Cinemalaya 2015: INDIE NATION Section
(Philippine Independent Cinema Today)
THE GIFT by Raymond Lauchengco; THE TRUTH AS TOLD IN LIES by Ira Giorgetti; PAGPAG (The Refuse) by John Paul Su; KINABUKASAN (The Day After) by Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr.
SCREENING: August 8, Saturday, 3:30 PM, CCP Little Theater
THE GIFT (2014) by Raymond Lauchengco (28 mins)
CAST: Shiela, Francisco, ShielaValderrama-Martinez
CREW: Directed by Raymond Lauchengco, Screenplay — Mia Lauchengco; Executive Producer — Chandra Anamirtham; Producer — Rey Espiritu
THE TRUTH AS TOLD IN LIES (2015) by Ira Giorgetti (21mins)
SYNOPSIS: Dominic, a handsome, charming high school student lies comatose on a hospital bed after he attempts suicide, as his mother Magdalena, a stern, beautiful woman in her late thirties talks the incident through with an ER doctor.
CAST: Alexander Diaz, Issa Litton, Rener Concepcion
PRODUCTION: Cinema Veritas and Media East; Producer — Bench EJE; Executive Producers — Ira Giorgetti, Scott Rosenfelt, Michael McDermott, Ernest Escaler
CREW: Written and Directed by Ira Giorgetti
PAGPAG (2015) (The Refuse) (15 mins) by John Paul Su
SYNOPSIS: Pagpag (The Refuse) is a story of love and survival in one of the most dangerous landfill slums located in Manila, Philippines. Perla, a 70-year-old ‘pagpag’–garbage food–vendor, seeks a better life for her granddaughter, and financial relief for herself, by setting up an “audition” to win over adoptive parents from abroad. The resulting clash of cultures (and expectations on both sides) provides an utterly surprising meditation on the nature of family love, and the harrowing effects of desperate poverty.
CAST: Bibeth Orteza, Daisy Jadoc, Andrew Eisenman, Olivier Borten, Cris Garrido
CREW: Written and directed by John Paul Su; Producers — John Paul Su & Lorenzo Hassan
KINABUKASAN (The Day After) (2014) by Adolfo Alix (17 mins)
SYNOPSIS: An older woman is moving on from a painful loss, when a link to the past shows up. The young man has questions that she has to help him find answers for.
CAST: Nora Aunor, Rosanna Roces, and Alden Richards
CREW: Director — Adolfo Alix Jr.; Producers — Lou Gopez, Adolfo Alix Jr.; Bicycle Pictures; Scriptwriter — Jerry Gracio; Cinematographer — Albert Banzon; Art Design — Adolfo Alix Jr., Bobet Lopez
LITTLE AZKALS (2014) by Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez
SCREENING: August 8, Saturday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
SYNOPSIS: The Philippine Football Team Azkal’s miraculous winnings in Asia started a wave for the country that we too can eye for the most coveted World Cup. For the first time in history, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has launched a search for the next Philippine Azkals who will undergo training for the 2019 World Cup qualifier.More than 1,000 boys from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao tried their lucks.Only 22 are selected. This documentary film is a story of dreams.
CAST: The Little Azkals – The U-11 Philippine Football National Team / Azkals – Rob Gier, Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong
CREW: Director — Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez; Executive Producers — Albert Almendralejo, Chuck Gutierrez; Cinematography — Dindo Fortuno, Dexter Denison Dela Peña, Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez; Editing, Chuck Gutierrez
ABOVE THE CLOUDS (2014) by Pepe Diokno
SCREENING: August 8, Saturday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
SYNOPSIS: After losing his parents in a flood, Andy, a 15-year-old boy, is forced to live with his estranged grandfather.
Disconsolate, he withdraws from everyone around him, until his grandfather shows him old photographs of his parents on a hike. Together, they embark on a mountainous hike retracing his parents’ steps, in a spirited effort to overcome grief.
CAST: Ruru Madrid, Pepe Smith
CREW: Written and Directed by Pepe Diokno; Producers — Bianca Balbuena, Philippe Avril, Pepe Diokno; Cinematographer — Carlo Mendoza; Production Designer — Benjamin Padero, Carlo Tabije
LORNA (2014) by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo
SCREENING: August 9, Sunday, 6:15 PM, CCP Little Theater
SYNOPSIS: LORNA is a film about a 60 year old woman who is constantly searching for the right one after failed relationships. It is a story of being alone & growing old.
CAST: Shamaine Centenera Buencamino, Lav Diaz Diaz, Felix Roco, Maria Isabel Lopez, Raquel Villavicencio, Jim Paredes, Alex Vincent Medina, Juan Rodrigo, and Angel Aquino
PRODUCTION: Cinema One Originals
CREW: Written and Directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo; Executive Producer — Ronald Arguelles; Line Producer — Sarah Pagcaliwagan Brakensiek; Assistant Director — Lorna Sanchez; Music — Diwa Felipe de Leon, Cinematography — Alma Dela Pena; Film Editing — Joris Fernandez, Carlo Francisco Manatad; Production Design — Popo Diaz;; Sound — Nioki Aquino
ESPRIT DE CORPS (2014) by Kanakan Balintagos
SCREENING: August 11, Tuesday, 9:00 PM, CCP Little Theater
SYNOPSIS: Esprit De Corps is a tale of young cadets during hell week in military training before the fall of Marcos dictatorship.
CAST: Sandino Martin, JC Santos, Lharby Policarpio Full, Garry Lim, Abner Delina Jr., VJ Mendoza
PRODUCTION: Cinema One Originals
CREW: Written and Directed by Kanakan Balintagos; Executive Producer — Ronald Arguelles; Assistant Director — Karla Pambid; Music and Sound — Diwa de Leon; Cinematography — Louie Quirino; Film Editing — Lawrence Fajardo; Production Design — Endi Balbuena
IN DARKNESS WE LIVE (2014) by Christopher Ad Castillo
SCREENING: August 11, Tuesday, 9:00 PM, CCP Studio Theater
SYNOPSIS: After a bank robbery gone wrong, the gang hides out in an old dilapidated house occupied by a mysterious young woman and her grandmother who tells them that it is the night of “Ang Kumakatok” (Those Who Knock), a mythical being who takes away a soul from the occupants of the house they (knock in). As the dead of night unfolds, we realize who they all really are and when the knock comes, none of them can run away from an evil that stays in their soul.
CAST: Mon Confiado, Alex Medina, Jerald Napoles, Imelda Schweighart, Katy Fernandez, and Ms. Gloria Sevilla
CREW: Director — Christopher Ad Castillo; Executive Producer — Suzette Ranillo; Associate Producer — Malaya Roxanne Santos; Story and Screenplay — Christopher Ad Castillo; Cinematographer — Christopher Ad Castillo; Editor — Christopher Ad Castillo; Music — Nikko Arcega, Kim Nimrod Cruz, Denise Santos
ANATOMIYA NG PAG-IBIG (2015) by Joan Rose Fernandez, Jewels Sison, Dàvid Molina, Jav Velasco, James Mayo, ER Alviz, Thop Nazareno, Sari Estrada, Martika Ramirez Escobar, Joris Fernandez, James Bryan Vapor, Martin Valconcha, David Corpuz
SCREENING: August 14, Friday, 9:00 PM, CCP Little Theater
SYNOPSIS: A 12-act anthology film about the lives of several people whose love stories take tragic turns as they try to fill in the void in their respective lives. The film, adapted from the Palanca-winning stage play by Allan Lopez, is a combination of various genres such as melodrama, experimental, comedy and fashion. Bliss and sorrow are portrayed in 12 different styles by 13 young filmmakers that roll into a unifying theme of love and its wages.
CAST / DIRECTORS: Starring various artists for the films — Julia directed by Joan Fernandez; Ding byJewels Sison; Ferdie by David Molina; Rudi at Divino by Jav Velasco; September at Simon by James Mayo; Maria by ER Alviz; Lopeby ThopNazareno; Tisoy by Sari Estrada & Martika Escobar; Delia at Weng by Joris Fernandez; Paula by James Vapor; Eva by Martin Valconcha; Dencio at Meng by David Corpuz
DA DOG SHOW (The Dog Show) (2015) by Ralston Jover
SCREENING: August 13, Thursday, 6:15 PM, CCP Little Theater
SYNOPSIS: We follow the journey of dog trainer Sergio (70) with his two dogs. He tries to keep his family intact with his earnings from his street dog shows. He lives with his two children, Celia (24) and Alvin (16), in a mausoleum inside a public cemetery, right in the heart of Manila. His goal is to earn enough money, in order to fetch his youngest son from his rebellious wife who left him so suddenly without any notice.
CAST: Mercedes Cabral, Lou Veloso, Micko Laurente, Aljon Ibanez
CREW: Written & Directed by Ralston Jover; Producers — Bessie Badilla, Alexander Laub, Sven Schnell; Associate Producers — Jim Baltazar, Jean Pierre Gimenez; Director of Photography — Carlo Mendoza; Editor — Kats Serraon; Line Producer — Darlene Catly Malimas; Production Design — Deans Habal; Sound Designer — Albert Michael Idioma; Production Manager — Cyrus Khan; Production companies — Queen B Production, Phils., san cinema, Germany
BALUT COUNTRY (2015) by Paul Sta Ana
SCREENING: August 8, Saturday, 9:00 PM, CCP Studio Theater
SYNOPSIS: “Balut Country” tells the story of Jun, an heir to the duck farm left to him by his late father, who must decide between selling the property to secure a future with his partner, or sparing the family of the land’s loyal caretakers of inevitable displacement.
CAST: Rocco Nacino, Ronnie Quizon, Archi Adamos, Vincent Magbanua, Angela Cortez, Leo Sarmiento, Denise Alfonso and Ms. Nanette Inventor
CREW: Director — Paul Sta. Ana; Executive Producers — Wilson Tieng, Brillante Mendoza; Producer — Krisma Maclang Fajardo; Associate Producer — Endi Balbuena; Music — Emerzon Quintillan Texon; Cinematographer — Mycko David; Editor — Diego Marx Robles; Production Designer — Mikey Red
BAMBANTI – Scarecrow (2015) by Zig Dulay
SCREENING: August 9, Sunday, 9:00 PM, CCP Studio Theater
SYNOPSIS: The search for a missing watch instigates the painful quest for the truth in Belyn’s and her son’s life.
CAST: Alessandra de Rossi, Shamaine Buencamino, Micko Laurente, Julio Diaz, Delphine Buencamino, Lui Quiambao Manansala, Erlinda Villalobos, Celio Aquino, Abegail Edillo, Kiki Baento
CREW: Written and Directed by Zig Dulay; Executive Producers — Wilson Tieng, Brilliante Mendoza; Line Producer — Jed Medrano; Music — Gian Gianan; Cinematography — Joseph delos Reyes, Ma. Solita Garcia; Editing — Mark Cyril Bautista, Zig Dulay; Production Design — Aped Santos; Production Manager — Lucky Jay de Guzman, Sound — AddissTabong
ANG DI PAGLIMOT NG MGA ALAALA (The Unforgettting) (2014) by Carl Joseph Echague-Papa
SCREENING: August 13, Thursday, 9:00 PM, CCP Studio Theater
SYNOPSIS: A young woman grasps at the memories her mother left– leading to a vicious cycle of remembering, of forgetting, of mourning. This is a story of a daughter’s grief and her struggle to preserve happy memories and un-remember painful ones.
CAST: Pia Franco
CREW: Directed by Carl Joseph E. Papa; Assistant Director — Carmina Sheilah E. Papa;Producers — Carl Joseph E. Papa, Rosalinda Santos, Jaime Echague, Nancy Manzo; Music — Kevin McLeod;Creative Consultant — Skilty Labastilla
ESOTERIKA: MAYNILA (2014) by Elwood Perez
SCREENING: August 12, Wednesday, 9:00 PM, CCP Little Theater
SYNOPSIS: In didactic Pilipino komiks tradition, Ronnie Liang embodies the schizoid character of Mario/ Galogo, an up-and-coming graphic novelist. In a voyage of self-discovery, this protagonist — alternately ingenious and ingenuous — plunges into the territory of the exalted, the charmed and the bizarre, swimming through the uncharted waters of the unique Filipino experience, emerging from it all as an authentic Manileño imbued with the thought that tolerance is sophistication. The multilingual cast is a convergence of Manila denizens of cross-cultural persuasions.
CAST: Ronnie Liang, Boots Anson Roa, Vince Vince Tanada, Snooky Serna (Cookie Serna), Lance Raymundo II, Carlos P. Celdran
CREW: Director — Elwood Perez; Screenplay — Elwood Perez, Jessica Zafra; Cinematography — Japo Parcero, Justin Santos ; Editing — George Jarlego; Music — Nolan Diosana; Sound Design — Nolan Diosana, Fortunato Ramos Jr.; Sound Supervision — Jethro Joaquin; Associate Producer — Nestor Cuartero; Executive Producer — Rex A. Tiri (T.rex Production); in association with Film Development Council of the Philippines
CINEMALAYA 2015 will run from August 7-15, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.