By Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) – Cinemalaya has announced the 10 full-length features that will compete for the 20th edition of the country’s most anticipated independent film festival next year.
Cinemalaya said the 10 finalists are shortlisted from the top 20 semi-finalists that went through Cinemalaya’s three-month-long film-laboratory mentorship program.
The film festival added that this year’s edition logged 250 submissions – the highest number of full-length film submissions in the history of Cinemalaya.
Below are the 10 films competing under Main Competition’s Full-Length Category:
“Alipato” by JL Burgos
The brother of missing activist Jonas Burgos bares in this documentary the untold stories behind the confidential leads, damning evidences, and why the disappearance of his brother remains a relevant case today.
“Ang Tumandok” (The Inhabitants) by Kat Sumagaysay and Richard Salvadico
Based on real-life experiences of the Atis, the indigenous people of Central Panay, and starred by the Atis themselves, “Ang Tumandok” features a 16-year old chieftain’s daughter as she fights tooth and nail with her people for their ancestral land.
“Aripuen” (The Servant) by Christopher Gozum
Stranded for 21 years in a remote mountain village in a Middle Eastern country, 63-year-old Filipina shepherdess Divina Sabangan endures isolation, threats of imprisonment and deportation, homesickness, unpaid salaries, and insanity while clinging to her faith in God and love for her family.
“Balota” by Kip Oebanda
A land-grabbing tycoon and a former sexy male actor are locked in a tight race for mayor in a small town. When violence erupts, Emmy, a teacher, runs into the wilderness with a ballot box, the last copy of the election results. Emmy and the community try to outsmart and outmaneuver the goons who want the elections to fail.
“Gulay Lang Manong” by BC Amparado
Pilo is a struggling, old vegetable farmer in Benguet. His stoner brother, Ricky, is part of the prominent Benguet Marijuana Cartel and is being trained by his best friend, Razer, a cunning midget and a well-known personality in the underground Ganja community.
“Kantil” (Trench) by Joshua Caesar Medroso
While facing threats of demolition, a coastal community of informal settlers in Purok 12, Tibungco, Davao City discovers a strange, unearthly shell by the sea. This makes them more vulnerable to menacing powers set out to destroy their homes and their humanity.
“Kono Basho” (This Place) by Jaime Pacena II
An introspective journey of a Filipino son attending the funeral of his estranged OFW father in a city in Japan that is rebuilding from the aftermath of the March 2011 tsunami.
“Love Child” by Jonathan Jurilla
Young, unmarried couple, Aila and Pao must agree on certain terms on how to properly raise their son, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
“The Errand” by Sarge Lacuesta
A driver is sent on a simple errand: to pick up a designer t-shirt and a tin of viagra for his boss, who is shacked up in a hotel with his lover. Simple as it sounds, the road trip crisscrosses the chasms of time, class, and character.
“The Wedding Dance” by Julius Lumiqued
In 1942, a Kalinga woman is personally invited by her husband, a warrior of their tribe, to his new wedding dance.