Free film screenings for National Arts Month

MANILA, Philippines — In celebration of National Arts Month this February, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is offering free film screenings under three film programs, Cine Icons, Cinema Under the Stars, and CCP Arthouse Cinema.

Cine Icons

This is a new program by the CCP Film, Broadcast, and New Media Division. It highlights the cinematic masterpieces of film masters, including National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast.

The two films screened under the Cine Icons program:

• "Brutal," by National Artist Marilou Diaz-Abaya, written by another National Artist, Ricky Lee. The film is about a woman who, after killing her husband and his friends, goes into post-traumatic shock and withdraws from any form of communication. A feminist journalist becomes interested in the case and decides that she would solve it no matter what happens.
• "Lingkis," by Yvonne Elizabeth Salazar and Isabel Margarita Valenzuela. A Gawad Alternatibo 2022 winner, the film mixes mythology, animation, and documentary to tell the story of a country plunged into darkness by repressive regimes visually depicted by a mythological serpent.

Following the screenings is a talkback by National Artist Ricky Lee, made possible by partnership with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Cinema Under the Stars

Cinema Under the Stars returns for its first screening for 2023, scheduled at the CCP Annex Parking area on February 24 at 5:00 p.m.

The two films, both Cinemalaya finalists, are:

• "1st Ko Si Third" by Real Florido. A 2014 Cinemalaya Finalist under the New Breed Category, the film shows how a 65-year-old retiree, Cory, rediscovers the joy and pain of first love when she bumps into her first love named Third. On their ‘first’ date, Cory brings with her love letters she wrote but never gave to Third. She is now ready to hand them over to her first love.
• "Sigwa" by Joel Lamangan. A 2010 Cinemalaya Finalist under the Director’s Showcase, Sigwa spans 40 years of social unrest, told through the eyes of Dolly, who is a Fil-Am junior correspondent of a U.S. magazine. She is sent to the Philippines in 1970 to cover student activism in Manila. After being arrested and deported in 1975, which was the third year of Martial Law, she returns to look for her daughter. The child supposedly died 35 years ago but, she has been told, is still alive after all. The story is revealed fragment by fragment, as she surprises her former activist collectives with her unannounced presence.

CCP Arthouse Cinema

"The CCP Arthouse Cinema: Of Love and Revolutions" presents a back-to-back film screening of "Sigwa" and "Lingkis" on February 24, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. via Zoom. This online screening is offered primarily to benefit students and educators who continue conducting online courses.

RELATED: WATCH: Art Fair Philippines returns home for 2023 edition