury & NETPAC Jurors Unveiled

A distinguished jury of prominent personalities comprises this year’s jury panel for Cinemalaya 2022. They will determine who among the competing films—11 full-length films and 12 short films—will top the 2022 Cinemalaya lineup.

Main Jury

On its 18th edition, Cinemalaya’s main jury panel is composed of renowned directors Frédéric Auburtin and Jeffrey Jeturian, actor and film producer Piolo Pascual, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UXS Inc. (Unitel/StraightShooters) Maria Madonna Tarrayo, and coordinator of New Asian Currents Makiko Wakai.

Frédéric Auburtin leads the main competition jury. His participation as a Jury Chairman at the festival is part of the celebration of the 75th Philippines-France diplomatic relations.

Auburtin initially studied music and literature before pursuing a career in film. He made his debut as an assistant director with renowned directors—Claude Berri, Francis Veber, Maurice Pialat, Luigi Comencini, Bertrand Blier, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, and Randall Wallace for The Man in the Iron Mask.

In 1998, he co-directed and composed the score for his first feature film, The Bridge, alongside Gérard Depardieu.

From then on, he was able to demonstrate his versatility as a film director for cinema and television, including Special Correspondents, The Worst Week of My Life, Volpone, as well as singular projects such as the collective film Paris, Je t’aime, for which he also supervised transitions and editing, and United Passions, a complex and adventurous film whose international cast retraces the sulfurous FIFA’s 100-year history.

Currently, Auburtin is working on two feature films and a mini-series and is interested in discovering new works by Filipino filmmakers.

Jeffrey Jeturian joins Auburtin on the jury panel. He has directed feature films that foreshadowed a thriving independent cinema in the Philippines. He succeeded in attracting viewers outside of the arthouse aficionados by making timely social topics and concerns appealing.

Three of his films, Pila Balde (1999), Tuhog (2001), and Kubrador (2006), were listed among the top 20 Filipino films of the previous 20 years by The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. Pila Balde won various accolades overseas, while Tuhog participated in the 58th Venice International Film Festival in 2001. Kubrador—with over 40 national and international honors—is often regarded as Jeturian’s most successful film—was screened at over a hundred international cinema festivals, including a U.S. debut at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Locally, Tuhog and Kubrador won the Urian Best Picture award, while the Young Critics Circle and the Golden Screen Awards picked Minsan Pa (2004) as the best picture of the year. The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival awarded Bisperas (Best Film, 2011) and Ekstra (Jury Prize and Audience Award, 2013) with awards.

Jeturian has also done several TV series, particularly the popular Be Careful with My Heart (2012) and his most recent works Encounter (2021) and What We Could Be (2022). For a docu-drama, he collaborated with Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, and co-produced and co-directed footage for Ang Pagbabalik Ni Gregoria de Jesus (2022) which tells the story of de Jesus, the wife of Andres Bonifacio. The aforementioned is Jeturian’s first attempt in the historical genre.

Piolo Pascual is also part of the jury. Pascual is regarded as the “Philippines’ Ultimate Heartthrob” in the showbiz industry.

Pascual has starred in arthouse films such as Lav Diaz’s Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery) in 2016, which won The Alfred Bauer Prize at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, and Ang Hupa (The Halt) that had its debut premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight. He also appeared as one of the main characters in Erik Matti’s On The Job which received a standing ovation at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Pascual also produced award-winning films such as Kita Kita and the hit Kimmy Dora franchise through Spring Films, a production company he founded alongside Joyce Bernal and Erickson Raymundo. Kuya Wes, which competed in the full-length film category at the 2018 Cinemalaya, was also created by Spring Films.

Another member of the jury is Maria Madonna Tarrayo, the head of Commercial Production Houses Group (CPHG) and is the Chairman of the Advertising Suppliers Association of the Philippines (ASAP).

Whilst managing several teams in ads and entertainment projects, she has created award-winning advertisements, films, and television programs. For Cinemalaya, she worked on Chris Martinez’s 100 and Marlon Rivera’s The Woman in The Septic Tank; for Unitel, she worked on Chris Martinez’s I Do Bidoo Bidoo, Yam Laranas’ Abomination, and Adolf Alix’s Whistleblower. Tarrayo also served as the Executive Producer for the Coke Studio series, Batang Poz for IWant and Dreamscape, Adventure Your Way for AXN, Hot Ones for IFlix, Trese for Base Entertainment, and other TV5/Cignal shows. She is presently in charge of film and television series development and production.

Completing the jury is Makiko Wakai, who works as the coordinator/programmer of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, which strives to highlight and bring together young filmmakers from East Asia to the Middle East. She also organizes the Feminist Active Documentary Video Festa, where she distributes and screens independent films. Currently, Wakai is in the New Asian Currents program that showcases and promotes the work of emerging Asian documentaries, regardless of format or duration.

NETPAC Jury

Cinemalaya is among the film festivals where The Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) prize is awarded. The award is meant to promote Asian cinema and recognize the works of young Asian filmmakers.

For this year’s Cinemalaya, the NETPAC Award jury members are cinema scholar Patrick F. Campos, director Ida Anita del Mundo, and film critic and historian Max Tessier.

Patrick F. Campos is the author of several essays and books on Philippine and Southeast Asian cinema, including The End of National Cinema (2016). He curated the exhibit Scenes Reclaimed: CCP 50 x Cinemalaya 15 (2019) and co-wrote the subsequent book (2020), as well as editing Pelikula: A Journal of Philippine Cinema. He has also programmed, juried, or served on the selection committee for the Guanajuato International Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival, QCinema International Film Festival, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Cinema One Originals, Image Forum, Minikino, Asian Film Archive, SeaShorts, Cinema Rehiyon, and Gawad Urian, and he curates the annual TINGIN Southeast Asian Film Festival in Manila.

Another juror is Ida Anita del Mundo, an active NETPAC member, and screenwriting and directing instructor at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde in Manila, Philippines. Her first film K’na, the Dreamweaver, premiered at the 2014 Cinemalaya Film Festival where it received the Special Jury Prize. It was named Best of Show at the 2015 Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, and was honored with an Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Winners) award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2015. K’na, the Dreamweaver is the first feature film about the T’boli people of South Cotabato, Mindanao, and the first film in the T’boli language. She went on to direct documentaries and music videos after that.

Founding member of NETPAC France, Max Tessier, is the third on the jury panel. He has been a film critic for several newspapers and magazines since 1963, particularly Jeune Cinéma (1965 to 1971), Ecran (1972 to 1979), La Revue du Cinéma, and other publications including Le Monde and Le Mondec diplomatique. He also contributed to magazines abroad, notably Cinemaya in New Delhi and Les Voix in Kyoto and Paris.

Tessier served as an artistic consultant for several festivals, primarily for the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival (1980–2000), and has served on juries in European and Asian festivals in San Sebastian, Vesoul, Cairo, Tokyo, Pusan, Gwanju, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Delhi, Trivandrum, Colombo, Vladivostok, and CineManila, Cinemalaya, CineFilipino, QCinema, among others.

Cinemalaya 2022 will take place at the various venues of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from August 5 to 14, 2022. Aside from CCP, there will also be nationwide screenings in select partner Ayala cinemas and SM Cinemas from August 10 to 16, 2022.

For more information, visit the CCP (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and Cinemalaya (https://cinemalaya.org/) websites. Follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates.

August 9, 2022
‘Riding the Waves: 15 Years of Cinemalaya’ and More Books to Be Launched During the Film Festival

Six books by icons and experts on Philippine cinema will be launched during the ongoing 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

On August 8 at 4:00 pm, a back-to-back launch of Nick Deocampo’s book Alternative Cinema: The Unchronicled History of Alternative Cinema in the Philippines and Philippine Cinema 1897-2020 by Gaspar Vibal and Dennis Villegas will be held at the Cinemalaya Tent.

Alternative Cinema is a collection of ethnography and history of alternative cinema in the Philippines. It also seeks to reveal the “hidden side” of Philippine cinema. The book took 40 years to create, utilizing Deocampo’s notes, notebooks, and diaries.

Deocampo is an award-winning Filipino filmmaker, film historian, University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) professor, and advocate for film literacy. Since 1982, Deocampo has written on alternative films in the country which started while he was in Paris shortly after graduating from the UP.

Philippine Cinema 1897-2020 received the Best Book on Art in the 39th National Book Awards. The book was written by Gaspar A. Vidal of the University of the Philippines Diliman and Dennis A. Villegas of the Far Eastern University, and edited by Teddy Co.

Co is the founder of Cinema Rehiyon and was the chairman of the Cinema Committee the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

On August 9 at 4:00 pm, the launching of the books Mga Screenplay ni Ricky Lee Volume 1: Brutal, Moral, Karnal and Mga Screenplay ni Ricky Lee Volume 2: Himala, Cain at Abel, Salome by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricardo “Ricky” Lee will be held at the Third Floor CCP Hallway.

Lee, a Filipino screenwriter, journalist, novelist, and playwright, collaborated with fellow National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Marilou Diaz-Abaya on the screenplays of Brutal, Moral, and Karnal. The first volume contains the complete scripts of the three films with precursory articles on their developments.

For the second volume Mga Screenplay ni Ricky Lee (Volume 2): Himala, Cain at Abel, Salome, Lee included the three screenplays of the films which were directed by Ishmael Bernal, Lino Brocka, and Laurice Guillen respectively. Bernal and Brocka are both National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts.

The University of Santo Tomas Publishing House published the two book volumes of Lee.

On August 11 at 4:00 pm, Ang Daigdig ng mga Api: Remembering a Lost Film (a collaboration between Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. and Dik Trofeo) and Riding the Waves: 15 Years of Cinemalaya edited by Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. will be launched at the Cinemalaya Lounge by Latitude at the Third Floor of the CCP Main Gallery.

del Mundo is a writer who recreated the multi-award winning film Ang Daigdig ng mga Api in book form. He collaborated on the book with Dik Trofeo, the film’s assistant director, who contributed anecdotes and black-and-white pictures from behind the scenes. Dick Baldovino is another photo contributor to the book’s images.

Riding the Waves: 15 Years of Cinemalaya will have its onsite relaunch after last year’s online launch. It contains a vibrant tapestry of narratives that portray through words and images the first 15 years of the festival’s existence through the contributors’ unique vantage points.

World-renowned artists and cultural figures who contributed articles in Riding The Waves include Doreen Yu, Lito B. Zulueta, Jose Javier Reyes, Marjorie Evasco, Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr., Bayani San Diego, Jr., Philip Cheah, Max Tessier, Ben Suzuki, Jessica Zafra, Michael Kho Lim, and Chris B. Millado.

For more details, check out the CCP and Cinemalaya websites. Follow the CCP and Cinemalaya official social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

August 8, 2022
Cinemalaya to Pay Tribute to Outstanding Cinemalaya Artists

Cinemalaya 2022 will honor the legacy of the late artists Benji Garcia, Flor Salanga, Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez, Joseph Israel Laban, and Eduardo Roy Jr. at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival on August 5-14, 2022.

The works of the filmmakers – BATAD: Sa Paang Palay, JAY, Lasponggols, Cuchera, and Pamilya Ordinaryowill be screened respectively from August 9 to August 13, 2022, at 12:45 p.m. at CCP’s Tanghalang Manuel Conde (TMC) for free.

Benji Garcia was known for traversing the worlds of theater and film – production, on stage, backstage, on camera, and off camera. He completed his Communication Arts degree at Ateneo de Manila University in 1979 and then took a film course at the London International Film School in 1980.

His feature film, BATAD: Sa Paang Palaywon four Cinemalaya awards in 2006 for Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Special Jury Prize. It also won the Golden Screen Awards with Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Production Design, and Best Musical Score.

Flor Salanga, Best Actress in a Supporting Role Golden Screen 2009 awards and nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Gawad Urian 2009, was an audition master of Cinemalaya Film Festival from 2005 to 2019. She completed her Master’s Thesis for her MA degree in Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines.

She played the role of Luzviminda Mercado in the featured film, JAY, which was directed by the late Francis Xavier Pasion. Jay won Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Editing in Cinemalaya and the Special Mention award at Bangkok International Film Festival in 2008. It also received the Audience Award at the 2009 Black Movie Film Festival.

Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez, 2016 Best Director at the Madrid International Film Festival and 2012 FDCP Grand Festival Prize awardee, was known as a pioneer of sorts in local film festivals. He came from a family of writers – both from the father’s and mother’s side. In 1999, he got a slot in the 11th Scriptwriting Workshop given by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricardo Lee, who then became his primary mentor.

He was among the 1st batch of filmmakers in the first Cinemalaya in 2005 wherein he submitted Lasponggols, the featured film. It was his directorial film debut, a black comedy that showcases the oft-ignored people in a mainstream movie set. Lasponggols was screened at the 2005 Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland and in the 2006 New York Imaginasian Film Festival.

Joseph Israel Laban was a filmmaker, documentarist, and Creative Consultant for GMA Network’s Front Row and Reporter’s Notebook. He finished his Creative Writing degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman and studied at New York University (NYU) under a Fullbright Scholarship for his master’s in Journalism with a focus on News and Documentary.

His feature film, Cuchera won Best Film in the New Breed category in Cinemalaya 2011. It was screened in international film festivals in Toronto, Stockholm, Belgrade, and Cleveland in 2011 and 2012.

Eduardo Roy Jr. started as a soap opera writer in ABS-CBN until his persistence paid off as a director with his film, Bahay Bata being named as Best Film in the New Breed category in Cinemalaya 2011. He was a mass communication student from New Era University in Quezon City.

Eduardo’s featured film, Pamilya Ordinaryowon Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Editing, and NETPAC Award in Cinemalaya 2016. It received the Asia Pacific Screen Award, Special Mention award in New Asian Cinema at the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, and Best Director award from the Hanoi festival. The film was then added on Netflix to its Filipino Movies & TV list in 2020 which garnered the number 1 spot for weeks.

Since 2005, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of Filipino full feature independent films and short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Through the annual festival, Cinemalaya has showcased over 1,000 works by independent filmmakers including full feature films, shorts, documentaries, Filipino film classics, and art films.

For more information on the 18th Cinemalaya Film Festival screening schedules and other offerings, check out the CCP website www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and Cinemalaya social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

August 6, 2022
Award-winning Environmental Documentary Comes Home To Close Cinemalaya 2022

The award-winning documentary feature, “Delikado,” which draws focus on environmental crusaders who risk their lives protecting the rainforests of Palawan will finally have its Philippine premiere.

The 96-minute enviro-thriller docu directed by journalist Karl Malakunas will be screened at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Main Theater (Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo) on Aug. 13 at 3:30 p.m. It will be among the closing films of the 18th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

Nieves Rosento on the campaign trail in the May 2019 elections

In “Delikado,” Malakunas takes viewers to one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations—Palawan. But the former Manila bureau chief of Agence France Presse shies away from the tropical paradise angle and instead shines the light on environmental defenders who are fighting to preserve their natural resources from big developers, politicians, illegal loggers and others who threaten the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier.”

The film follows Robert “Bobby” Chan, lawyer and executive director of the Palawan NGO Network Inc. (PNNI), former El Nido mayor Nieves Rosento and land defender Efren “Tata” Balladares.

Tata Balladares rests on a fallen tree while searching for illegal loggers in forests of southern Palawan, Rizal, Palawan – April, 2018. Photo by Karl Malakunas

Another film participant was “Kap” Ruben Arzaga, one of the volunteer leaders, who was shot dead in an anti-logging operation in 2017.

The film gets up close and personal with some of the environmental crusaders in a country that has been named one of the most dangerous places in Asia for land defenders. Environmental group Global Witness has named the Philippines as such for eight years, with a record of 29 killings of people who were protecting their lands and ecosystems in 2021 alone.

Bobby Chan stands in front of chainsaws at PNNI HQ

“These land defenders are on the frontlines of mankind’s efforts to save the planet from the worst impacts of climate change. I felt the strength and courage of Bobby, Nieves, Tata and other land defenders featured in ‘Delikado’ could be a source of inspiration as we search for hope in our fight to restrain climate change,” Malakunas said in a statement.

He added: “I filmed ‘Delikado’ with the intention of it being an intimate thriller about the lives of the land defenders, to ensure that audiences feel an emotional connection with the characters while learning about extremely compelling social and environmental issues.”

Malakunas and the rest of the team want “Delikado” to leave viewers with lasting impact—the kind that would propel them to take meaningful action against those who threaten the environment and fight for climate change. They also aim to help communities and organizations fighting for their lands raise funds.

“Delikado” is a collaboration of award-winning filmmakers, among them two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker Marty Syjuco (producer), “Give Up Tomorrow” director Michael Collins (producer, editor and writer), broadcast journalist and Storytellers International Inc. cofounder Kara Magsano-Alikpala (producer) and award-winning cinematographer Tom Bannigan ACS (director of photography).

The docu premiered in April this year at the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival, and has since made rounds in festivals abroad, including Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York, CAAMFest in San Francisco, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and Take One Action in Scotland.

A review from CineEuropa.Org read that “the documentary has an intense feeling of urgency and immediacy” while showing how the idyllic groups of islands are not just property, but also a home to the communities.

“Delikado” has also received various recognitions, like Sustainable Future Award and Audience Award: Best Documentary #2 at the Sydney Film Festival; Special Jury Prize: Best Documentary Feature at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; and Special Mention: Best International Feature at Doc Edge, New Zealand. The film was also featured at Sheffield Docfest, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and MountainFilm.

It will also be screened from August 11 to 13 at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Visit delikadofilm.com or https://www.facebook.com/DelikadoFilm for details. For advance ticket purchase, go to https://culturalcenter.gov.ph/event/cinemalaya-18-philippine-independent-film-festival-2022

August 5, 2022
Cinemalaya 2022 Unveils Lineup of Full-Length Films & Short Films
Cinemalaya has finally announced the competing full-length films and shorts for this year’s competition. The Cultural Center of the Philippines and Cinemalaya Foundation Inc. will return to holding on-site screenings for the 18th edition of the independent film festival, happening from August 5 to 14, 2022.

The full-length films in the competition were the finalists selected for 2020 and 2021 editions of the film festival, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, they could not finish their filming. Below are the 11 full-length films competing in this year’s Cinemalaya:
- 12 Weeks by Anna Isabelle Matutina
- Angkas by Rain Yamson
- Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin? by Real S. Florido
- Batsoy by Ronald Espinosa Batallones
- Blue Room by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagńalan
- Bula Sa Langit by Sheenly Gener
- Ginhawa by Christian Paolo Lat
- Kaluskos by Roman S. Perez, Jr.
- Kargo by TM Malones
- Retirada by Milo Alto Paz and Cynthia Cruz-Paz
- The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo
For the short feature main competition, the 12 finalists are:
- Ampangabagat nin Talakba ha Likol by Maria Estela Paiso
- Black Rainbow by Zig Dulay
- City of Flowers by Xeph Suarez
- Dikit by Gabriela Serrano
- Distance by Dexter Paul de Jesus
- Duwa-Duwa by Nena Jana Achacoso
- Kwits by Raz de la Torre
- Mata Kang Busay by Nińo B. Maldecir and Cypher John T. Gayorgor
- Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico
- See You, George! by Mark Moneda
- Si Oddie by Maria Kydylee Torato
- Roundtrip to Happiness by Claudia Fernando
The competing films will also be screened at select partner cinemas nationwide from August 10 to 17, followed by regional screenings in selected communities from August 22 to 29. The films will also have an online run from October 17 to 31 via the CCP Vimeo account.

The Cinemalaya Awards Night will be held on August 14 at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

A major component of the film festival, the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, considered the longest-running independent film competition of its kind in the ASEAN region, also gathers some of the best films out there which will compete in various categories such as Short Feature/Narrative, Experimental, Documentary, and Animation. Finalists from the different categories will be screened from August 6 to 8, 2022 at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde, with the awarding happening on August 13.

For more updates and information, visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites.
July 7, 2022
Cinemalaya 2022 Reveals Short Film Finalists

The Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Cinemalaya Foundation Inc. reveals the competing films in the Short Film Category of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2022.

The 12 finalists are: Ampangabagat Nin Talakba Ha Likol (It’s Raining Frogs Outside) by Maria Estela Paiso; Black Rainbow by Zig Dulay; City of Flowers by Xeph Suarez; Dikit by Gabriela Serrano; Distance by Dexter Paul de Jesus; Duwa-Duwa by Nena Jane Achacoso; Mga Handum Nga Nasulat Sa Baras (The Dreams That Are Written in the Sand) by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico; Mata Kang Busay (Vision of the Falls) by Nino Maldecir and Cyphor John Gayorgor; Kwits by Raz de la Torre; Roundtrip to Happiness by Claudia Fernando; See You, George! by Mark Moneda; and Si Oddie by Maria Kydylee Torato.

The selection committee, composed of Teddy Co, Joel Ruiz, Manet Dayrit, Lee Briones, and Martika Escobar, confirmed the finalists after intense deliberation of 199 submitted entries.

The 12 short feature film finalists will be screened during the 2022 Cinemalaya Festival, happening on August 5 to 14, 2022 at various CCP venues and select partner cinemas. The best short feature film will be awarded a cash prize amounting to Php150,000 and a Balanghai trophy during the Cinemalaya Awards Night on August 14, 2022, at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

On its 18th year, the Cinemalaya returns to on-site screenings after its successful online streaming. The film festival is an all-digital film competition that aims to discover, encourage, and support the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.

For more information, please visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and www.cinemalaya.org. Follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates.

June 16, 2022