It’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival time once more.
On August 6, 2021, one of the premiere independent film festivals in the country reels off with another online event just like last year because of the pandemic.
As in 2020, not only ten (10) but thirteen (13) short films this year are qualified to compete in the sole category since the Full-Length Feature section is still on hold because of the restrictive conditions surrounding the filming of the twenty (20) official selections which were chosen in 2019.
Therefore, a total of thirty (30) feature films are expected to hit the screens, hopefully, in 2022 and beyond.
And more, the 2021 Cinemalaya will be a month-long celebration—meaning the screenings of films—foreign and local—is from August to September 5, 2021.
According to Gemma Andres Marco, Head of the Marketing Department of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the partner of the private entity, Cinemalaya Foundation, the festival has extended its usual one-week schedule to accommodate more online viewers. The prices of tickets are reasonable, said Gemma.
Out of the thirteen finalists—chosen from more than two hundred entries—in the shorts category, two of them are from CALABARZON, Alphie Velasco from Imus, Cavite and Marc Misan from Antipolo City. Alphie fielded his film “Katawan sa Salog (A Toy in the River” while Marc submitted his art work “Crossing.”
This early, Caviteños are proud their town mate and province mate is part of the prestigious Cinemalaya while Rizalians are hopeful Marc will bring home the bacon.
Velasco’s masterpiece is about Santi, an ill-behaved child who steals a dinosaur toy which makes his father mad.
After he runs away from home, Santi accidentally drowns in the river but wakes up on a mysterious island where odd traditions are meant to be followed.
He is then sentenced to clean the shore full of trash as punishment for stealing the revenant's sacred boat.
Luckily, an old woman helps him and they form a strong bond. But after helping the old woman achieve her peace, the revenant finally allows him to leave their sanctuary.
He returns home but his father is nowhere to be found. Instead, he finds the dinosaur toy floating on the river.
Meanwhile, Misa’s narrative is about a security guard Gabriel Arkanghel who is driven by desperation as he resorts in robbing a bus.
Just before he could commit the crime, two seasoned robbers beat him to the punch.
As one of them approaches his seat, Gabriel tightens his grip on his concealed firearm and struggles to make the decision whether to become a hero and take the robbers down or fall victim to the robbery himself.