After two years, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will finally open its doors to the public for the much-awaited Cinemalaya Film Festival this year!
The annual film festival was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now on its 18th edition, Cinemalaya will go on for two months — from August 5 to October 31, with a full lineup of feature-length and short films. This year's theme is "Breaking through the noise."
In a press conference on Wednesday, the committee announced that aside from the traditional venues inside the CCP, the film entries will also be screened in selected partner cinemas nationwide, regional screenings in selected communities, and online screenings via Vimeo.
The exact dates of the festival runs are as follows:
- August 5-14: Festival proper at the CCP
- August 6-8: Gawad Alternatibo screenings at CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde
- August 10-17: Screenings in select partner cinemas nationwide
- August 13: Gawad Alternatibo Awarding
- August 14: Cinemalaya Awards Night at Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)
- August 22-29: Regional screenings (selected communities)
- October 17-31: Online screenings via CCP on Vimeo
For this year's film festival, 11 full-length films and 12 short features are in competition, aside from the entries to the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video.
The following are the finalists for the full-length category:
- 12 Weeks by Anna Isabelle Matutina
- Angkas by Rainerio Yamson III
- Bakit 'Di Mo Sabihin? (Tell Her) by Real Florido
- Batsoy by Ronald Espinosa Batallones
- Blue Room by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagnalan
- Bula Sa Langit (Trigger) by Sheenly Gener
- Ginhawa (Solace) by Christian Paolo Lat
- Kaluskos (Rustles) by Roman S. Perez Jr.
- Kargo (Cargo) by TM Malones
- Retirada (The Retiree) by Milo Alto Paz and Cynthia Cruz-Paz
- The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo
