17th Cinemalaya filmfest kicks off amid pandemic lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the continuing threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant and the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila anew, the annual Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has been formally opened on Friday.

Festival director and vice president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Chris Millado officially declared online the opening of the country’s largest indie filmfest on the same day Manila was placed under its third hard lockdown since March 2020.

Themed Cinemalaya 17: Navigating Currents, the ongoing film festival runs until Sept. 5 with 13 entries competing in the Short Film Category and other films in various section, such as, Visions of Asia, Premieres, Dokyus, Indie Nation Full-Length, Indie Nation Shorts, Tribute, Retrospective, and Digital Classics.

All films are screened virtually through the ktx.ph platform.

Karma directed by the late Danny Zialcita are being screened in the 2021 Cinemalaya Festival’s Digital Classics Section on the ktx.ph platform.

CCP president Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso thanked everyone for the support and lauded the filmmakers for making it to the festival despite the present circumstances.

“This and all other events in Cinemalaya have truly made the film festival a continuing success and a growing fascination. Since 2005, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of more than 200 independent films. With the digital version now taking place, the featured films will not only be enjoyed by Filipino audiences but by film aficionados in different parts of the world,” he said during the opening program.

Cinemalaya president Laurice Guillen expressed “sadness” over the passing of friends and colleagues, the absence of the “live camaraderie and exchange after viewing the films at the CCP and theaters,” and the “state of immobility” in these challenging times.

This is the second year the Cinemalaya held its festival online following the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

Nonetheless, she pointed out how Cinemalaya has turned to digital platforms to cope with the new normal where “viewing is largely individual rather than communal and private rather than public. There are still various online webinars and fora to discuss how the new distribution system is setting new trends and changes in the way films are made in the new normal.”

But she stressed that the “main focus — as it should be in any festival — are the films. It is all the more so when viewed online.”

To honor the late director Mel Chionglo’s legacy and service to the film community, the ongoing Cinemalaya screens three of his best films — Playgirl, Lagarista and Lauriana via ktx.ph.

Quoting Marshall McLuhan’s global village, she added that this is “the direction towards which Cinemalaya now sets sail. Six decades after the rise of the global village, and two years into the pandemic that forced us, through lockdowns and isolation to accept video streaming as a way of watching films — whether at home or in hybrid theaters, the way is laid for the Filipino filmmaker. At least for starters.”

Entries that comprise the competition’s Shorts A are Maski Papano (I Mask Go On) by Che Tagyamon and Glenn Barit; Crossing by Marc Misa; Kawatan sa Salog (A Toy in the River) by Alphie Velasco; An Sadit Na Planeta (The Little Planet) by Arjanmar Rebeta; Looking for Rafflesias And Other Fleeting Things by James Fajardo; Out of Body by Enrico Po; and Ang Pagdadalaga ni Lola Mayumi by Shiri de Leon.

In Shorts B are: Namnama En Lolang (Grandmother’s Hope) by Jonnie Lyn Dasalla; Kids on Fire by Kyle Nieva; Beauty Queen by Myra Aquino; Ate O.G. by Kevin Mayuga; The Dust in Your Place by David Olson; and Ang Mga Nawalang Pag-Asa at Panlasa (The Lost Hopes and Flavors) by Kevin Jay Ayson.

The festival’s Indie Nation section features four-length films, namely, Lockdown by Joel Lamangan; Kintsugi by Lawrence Fajardo; Don Filipo by Tim Muñoz; and ECQ Diary (Bawal Lumabas) by Arlyn dela Cruz Bernal.

As a tribute to the late director Mel Chionglo’s legacy and contribution to the film industry, Cinemalaya streams three of his masterpieces, Playgirl, Lagarista, and Lauriana. The veteran filmmaker passed away in 2019.

Under the Retrospective section, six short films from last year are shown to relive the experience. Among the award-winning films are Tokwifi by Carla Pulido-Ocampo; Living Things by Martika Ramirez Escobar; Pabasa Kan Pasyon by Hubert Tibi; Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos by Joanna Vasquez Arong; Quing Lalam Ning Aldo by Reeden Fajardo; and Excuse Me Miss, Miss, Miss by Sonny Calvento.

Four unreleased films are featured under the Premieres section, including Highest Peak by Arnel Barbarona; He Who Is Without Sin by Jason Paul Laxamana; Love and Pain In Between Refrains by Joselito Altarejos; and Tao Po by Mae Paner, a.k.a. Juana Change.

The Retrospective section brings back 2020 Cinemalaya’s six award-winning films.

Meanwhile, two of actress-turned-politician Vilma Santos’ classics are featured in Cinemalaya’s Digital Classics section. They are Langis at Tubig and Karma, directed by the late Danny Zialcita. In partnership with the ABS-CBN Film Archives, the special section was added in 2015 to “showcase films that have been restored and present them to the new generation of cinéastes.”

Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is “an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.”