After two years (and what feels like an eternity) the Cinemalaya Film Festival returns with onsite screenings from August 5 to 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
With the theme “Breaking Through the Noise,” this year’s festival will feature 11 full-length films and 12 short features. The festival’s opening film is Leonor Will Never Die, written and directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar, and a 2022 Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize winner.
Cinemalaya full-length films
Here are the full-length features, which happen to be the selected finalists from 2020 and 2021:
“Angkas” directed by Rain Yamson; written by Jaymar Santos Castro
A habal-habal driver is suddenly joined by his estranged friend as he is about to fetch the corpse of their childhood friend.
“The Baseball Player” written and directed by Carlo Obispo
The son of a Moro soldier dreams of becoming a baseball player until war breaks out and he must decide between his dream or fighting in the war.
“Retirada” written and directed by Cynthia Cruz-Paz and Milo Alto Paz
A retired government employee struggling with melancholia discovers a renewed passion in the game of Bingo.
“Kargo” directed by TM Malones; written by Joseph Israel Laban
A woman out to exact revenge on her family’s killer finally gets her wish–only to discover something that can change her life.
“Kaluskos” directed by Roman Perez Jr.; written by Enrique Villasis
A mother looking to rekindle her relationship with her daughter suddenly discovers a doppleganger whom she feels more connected to.
“Ginhawa” written and directed by Christian Paolo Lat
A young aspiring boxer sets out to fulfill his dream against his mother’s wishes–and discovers the ugly truth about boxing.
“Bula sa Langit” directed by Sheenly Gener; written by Andrian Legaspi
A war veteran’s internal struggles get in the way of reconnecting with his family and girlfriend during his homecoming.
“Blue Room” directed and co-written by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan; co-written by Siege Ledesma
After an indie rock band gets nabbed for drugs, they are faced with the dilemma of owning up to their mistake or using their privilege to get out of their problem.
“Batsoy” written and directed by Ronald Espinosa Batallones
Two young boys go on a magical adventure to satisfy their craving for batsoy.
“Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin?” directed by Real Florido; written by Flo Reyes
A deaf couple struggles to keep their relationship intact.
“12 Weeks” written and directed by Anna Isabelle Matutina
A pregnant woman still reeling from a break-up has to decide if she wants to become a mother or not.
Short feature films
Ampangabagat nin Talakba ha Likol (It’s Raining Frogs Outside) by Maria Estela Paiso
Black Rainbow by Zig Dulay
City of Flowers by Xeph Suarez
Dikit by Gabriela Serrano
Distance by Dexter Paul de Jesus
Duwa-Duwa by Nena Jana Achacoso
Kwits by Raz de la Torre
Mata Kang Busay (Vision of the Falls) by Nińo B. Maldecir and Cypher John T. Gayorgor
Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras (The Dreams that are Written in the Sand) by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico
See You, George! by Mark Moneda
Si Oddie by Maria Kydylee Torato
Roundtrip to Happiness by Claudia Fernando
Where to catch Cinemalaya
You can watch these Cinemalaya movies at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), Tanghalang Manuel Conde (CCP Arthouse Cinema), and Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from August 5 to 14.
The movies will be shown in select SM Malls cinemas and Ayala Malls cinemas from August 10 to 16.
If you miss these in the cinemas, you will still have the chance to watch the films when they stream online from October 17 to 31.
Cinemalaya film schedules
To make things easier, you can start plotting your film viewing based on these schedules.
