Cinemalaya 2011 reels off July 15

On July 15, the Cinemalaya Film Festival will officially open its doors to the public at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Now on its seventh year, the Cinemalaya Film Festival has become a much-awaited event among students, filmmakers, cineastes and film buffs. It has also produced internationally award-winning films and directors.

This year’s Cinemalaya will feature 31 digital films in competition, more than a hundred in exhibition and new sections. It will also have a second festival venue at the Greenbelt 3 in Makati City (in cooperation with Ayala Theaters Management). Cinemalaya follows the tagline See the Unseen, and will showcase films that tackle such themes as passion, memory, truth, despair, obsession, terror and splendor.

Cinemalaya’s main competition categories are the New Breed Full Length Feature category and the Short Feature category featuring works by new directors. The Directors Showcase is a competition for works by established directors. Nine films will compete in the New Breed category; 10 in the Short Feature category and four in the Directors Showcase.

Competing in the New Breed category are: Amok by Lawrence Fajardo; Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) by Marlon Rivera and Chris Martinez; Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (The Dance of Two Left Feet) by Alemberg Ang and Alvin Yapan; Bahay Bata (Baby Factory) by Eduardo Roy Jr. and Jerome Zamora; Cuchera by Joseph Israel Laban; I-libings: Your Loss, Our Luck (E-funerals) by Rommel Andreo Sales; Ligo na U, Lapit Na Me (Star Crossed Love) by Noel Ferrer, Jerry Gracio and Erick Salud; Niño by Loy Arcenas; and Teoriya (Father’s Way) by Alistaire Christian Chan.

The nine finalists of the New Breed Full Length Feature category each received a P500,000 seed grant from the Cinemalaya Foundation as investment for the production. The Best Full Length Feature Film will receive a prize of P200,000 and the Balanghai trophy. The New Breed category is open to Filipino filmmakers who have not yet directed more than three full feature films.

The 10 finalists in the Short Feature category are: Debut by Pamela Reyes; Every Other Time by Gino Santos; Hanapbuhay (Source of Living) by Henry Frejas; Hazard by Mikhail Red; Immanuel by Gabriel “Gio” Puyat; Niño Bonito by Rommel “Milo” Tolentino; Oliver’s Apartment by Misha Balangue; Samarito (Samaritan) by Rafael Santos, Un Diutay Mundo (One Small World) by Ana Carlyn Lim; and Walang Katapusang Kwarto (An Endless Room) by Emerson Reyes. The winner in the Short Feature category will receive a prize of P100,000 and the Balanghai trophy.

The four finalists in the Directors Showcase are: Bisperas (Eve) by Jeffrey Jeturian; Busong (Palawan Fate) by Auraeus Solito; Isda (Fable of the Fish) by Adolf Alix Jr.; and Patikul by Joel Lamangan. The finalists of the Directors Showcase each received a P500,000 seed grant from the Cinemalaya Foundation. The Best Film in the Directors Showcase will receive a prize of P300,000 and the Balanghai trophy.

The Directors Showcase is open to feature works by Filipino directors who have directed at least three full-length commercial feature films while the new sections will spice up this year’s Cinemalaya menu. On its Focus Asia section, eight independent works by Asian directors from Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Japan will be featured.

Cinemalaya will also feature the works of National Artist Fernando Poe Jr. in The Ronwaldo Reyes Retrospective, which is presented in cooperation with the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film. The Cinemalaya Documentary section, presented in cooperation with Calata Corporation, offers a hefty and more substantial helping of films on various aspects of Philippine life and society.

Other sections of the Cinemalaya are the NETPAC Philippine Premieres with eight competing films, Ani (a harvest of the best Filipino indie films of the past year), Kids Treats (indie films for children) and Midnite Specials (indie films with adult themes). Cinemalaya will also organize the Cinemalaya Film Congress, which will carry the theme Building Bridges Across Asia Through Films and other film related events such as the Sine Taktakan (forum with 2011 Cinemalaya filmmakers), lectures and exhibits.

Cinemalaya, scheduled from July 15 to 24, will have its Awards Night on July 24, 7 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater.

For details, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 and CCP Media Arts at 832-1125 local 1204/05 or visit the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and www.cinemalaya.org.