Pokwang, Ruby Ruiz share Best Actress; 2 ties highlight Cinemalaya 2026 winners
MANILA, Philippines — The 2026 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival saw two ties in the acting categories as the female-led "Mag-iina" won six trophies, including Best Feature Film.
Cinemalaya 2023 Best Actor Mikoy Morales again led emcee duties for the awarding ceremony held August 17 at the Shangri-La Plaza Grand Atrium.
The highlight of the evening was the joint Best Actress win of comedian Marietta "Pokwang" Subong for "2 Valid IDs" and veteran thespian Ruby Ruiz for "Status: Rejected."
Pokwang noted in her acceptance speech that the win came a decade after her Cinemalaya debut, "Mercury Is Mine," and even made a quip about local girl group KAIA, the night's guest performers.
"Status: Rejected" marked Ruiz's second Best Actress win after "Iska" and her fourth Balanghai acting trophy overall.
It was only a couple of years ago when Marian Rivera and Gabby Padilla jointly won the Best Actress award for their respective films "Balota" and "Kono Basho."
The other tie of the evening was for Best Supporting Actor, which saw child stars Lucas Andalio of "Mag-iina" and KD Omalin of "Hand of God" share the award.
The other four wins for "Mag-iina," starring Janine Gutierrez, Cherry Pie Picache, Agot Isidro, Ness Roque and Jackie Lou Blanco, were for Production Design, Original Score, Screenplay and Director for Giancarlo Abrahan.
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Queer-themed "Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam" followed with four wins: Sound, Cinematography, Ensemble and Actor for Martin del Rosario.
Bituin Escalante won Best Supporting Actress for "A.ni.mál," which also won for Editing.
The other two awards for "2 Valid IDs" were the Special Jury Award and Audience Choice Award, while "Status: Rejected" also won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, or NETPAC, Award.
Several short-film awards were spread among different entries:
- "Silkscreen" - Best Short Film
- "Elenita, Elena, Elaine" - Best Director
- "Runo!" - Best Screenplay
- "The River Flows in Different Places" - NETPAC Award
- "Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!" - Audience Choice Award
"Elenita, Elena, Elaine" director Gabriela Serrano previously won the same award in 2022 for "Dikit." In her acceptance speech, Serrano noted that all her department heads were women.
A majority of the acceptance speeches were socially charged, with many calling out corrupt legislators, political dynasties and the planned construction of the Pax Silica artificial intelligence hub in Central Luzon.
Early in the ceremony, festival director Chris Millado described this year's edition as a financial success, saying that as of August 16, Cinemalaya 2026 entries had earned P18.5 million at the local box office, a 47% increase from the P12.6 million generated last year.
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