Cinemalaya may soon become a nationwide fest

A few weeks ago, Cinemalaya presented this year’s finalists in a presscon at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Main Lobby. It was teeming with people  members of the press, directors, writers, actors and cineastes.

Now on its 10th year, Cinemalaya aficionados have a lot to look forward to. CCP president Cris Millado mentioned new things happening in this year’s Cinemalaya. 1.) Cinemalaya has a new OBB (opening billboard); 2.) Additional cinemas at the Fairview Terraces mall; 3.) Entries are now in DCPs, (digital cinema package), hence an enhanced projection for the films; 4.) The first Cinemalaya Achievement award; 5.) Bird Running Water from the Sundance Film Festival who will be part of the jury; 6.) The launch of a coffee-table book that is intended for students and edited by Doy del Mundo; 7.) The Cinemalaya X lounge where people can sip coffee while watching a movie, among others.

Nestor Jardin, Cinemalaya Foundation president, recounted the early years  of the festival. “In July 2005, we held the first Cinemalaya festival in five days and in only four venues at the CCP. Thirty-seven films were in exhibition. In competition were nine films in the new breed category and six in the short film category.” Big winner was Auraeus Solito’s Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros which won the Best Film at the Montreal Film Festival as well as the Best Film in the 2006 Gawad Urian. “We connived people to watch and they were mostly relatives and friends. Tony (Cojuangco) gave his full support and we were able to make it to an annual festival.”

Continued Nestor, “We had concrete goals: Develop a body of work that will speak of truly Filipino experiences.” Over the years, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of 118 full-feature independent films and 96 short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Audiences have grown immensely from 8,000 to 82,000. And 60 percent of the Cinemalaya films were invited to international festivals that included Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. Its outreach program has reached 19 cities and towns all over the country with a total viewership of 85,510 composed mostly of students. The forums and talkbacks in the regions have reached a total of 39,270 students.

Nestor added that they are looking forward to making Cinemalaya a nationwide festival. “Next year, there will be simultaneous screenings in Cebu and other cities.”
Laurice Guillen, festival director who holds one of the toughest jobs in the Cinemalaya, expounded on how Cinemalaya works. “When the idea of Cinemalaya came together in early 2004, it had the purpose of creating an opportunity for a new breed of filmmakers to break into the industry with their independently-produced films and to bring these films to the attention of the movie-going public who looked for alternative Filipino films. This purpose would come into operation through Cinemalaya’s two major components: The festival and the competition. Unlike other festivals, the competition is not among finished films. The Cinemalaya competition begins with selecting the material and monitoring the production until the finished film is submitted to the jury. It is an intensely demanding process that covers a period of 11 months.”

“Monitoring is the most critical in the entire process. The monitoring team makes sure that we have 10 finished films to show at the festival, with excellent technical standards. It has not always been so. The adjustments we make every year in all aspects of the competition process have brought the quality of Cinemalaya films to where it is today. Credit is due to the film professionals who have served selflessly in this work, especially producer Robbie Tan, the late director Marilou Diaz-Abaya and director Mel Chionglo, current monitoring head,” Laurice added.

Cinemalaya with the theme: A Decade of Connecting Dimensions, opens on Aug. 1 to 10 at the CCP, and at satellite venues in Greenbelt Makati, Alabang Town Center, TriNoma and Fairview Terraces, in Quezon City.

Competing in the New Breed Full-Length Feature category are:  #Y by Gino Santos; 1st ko si 3rd by Real Florido; Bwaya  by Francis Xavier Pasion; Children’s Show by Roderick Cabrido; Dagitab (SPARKS) by Giancarlo Abrahan V;  K’na The Dreamweaver by Ida Anita del Mundo; Mariquina by Milo Sogueco; Ronda by Nick Olanka; s6parados by GB Sampedro; and Sundalong Kanin by Janice O’Hara and Denise O’Hara.

In the Directors Showcase, the entries are: Asintado by Louie Ignacio; Hari ng Tondo by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna; Hustisya by Joel Lamangan; Kasal by Joselito Altarejos; and The Janitor by Michael Tuviera.

In the Short Feature category, the entries are: Asan si Lolo Me? by Sari Estrada; Eyeball by Christopher “Thop” Nazareno; Ina-Tay by Chloe Anne Veloso; Indayog ng Nayatamak by Joris Fernandez; Lola by Kevin Ang; Mga Ligaw na Paru-paro by Jann Eric “J.E.” Tiglao; Nakabibinging Kadiliman by Paolo O’Hara; Padulong sa Pinuy-anan by Fedwilyn Villarba Sabolboro; The Ordinary Things We Do by David Corpuz; and Tiya Bening by Ralph Aldrin Quijano.

For details on Cinemalaya X, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya Facebook page or call the CCP at 832-1125 local 1704-1705.