The 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival marks the first year of award-winning director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna as Chairman of the Competition and Monitoring Head of the festival.
When equally prizewinning filmmaker Jose Javier Reyes was appointed as Chairman of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Laurice Guillen, President of Cinemalaya Foundation, was worried where to get Jose’s replacement and she was groping in the dark.
In a Facebook post, Laurice publicly wrote that looking for Javier Reyes’ replacement was kind of hard.
She even joked that Joey gave her a problem of the best person to best fill in his shoes.
It's Carlitos
But Laurice didn’t have to worry because there were qualified people to replace Reyes and she knew it — Carlitos Siguion-Reyna!
Both Laurice and Carlitos are free spirit and liberal-minded so they can work mutually and understandably.
Without much ado, Carlitos replaced Joey as Chairman of the Competition and Monitoring Head of the festival.
“Buena-mano” was my term when I talked to Carlitos about his first time and baptism of fire as one of the executives of Cinemalaya.
Integrity and Uniqueness
According to Carlitos, he was impressed by the quality of entries in this year’s Cinemalaya, especially the ten short films lined-up. “Iba-iba ang (Varied) persuasions. May (There’s) personal, may socio-political,” Carlos observed.
The short films were the only ones he had monitored so far at the time of the interview because the full-length movies have yet to reach him.
“But the objectives and vision of Cinemalaya are in all of them even as the filmmakers are just talking about them. The artistic integrity and uniqueness of storytelling are there,” said Carlitos.
10 Short Films
The ten short films in competition are “Primetime Mother” by Sonny Calvento; “Palamandong sa Danow (Reflection in the Marsh) by Breech Asher Harani; “Mariposa” by Melanie Faye; “Mama” by Alexandra Brizuela; “I was Walking on the Streets of Chinatown” by Ryan Capili; “Cross My Heart and Hope to Die” by Sam Manacsa; “An Baga sa Dalan (The Red Trails” by Mariel Ritchie Jolejple and Ronino Dolim; “Ambot Wa Ko Kabalot Unsay I-Title Ani (Untitled) by Rey Anthony Villaverde; “A;; This Wasted Spaces” by Cris Brignas and “Abigbaybay” by PR Monencillo Patindol.
Meanwhile, the ten movies in the Full-Length section are:
“Alipato at Muog” by JL Burgos which is a documentary type that chronicles the Burgos family after the disappearance of activist Jonas Burgos.
”An Errand”by Sarge Lacuesta and Dominic Bekaert which tells of a s story of a driver driving from Baguio to Manila to fulfill an “absurd” errand.
“Balota” by Kip Oebanda which is a narrative on the decay of Philippine democracy through corrupt elections.
“Gulay Lang, Manong” by BC Amparado which tackles the life of a farmer who joins forces with the police to take down a marijuana cartel.
“Kantil” by Joshua Caesar Medroso which narrates the romance of star-crossed lovers tested by discovering a mysterious alien.
“Kono Basho” by Jaime Pacena II which was shot entirely in Japan about two estranged half-sisters who cross paths at their father’s funeral.
“Love Child” by Jonathan Jurilla which exposes a story of a couple who struggles to raise their autistic child.
“The Hearing” by Lawrence Fajardo which brings out the discussion among parents who seek the help of a sign language interpreter to defend their deaf child in court.
“The Wedding Dance” by Julis Lumiqued which tells of a Kalinga couple’s romance in turmoil after a tribal leader questions the woman’s infertility.
“Tumandok” by Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay which features the Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in a battle to defend their ancestral lands.
Cinemalaya XX kicks off on August 2 and ends August 11, 2024 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonNews #Cinemalaya #FDCP