Onward we keep rolling through The Film Festival Season—undoubtedly the most stressful months every Filipino cinephile goes through, chasing a spree of screenings of worthwhile films, some of which if we’re being honest we will probably end up torrenting anyway.
READ MORE: Complete screening schedules of Cinemalaya 2015
Cinemalaya, one of the major pit stops of the Season, is of course different: only a few titles become available in home entertainment platform. And if you ever have experienced it before, there is something uniquely magnetic about the Cinemalaya experience that Filipino film fans can’t go by missing it. On our team we have a couple of #CinemalayaVirgins (yes I’m hash-tagging the frak out of this!) who I will personally see to their experience of the festival. If you want to live Cinemalaya, you live it in CCP. That said, if Greenbelt is most convenient to you, then by all means.
This year, Cinemalaya opens the film competition exclusively to short films. We have already shared the list of entries in a previous post, including the final screening schedules. In addition to the competing shorts, Cinemalaya is hosting an exhibition of feature-length films from all over Asia, as well as a whole roundup of retrospective of Filipino films.
In this post, me and my friends will share titles which we are most excited to see at the festival. Navigate through our names below to see our picks!
Armando
While to some it’s disheartening that no in-competition feature-lengths are produced this year, I’m admittedly grateful that it makes for a bigger Cinemalaya retrospective and a new section showcasing non-Cinemalaya indies (“Indie Nation”). Some of the films I missed in the past years I’ll be able to watch now. To list just a few: Loy Arcenas’ Requieme! (2012); Veronica Velasco’s Last Supper No. 3 (2009); Baby Ruth Villarama’s Little Azkals (2014); and Carl Papa’s Ang ‘Di Paglimot ng mga Alaala (2014). I’m looking forward to catch the closing film, the Piolo Pascual-starring psycho-thriller Silong; I’m interested to see where the 12-part romance omnibus Anatomiya ng Pag-Ibig leads. I’ll get to see Dodo Dayao’s Violator for no one knows how many times now and still I look forward to its obdurate reminders. Among the competing shorts—Pusong Bato, Sanctissima, Wawa, Lisyun Qng Geografia and Gatilyo ng Baril are atop my list.
The idea of world indies in Cinemalaya is welcome but indeed contradicting to the fest’s vision which is “to discover, encourage, and support the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.” I’m banking on the idea behind Poet on a Business Trip, a literal existential trip set in Xinjiang, China. And Isao Takahata’s beguiling animation The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, I mustn’t miss.
Princess
It’s been awhile since I’ve been! So many things have happened to my personal life in the past year or so but I will always, always turn back to the world of cinema. I’ve been so busy working, finding out what I really want to do. You might find this cheesy and unrelatable (I do want you to feel alienated—so) but this year has opened more doors for me to explore in the world of film. I’m still positive about what the festival aims each year: to discover, encourage, and support cinematic works of Filipino Filmmakers that boldly articulate and FREELY interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity. What the festival need are audiences not only from the same group of cliques, but hopefully each films in competition would continue to have their own exhibition outside Manila.
I look forward to watching all the short film entries such as Kyel, Mater, and Gatilyo ng Baril. I’d go for Violator which I admittedly have not been able to see despite it’s successful run in last year’s Cinema One Originals Film Fest. It’s been a great ten-year event so far (despite numerous changes in the festival) for Philippine Cinema. I am glad that they decided to add a retrospective section for us youngsters who weren’t able to see the first few films that made the festival what it is now. I hope that adding the INDEPENDENTS: Asian Showcase would prove that our country, as one of the oldest film markets in Asia, would be open for more collaborations with other asian filmmakers as well.
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I’m aiming to watch Karnal in the big screen because God knows how great that experience would be. Poet on a Business Trip sounds uniquely inviting as well as Lorna, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, the remastered classic Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino which I missed out during its premiere; I’ve waited Pepe Diokno’s Above the Clouds long enough. And finally, as idealistic as this would sound like, I’m quite excited to see how the reactions from the audiences would turn out from the films I’d be able to watch.
Tristan
Definitely Violator.
I mean, my whole presence here in the site, I owe it to me not being able to watch Violator. I started writing here in FPR with a thinkpiece on whether the “indie spirit” should be judged as matter of devotion or distribution. This whole article stemmed from my frustration with not being able to watch Violator because of my work schedule and the fact that I lived in the province. Somehow I feel like this Cinemalaya will be me reaching full circle – the threequel to my trilogy, the climax to my plot. Now I have tunnel vision because my whole Cinemalaya experience will be banking on my excitement to finally see the damn movie. So yeah, I guess I’m pretty psyched for Violator.
READ MORE: I.Am.A.God.: Revisiting Dodo Dayao’s Violator
Kenneth
I push the lists out of my head and instead sink my teeth into the rest of my boss’ statement. “August 14th to 19th”. I stand up and dump my full cup of coffee into the trash. “Well then,” I tell him. “Don’t expect me to be working well the whole week.”
A smile twitches at the corner of my mouth as I leave the room. “I have 2 days to camp in CCP and 3 days to stress myself in Manila.”
I exhale heavily.
Taklub, Above the Clouds, Esprit de Corps, An Kubo sa Kawayanan, Imbisibol are on top of my list. These are the fuel of my “supposed to be” Cinemalaya XI adventure but the think (Darn! Keep dreaming it will take you anywhere). Shorts are a little extra sunshine that banquets positivity to viewers. I’m a little crazy with my tukayo’s new mason jars in Sanctississma, the sunset in Apasol, gunshots in Gatilyo ng Baril and the lifeless lights of Wawa.
I do have a lot of things in mind. A lot! One of them is disappointment. (Keep on dreaming!)
I inhale deeply.
Now, I’m clutching the window ledge, looking at the packsack of scribbled sheets and I’m trying to be back to where I was earlier. I remember only a fragment of Cinemalaya X but I hope it will be as memorable as XI. See you!
