Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival’s main competition for full-length films is making a comeback with 17 films competing for the plum Best Film and other major awards in the 17th edition of the country’s biggest independent film festival.
The competing films include the 2020 Cinemalaya full-length finalists who had to, unfortunately, put their film projects on hold due to the pandemic. They are: Ang Halimaw by Emmanuel Q. Palo; Angkas by Rainerio Yamson II; Bakit Di Mo Sabihin (Tell Her) by Real Florido; Bula Sa Langit by Sheenly Gener; Kaluskos by Roman Perez Jr.; Kargo by TM Malones; Kathoey by Joris Fernandez and Paolo Valconcha; Parole by Briliant Juan; Seperate/Separate by David Corpuz; and The Baseball Player by Carlo Gallen Obispo.
Completing the list are the 2021 finalists: 12 Weeks by Isabelle Matutina; Batsoy by Ronald Espinosa Batallones, RMT; Blue Room by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan; Ginhawa by Christian Paolo Lat; Guerra by Joseph Israel Laban; L+B Forever by John Carlo Pacala; and Retirada by Cynthia Cruz-Paz and Milo Alto Paz.
Cinemalaya, this year, migrated to the digital platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic and put the spotlight on short feature films. It was held on the Vimeo platform from Aug. 7 to 16.
Cinemalaya will reach out to global audiences through TFC (The Filipino Channel), streaming consciousness until Aug. 31. Featured films can also be screened via iWant starting Sept. 18 to Oct. 2.
For more information, check out the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph), follow the CCP official account on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You may also check out the official Cinemalaya Facebook page.