The 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition opens on August 7-15, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.
For this year, the competition will be held only in the short film category. The competition process for the full-length feature category is on-going and the screening of the competition films will be on August 2016 (next year’s edition).
In a press conference held last June 16 at the CCP, Chris Millado, Cinemalaya Festival Director and CCP Vice President, said that the reason for the early selection of feature films is “to enable the producers and directors to get enough financial support and publicity to ensure the success of their film entries.”
At the presscon, Cinemalaya Foundation President Laurice Guillen announced the ten (10) finalists in the Short Film Category this year:
The winner of the short film category will receive Php150,000 cash prize.
Opening Film will be Brillante Mendoza’s “Taklub” starring legendary Superstar and Gawad CCP Awardee 2015 (for Film), Ms. Nora Aunor.
In addition to the competition, Cinemalaya will offer the following SECTIONS: The Independents: Asia, Indie Nation, Cinemalaya Restrospective, Indie Festival’s Best, Documentaries, New Short Films in Exhibition, Cinemalaya Winners, and Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula.
The INDEPENDENTS: ASIA section will open with Zhang Yimou’s acclaimed “Coming Home” with Chinese superstar Gong Li in the lead role. This section will offer award winning films of NETPAC such as “The Ferry” by Shi Wei, “The Night of Silence” by Reis Celik, “Poet on a Business Trip” by JuAnqi, “Summer Kyoto” by Hiroshi Toda, “Six Feet High” by Sanalkumar Sashidaran, “The Move” by Marat Saruklu, “The Monk” by The Maw Naing, “The Owners” by Adikhana Yerzhanov, “The Last Reel” by Sotho Kulikar, and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” by Isao Takahata.
INDIE NATION will feature films premiering at Cinemalaya. According to Millado during the press conference, some of the invited Exhibition Films to be screened are: “Dementia” by Perci Intalan, “Magkakabaung” by Jason Paul Laxamana, “Imbisibol” by Lawrence Fajardo, “Lorna” by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, and “Mula Sa Kung Ano Ang Noon” by Lav Diaz.
The CINEMALAYA RETROSPECTIVE will feature all the Best Films of Cinemalaya from 2005 to 2014 in the New Breed, Directors Showcase, Short Feature and Audience Choice categories. The Cinemalaya Documentaries will offer titles such as “Sayaw” by Cecilia Asuncion, “My Revolutionary Mother” by Jethro Patalinghug, to name a few.
The Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, which is considered the longest-running independent film competition of its kind in the ASEAN/ Asian region, will be an added feature of this year’s Cinemalaya Festival. The Gawad Alternatibo will be held on August 8, 9 and 11 at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde.
The CINEMALAYA FORUM, a major component of the Festival, will be held on August 11-12 at the CCP Little Theater. For this year, the aim of the Forum is to gather honest and genuine criticism of indie films from different sectors of the public.
The Cinemalaya 2015 Exhibit at the Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby) will feature posters and memorabilia from the films selected for the competition.
After a successful decade and attaining premiere status as the Philippines’ leading independent film festival and competition, Cinemalaya is now expanding its mission to the training of practitioners in key aspects of film production and serving as an inspiration to independent filmmaking in Asia. Cinemalaya Foundation also announced earlier this year the increase — by almost as much as 50% — of production grants and cash awards to be given to finalists and competition winners.
While it has sought to nurture Filipino filmmakers through the yearly competitions, Cinemalaya aims to inspire Asian filmmakers by showcasing the Philippines as the cinematic center of creativity and free artistic expression and to professionalize film practitioners in various aspects of film production.
This year, Cinemalaya launched the CINEMALAYA INSTITUTE which offers a three-semester program of intensive training in writing, directing and producing; cinematography, editing, sound and production design, music score and acting. Cinemalaya Institute opened with the first cluster of courses in writing, directing and producing in June at the DLSU College of St. Benilde, the partner of Cinemalaya Foundation for this project.
Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Ayala Malls Cinemas. Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.
To date, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of 118 full feature independent films and 96 short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Through the annual festival, Cinemalaya has showcased over 1,000 works by independent filmmakers including full feature films, shorts, documentaries, Filipino film classics, and art films.
The Competition Chairman is award-winning master director Mel Chionglo while the Deputy Festival Director is Ms. Teresa Rances.
For more information about Cinemalaya, visit www.cinemalaya.org,www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Film Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP box office at 832-3704.
See you all on August 7-15 in CCP and Greenbelt 3 Cinema! Ticket inquiries and screening schedule of all the films (shorts in competition and full length films in exhibition) will be announced soon!
THANK YOU for your love and wonderful support~for Cinemalaya all these years!
From: Cinemalaya Facebook Page