ARDEN ROD CONDEZ’ John Denver Trending was named the Best Film at the 15th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival Awards held August 11, 2019 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.
THE 15th edition of the Cinemalaya Film Festival presents a kaleidoscope of cinema from the Asian region through Visions of Asia, a major component of the country’s largest independent film festival. Four award-winning NETPAC films and three Asian indie films will convey Asian sensibilities to film enthusiasts, which will be screened on August 3 to 10, at various CCP venues.
FOR its 15th year, Cinemalaya makes a striking move when it decides to open the film festival with Lav Diaz’s “Ang Hupa (The Halt)” on August 2, 6pm at CCP Main Theater lobby. For the first time in the film festival’s history, Cinemalaya will screen a four-hour-and-thirty-minute film to kickstart the most anticipated cinematic event in the country. Known for defying filmmaking traditions, Filipino director Diaz has been a hardcore believer of slow cinema movement, having written and produced numerous films with longest narratives. Also, Diaz films have been known for being politically charged, with themes depicting the harsh social and political realities happening in the country. He is the creative brain behind some of the best independent films in recent years, including “Batang West Side,” “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,” “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” “Norte, the End of History,” among others. This screening is a homecoming of sort for Diaz’s “Ang Hupa” after making its world premiere at the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight, the non-competition section of Cannes Film Festival, in France early this year. The film …
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 …
