Cinemalaya is finally back with on-site screenings. Here's what to expect
Time to gather your cinephile friends, Cinemalaya Festival is coming back with on-site film screenings!
After being postponed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 run of the country's premier independent film festival is set to return from August 5 to 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philipines (CCP).
In 2021, Cinemalaya scaled down its movie presentations to an online pay-per-views basis. They also introduced the hybrid drive-in cinema concept, Cinema Under the Stars, where film enthusiasts would be able to watch selected films at Liwasang Ullalim.
This time around, guests can now watch the 11 full-length film entries and 12 short features on the big screens of CCP. The grounds have been accepting guests since opening their doors for the Virgin Labfest's live theatre shows.
This year's opening film will be Martika Ramirez Escobar's Leonor Will Never Die, which has been screened in international film festivals such as Istanbul Film Festival - IKSV, Buenos Aires Intl Festival of Independent Film, and Udine Far East Film Festival.
Check out the full film lineup here:
Full-length films
- 12 Week by Anna Isabelle Matutina
- Angkas by Rain Yamson
- Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin? by Real S. Florido
- Batsoy by Ronald Espinosa Batallones
- Blue Room by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagńalan
- Bula Sa Langit by Sheenly Gener
- Ginhawa by Christian Paolo Lat
- Kaluskos by Roman S. Perez Jr.
- Kargo by TM Malones
- Retirada by Milo Alto Paz and Cynthia Cruz-Paz
- The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo
Short features:
- Ampangabagat nin Talakba ha Likol by Maria Estela Paiso
- Black Rainbow by Zig Dulay
- City of Flowers by Xeph Suarez
- Dikit by Gabriela Serrano
- Distance by Dexter Paul de Jesus
- Duwa-Duwa by Nena Jana Achacoso
- Kwits by Raz dela Torre
- Mata Kang Busay by Nińo B. Maldecir and Cypher John T. Gayorgor
- Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico
- See You, George! by Mark Moneda
- Si Oddie by Maria Kydylee Torato
- Roundtrip to Happiness by Claudia Fernardo
Championing regional filmmakers, only two of this year's 12 short film entries are based in Manila, particularly Dikit and Kwits.
Cinemalaya first teased its on-site comeback through social media posts stating that it missed its usual exuberant crowd.
The films will also be screened in select commercial cinemas all over the country from August 10 to 17.
Aiming to distribute the entries to as many Filipinos as possible, Cinemalaya will also hold campus runs, as well as community and regional screenings from August 22 to 29.
Meanwhile, if you can't make it to the festivities, you can still catch the entries via the CCP Vimeo page during Cinemalaya's digital run from October 17 to 31.