Cinemalaya in a nutshell

 

I first  saw the film “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” when it premiered in 2005 at the First Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

 Set in the slums of Manila, the coming-of-age comedy-drama film  by fellow UP alumnus Auraeus Solito is about a gay teen (Nathan Lopez) who is torn between his love for a young cop ( JR Valentin) and his loyalty to his family.

Although it did not won the Best film award in 2005,  it became one of the icons of indie films and  has been included in various lists of best gay  films.  It was the Philippines’ official entry to the 79th Academy Awards.

Nineteen  years since Maximo was shown, this year’s Cinemalaya will be held at  the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) instead of CCP  from  August 4 to 13, 2023 with the theme “Iluminasyon”.

The so- called “indie films” embody Cinemalaya’s vision: “the creation of new cinematic works by Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.”

This year’s  ten (10)  full-length films  include  Ang Duyan ng Magiting  by Dustin Celestino; As If It's True by John Rogers; Bulawan Nga Usa (Golden Deer) by Kenneth De La Cruz; Gitling by Jopy Arnaldo; Huling Palabas by Ryan Machado; Iti Mapupukaw (The Missing)” by Carl Joseph Papa; Maria by Sheryl Rose Andes; Rookie  by Samantha Lee; Tether by Gian Arre; and When This is All Over by Kevin Mikhail Mayuga. The short film section  also has ten  competing entries.

 The full length section has  only one set of films  from 2005 to 2009  called New Breed with  another section  added from 2010 to 2014 called Director’s Showcase. It reverted back to one set  since  2016 as  the Main Competition .

 The past winning films in New Breed  included Pepot Artista (2005), Tulad ng Dati (2006), Tribu (2007), Jay (2008), Last Supper No. 3 (2009), Halaw (2010), Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (2011), Diablo (2012), Transit (2013), and Bwaya (2014).

 The winners in the Directors’ showcase included Donor (2010), Bisperas (2011), Posas (2012), Sana Dati (2013) and Kasal (2014).

 The winners in the Main competition included Pamilya Ordinaryo (2016), Respeto (2017), Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon (2018), John Denver Trending (2019), and The Baseball Player (2022). There were no winners for two years (2020 – 2021) due to the pandemic.

 Eddie Garcia won Best Actor thrice for ICU Bed#7 (2005), Bwakaw (2012), and ML (2018)  while Baron Geisler twice for Jay (2008) and Donor (2010).

 Two actresses won Best Actress twice: Merylle Soriano for Room Boy (2005) and Donor (2010) and Ina Feleo for Endo (2007) and Sanglaan (2009).

 Best Actress awards In the New Breed also went to Angel Aquino  for Donsol (2006), Mylene Dizon  for 100 (2008), Lovi Poe  for Mayohan (2010), Eugene Domingo for Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (2011) Ama Quiambao  for Diablo (2012), Irma Adlawan  for Transit (2013) and Eula Valdez  for Dagitab (2014).

 The other Best Actors in New Breed include  Alchris Galura  for Batad (2006), Lou Veloso  for Colorum (2009),  John Arcilla for Halaw (2010), Edgar Allan Guzman  for Ligo na, Lapit na Me (2011), and Dante Rivero for 1st ko si 3rd (2014).

 

Winners in the Main  also include Hasmine Killip  for Pamilya Ordinaryo (2016), Angeli Bayani for Bagahe (2017),  Ai-Ai Delas Alas for School Service (2018) Ruby Ruiz for Iska (2019) and Max Eigenmann for 12 Weeks (2022) for Best Actresses while Tommy Abuel for Dagsin (2016), and Tommy Alejandrino for Baseball Player (2022) for Best Actors.

 Two persons won the Best Director award twice: Aureus Solito for Pisay (2007) and Busong (2011) while the late Eduardo Roy Jr. for Pamilya Ordinaryo (2011) and Fuccbois (2019).

 Roy also directed Quick Change where transgender Mimi Juareza won as Best Actor in the 2013 New Breed.

 In the Directors’ showcase, Vilma Santos won Best Actress in Ekstra (2013) while Nora Aunor won the following year for Hustisya (2014). There was no winner for Best Actor in 2013.

 In 2012, the best actress award was given in the Director’s showcase to an ensemble – Judy Ann Santos, Iza Calzado, Agot Isidro, and Janice de Belen of Mga Mumunting Lihim.  The Tribu cast  grabbed the  best actor award   also as an ensemble in New Breed in 2007.

The youngest  best actor awardee was 13-year old Noel Comia Jr. for Kiko Boksingero (2017) followed by 15-year old Jansen Magpusao for John Denver Trending (2019).  

Only short films competed in 2015, 2020 and 2021.

Decades before  “indie films” became a trend, I had the opportunity see the works of alternative filmmakers during my college years in the late ‘80s and ‘90s at UP Diliman.

Some of the films  included Lino Brocka’s “Maynila, Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag”  and “Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim” , Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala” (1982), Mike de Leon’s “Sister Stella L.” , and Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s “Karnal”  whose daring works portrayed revolt, labor unionism, social ostracism, and class division. Even “pene” films that had grown more pornographic and taboo were also screened.

(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.)

 

Gay and lesbian films dominate 19th Cinemalaya

"Gusto kong ibigay ito sa lahat ng mga 'Eric' na inalisan ng bibig at hindi nakapagsalita, para sa inyo 'to. Nandito kami, nakikinig," says Director  Carl Papa  of “ITI MAPUKPUKAW” (The Missing) that won Best Film at  the  2023 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

“Iti Mapukpukaw” is one of the three films  on gay and lesbian issues that   bagged major awards in the 19^th Cinemalaya  held from August 4 to 13, 2023 at the PICC.

Aside from Best Film (Full-Length), “Iti Mapukpukaw received the  NETPAC Award while Dolly de Leon   won as Best  Supporting Actress.

"HULING PALABAS" won Best Director for  Ryan Machado while Bon Andrew Lentejas won  Best Supporting Actor.

“ROOKIE” by Samantha Lee won Best Actress for Pat Tingjuy as well as Audience Choice Awards and Best Editing.

“Iti Mapukpukaw” was awarded best film  “for boldly taking on the challenges of technology in crafting a very engaging narrative of a young man confronting the demons of his past, and for its overall cinematic experience.”

It is the first full-length rotoscope animation film in  Cinemalaya that follows Eric’s life   as a mouthless young animator at the intersections of grief and trauma.

Rotoscope is  a method of animation that’s created by tracing over frame by frame of live-action footage.

Eric   untangles memories from his childhood in the wake of his uncle’s death. An alien abducted him from Earth which  left to him power  as the destined ruler of the planet.

The death triggered  Eric to remember his past as a child  victim of sexual abuse by his uncle. He stopped talking as his uncle told him to remain silent.   His co-worker Carlo (Gio Gahol) is his love interest and   his shock-absorber.

Dolly de Leon  was recognized for her “pellucid performance of an affectionate mother helping her son confront the demons of his past.”  She said that the  film is a way of healing ,  embracing trauma and getting over it as a young individual.

Machado won Best Director  for “Huling Palabas” as he effectively summoned “the resources of art to come up with a deeply personal film that evokes fond memories of pre-digital cinema while paying homage to one’s small-town roots, and how all of this contributes to fashioning self-respect and self-identity.”

“Huling Palabas”  is a coming-of-age movie that  tackled themes of identity formation, abandonment, friendship and folklore.

Like the transition of entertainment technology from VHS to VCD, the sexual orientation of  Andoy (Shun Mark Gomez) also transformed.

In search for his long-lost father, a young boy’s reality becomes mystified when two movie-like characters appear in his hometown in Romblon - — Ariel, a hairdresser and Isidro, a mysterious, long-haired man who owns a VCD player.

Lentejas got the award for his “engaging portrayal of a young man trying to understand his best friend’s difficult ways as the latter comes of age”.

 Tingjuy  of “Rookie” won the Best Actress award   for "her refreshing portrayal of a young girl coming to terms with her sexual identity as she comes of age in the exciting world of volleyball."

“Rookie” is a romantic comedy about young queer love and volleyball. An awkward 6-footer teen Ace (Tingjuy)  is forced to learn and play volleyball half-heartedly in  the Catholic school she transferred. Everything changes when she meets their star player Janna (Aya Fernandez).

 Lee said that  queerness in sports is rarely explored:  the film  deals with the sensitive yet timely issues of gender inequality and objectification of women in male-dominated spaces.

The film also showed how   officials  of  all-female schools  normally address   sexual harassment issues involving male teachers, professors, and coaches.  In order to protect the school’s  reputation, the culprits are just  transferred from one school to another without legal cases filed against them or without public statements made  condemning their actions.

I saw several Cinemalaya films revolving on the LGBT   issues including  “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” when it premiered at the First Cinemalaya in 2005.

Set in the slums of Manila, the coming-of-age comedy-drama film  by fellow UP alumnus Auraeus Solito is about a gay teen (Nathan Lopez) who is torn between his love for a young cop ( JR Valentin) and his loyalty to his family.

Although it did not won the Best film award in 2005,  it became one of the icons of indie films and  has been included in various lists of best gay  films.  It was the Philippines’ official entry to the 79th Academy Awards.

Transgender Mimi Juareza won as Best Actor  for Quick Change in the 2013 New Breed.

De Leon is also part of “Ang Duyan Ng Magiting”  that received Special Award for  Best Ensemble   and Special Jury Award.

The other films with citations  in the full length section include “Tether” for Mikoy Morales  as Best Actor and  Sound Design;  “When This Is All Over”  for Cinematography, Production Design and  Original Music Score;  and “Gitling” for  Screenplay.

(Peyups is the moniker of University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.)