Cinemalaya turns 10 this year

The Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition, billed as Cinemalaya X, this year marks its 10th anniversary as it opens on August 1 to 10 at its main veue the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at satellite venues in Greenbelt Makati, Alabang Town Center, TriNoma and Fairview Terraces, the newest Cinemalaya satellite venue this year, in Quezon City.

"The road to Cinemalaya X has not been smooth but definitely rewarding,” Cinemalaya Foundation president Nestor O. Jardin said. “We can't help but be proud of what our filmmakers have achieved - the outstanding films they produced, the unique subject matters and stories they revealed to us, and the awards and recognition they garnered.”

The achievements of Cinemalaya over the past 10 years are summed up in the Festival’s theme: A Decade of Connecting Dimensions. The theme highlights Cinemalaya as a flourishing network of individuals, groups and institutions with a common goal of developing and promoting Filipino independent filmmaking.

Special events and new Festival features will add to the excitement of Cinemalaya X. These include the launching of the Cinemalaya X book, announcement of the Cinemalaya Logo Contest winner, the introduction of the Cinemalaya Achievement Award, special exhibitions that will document the story of Cinemalaya’s first decade, a Cinemalaya X Retrospective.

The Cinemalaya X book is a commemorative publication chronicling the history of Cinemalaya and its contributions to Philippine cinema. The book will be launched on August 3 at the CCP.

Jardin said that the book is a tribute to the Filipino indie filmmaker. “The success of Cinemalaya is undoubtedly due to the 164 filmmakers who for the past ten editions of the competition and festival produced quality films that have broken the boundaries of filmmaking in the country.”

The Cinemalaya Achievement award will give recognition to a filmmaker or organization for outstanding and distinguished work in Philippine independent cinema. This is will be the first time the award will be given.

The Cinemalaya logo animation contest involved the production of a new Cinemalaya logo animation that will be used as the new opening billboard for all Cinemalaya competition films. At present, the opening billboard is a 2D animation of the Cinemalaya logo created in 2006.

Posters and archival materials will tell the story of Cinemalaya’s first decade in Cinemalaya @ 10: In Retrospect, an exhibition at the CCP Bulwagang Juan Luna (Main Gallery). The venue will be converted into X-lounge, a cafe-cum-viewing room where interactive multimedia displays will allow visitors to access past Cinemalaya trailers. At the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala (2F Hallway Gallery) visitors will be able to view the posters of all of the Cinemalaya competition films from 2005-2014.

The Cinemalaya 2014 Exhibit at the Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby) will feature, as is the case of every year of the Festival since it began in 2005, posters and memorabilia from the films selected for the yearly competition.

The CCP Main Theater Lobby, on the other hand, will serve as an exhibition area for special portraits of the competing filmmakers. This year’s guest photographers are renowned Jun de Leon and Timothy de Leon.

The Cinemalaya Forum Series, which replaces the yearly Cinemalaya Congress, will be held on August 5-6 at the CCP Little Theater.  Speakers at the Forum will examine the state of digital filmmaking in the Philippines and the impact of Cinemalaya on the industry.  The Forum series offers seven sessions on the various aspects of digital filmmaking.

Cinemalaya X offers festival goers the unique opportunity to view all Cinemalaya films produced in the past ten years of the Festival in the special Cinemalaya Retrospective.

Cinemalaya X will premiere 25 new digital films in the three competition categories, namely, New Breed Full Length Feature, Directors Showcase and Short Feature.

“This year's batch of filmmakers will undoubtedly rise up to the challenge of the previous years with new stories to tell us and new lessons to be learned from their films," Cinemalaya Foundation president Jardin said.

Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Ayala Malls Cinemas.  Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.

To date, 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. 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 about Cinemalaya X, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Film Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP box office at 832-3704.