Eddie Garcia and Ai Ai Delas Alas win Best Actor and Actress   CARLO ENCISO CATU’s Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon (Waiting for Sunset) was named Best Film at the 14th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival Awards night held on August 12, 2018 at the CCP Main Theater. Catu’s film about love, companionship and forgiveness in the twilight years of an unlikely trio — an unmarried couple and the woman’s estranged husband — also won the prizes for Best Production Design (Marielle Hizon), Best Cinematography (Neil Daza), and Best Screenplay (John Carlo Pacala). Featuring veteran actors Dante Rivero, Menggie Cobarrubias, Perla Bautista in the lead roles, the film was cited “for its general technical excellence, for its powerful ensemble acting by some of the most august names in Philippine cinema, and for its sensitive depiction of decline and decrepitude.” As Best Film winner, Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon garnered Php350,000, a Balanghai trophy, a post production package worth Php600,000, a Canon camera, and a distribution grant worth Php200,000.The Special Jury Prize went to Pan de …

THE Cinemalaya’s special section Indie Nation will let film enthusiasts cross out the indie films which they may have missed on their regular screening at the cinema from their must-watch checklist. This component of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival features seven indie films that made buzz and gained international recognition. The featured indie films include: “Citizen Jake” by Mike de Leon; “Chedeng & Apple” by Rae Red and Fatrick Tabada; “Delia And Sammy” by Therese Cayaba; “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus” by Dwein Baltazar; “Mga Mister Ni Rosario” by Alpha Habon; “Smaller And Smaller Circles” by Raya Martin; “Nervous Translation” by Shireen Seno; “Manggagarab (Man With Sickle)” by Kyle Fermindoza; and, “Bomba (The Bomb)” by Ralston Gonzales Jover. Directed by Mike De Leon, “Citizen Jake” is a personal saga of a Filipino and his struggles with the contradictions within his own social class and the demands of a dysfunctional political family in a Third World nation. The film features actors Cherie Gil, Dina Bonnevie, Luis Alandy, Gabby Eigenmann, Max Collins, Teroy Guzman, and …

ON its 14th edition, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival brings together a myriad of films in various genres, catering to different cinematic preferences and experiences. In Dokyu, its special documentary segment, the film festival curates six documentary films such as “Call Her Ganda,” “50 Years Of Fabulous,” “Life Is What You Make It,” “A Piece Of Paradise,” “Yield,” and “Honor, The Legacy Of Jose Abad Santos.” In “Call Her Ganda,” director PJ Raval documents the case of Jennifer Laude, the Filipino transwoman who was brutally murdered by a US Marine. Three women intimately invested in the case – Virgie Suarez who is an activist attorney, Meredith Talusan who is a transgender journalist, Julita Laude, the mother of the slain, galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of U.S. imperialism. The documentary won the Grand Jury Award Outstanding Documentary at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and the Best Documentary Audience Award at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. Directed by Jethro Cuenca Patalinghug, “50 Years of Fabulous” recounts …