At the recently concluded press conference for the launch of the 2025 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival held at the Shangri-La Plaza East Atrium in Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, Carlos Siguion-Reyna announced the ten finalists in the Full-Length Film Category and the Short Films Category, respectively.
Running through them, notable films set in or about Bicol, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and the Visayas came to the fore.
“Padamlagan,” a full-length feature directed by Jenn Romano is a proud Bicolano narrative that happened in Naga City.
According to the info sheet of the film, its synopsis runs like this: As the Naga community collectively recalls the 1972 Colgante Bridge tragedy through archives and memory, we see Doring—a devoted voyador—caught between faith, tradition, and the fractures within his own family. Every year, he joins thousands in Naga City’s fluvial procession for Our Lady of Peñafrancia, but this year feels different. His estranged son Ivan has just returned from Manila, restless and questioning, a presence both near and distant. On the day of the procession, the Colgante Bridge groans under the weight of the crowd which sends the celebration in chaos.
Five days later, Martial Law is declared, silencing grief and cementing the unresolved.
Romano, a regional filmmaker from Canaman, Camarines Sur, said that her film employs Bicolano dialogues.
The movie features Ely Buendia, Esteban Mara, Sue Prado, Floyd Tena, Mildren Anne Estela and Frank Peñones.
“Raging,” a drama directed by Ryan Machado, is set in the mid-90s in Sibuyan, Romblon, Philippines. It follows Eli, a young man in his late teens who was raped by one of his peers. After reporting the incident to the authorities and having it dismissed to be a playful prank between friends, he retreats into a world of silence and isolation, magnified when his father leaves him to work in a covert mining site in their small town. One night, when Eli witnesses a plane crash that vanishes without a trace, something sparks inside him, igniting a strong desire to break his silence.
“Raging” headlines Elijah Canlas, Ron Angeles, Reynald Raisel Santos and Glenn Sevilla Mas.
In the short film section, “Hasang (Gills),” directed by Daniel de la Cruz, is about Boni who lives in a rural community, steeped in indigenous belief that the deceased are believed to transform into animals after death and return to the wilderness.
De la Cruz is an independent filmmaker from Western Visayas.
“Hasang,” an absurd drama, stars Igan James Nuadla.
Finally, “Kung Tugnaw ang Kaidalman sang Lawod (Cold as the Ocean Runs Deep),” a horror-drama directed by Setah Andrew Blanca, an erstwhile seaman, a native of Igbaras, Iloilo, is about an ordinary seaman who sent his hard-earned money to his girlfriend, only to know it wasn't enough. Fearing she might leave him, he borrows again—this time from the ship’s Second Officer. As time goes by, the officer keeps pressing him about the unpaid debt, but the seaman keeps putting him off, trying to calm things down with massages. His mind begins to sink into despair. As the voyage stretched, there was a “Thing” creeping through the corridors and walls. It has a voice, but no face. Watching from a distance, the thing lets him know it’s there—waiting.
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