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The 7th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, easily known as the Cinemalaya 2011 will run again in Manila from 15th – 24th, July 2011. The Festival will be held in seven venues at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at the Greenbelt 3 cinemas in Makati City. Now on its seventh year, Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Film Development Council of the Philippines and Econolink Investments, Inc. It is an all-digital film festival that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.
Cinemalaya’s main competition categories are the New Breed full feature category and the Short Feature category featuring works by new directors. The Directors Showcase is a competition for works by established directors. The Cinemalaya Awards Night will be held on July 24, 7:00 pm at the same venue.
2011 CINEMALAYA FILM FESTIVAL COMPETITION LINE-UPS
NEW BREED (FULL LENGTH)
AMOK
The bustling and sweltering rugged intersection of Pasay Rotonda serves as the main setting for this story of interconnected fate and destiny. As a raging man’s bullets strays into different directions, the fate of several different characters are sealed and determined. As the temperature rises, the tension escalates and the story unravels with unforgiving immediacy and explodes in the end as each one struggles to survive and escape their inevitable end.
ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK (THE WOMAN IN THE SEPTIC TANK)
Chronicles a day in the life of three ambitious, passionate but misguided filmmakers as they set out to do a quick pre-prod at Starbucks, a courtesy call to their lead actress, Eugene Domingo, and an ocular inspection of their film’s major location, the Payatas dumpsite. Director Rainier, Producer Bingbong and Production Assistant Jocelyn are well-to-do, well-educated film school graduates who are dead set on making an Oscar worthy film. They believe they have a winning script, the energy and the drive to make their dreams come true. Like most filmmakers they know, they have devised a screenplay that will show the real essence of our culture: poverty. In the course of one day, they brainstorm and exhaust all possible treatment of their project: the story of Mila (Eugene Domingo), a mother from the slums, who out of desperation to survive, has sold her child to a pedophile. As they discuss the possible executions of the story, the movie-within-a-movie gets reborn in Jocelyn’s imagination several times. As a gritty no frills neo-realist film, as a glossy musical, as an over-the-top melodrama and as a docu drama using non-actors. For their last task of the day, they visit the dumpsite for the first time. As filmmakers gunning for authenticity, they get excited with the ”beauty” of the squalor around them. Soon enough, they are faced with reality as they come face to face with the real effects of their chosen subject. Babae sa Septic Tank is a comedy about misguided ambitions, the art of making art and the romanticization of poverty.
ANG SAYAW NG DALAWANG KALIWANG PAA (THE DANCE OF TWO LEFT FEET)
Explores the intersection and divergence between feminist and gay concerns in the third world context, as it features the poetry of Merlinda Bobis, Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Joi Barrios, Rebecca Anonuevo, Benilda Santos and Ophelia Dimalanta. When Marlon, a college student, stalks Karen, his literature professor, he finds out that she moonlights as a choreographer and dance teacher in a dance studio. Frustrated over his performance in her literature class, he plans to impress her instead by learning to poeticize his body movements and enroll in her dance class. He hires his classmate to teach him the basics of dancing. As Dennis, his tutor, teaches him how his body should move, Marlon begins to understand the intersections between the art of poetry and dance. This opens up his world to new insights about the life of Karen as s single woman who chose to live the life of an artist in a third world setting. Marlon begins to understand how the poems being discussed by Karen in class are testaments to her choice to stand by her art. Karen eventually finds out, through Dennis, that Marlon only enrolled in her class to be near her. She confronts Marlon about this and wishes that his interest for dance would survive his infatuation for her. Marlon feels betrayed over Dennis telling Karen. But it is also this sense of betrayal that tells him that he has already become close to Dennis, whom he now considers a friend. Up until then, Marlon and Dennis have become inseparable as they both tackled the complexities of poetry and dance. Sensing the coldness between the two, Karen set them up to help her train a group of dancers for a cotillion dance. Eventually, Karen trains both Marlon and Dennis to star in her dance adaptation of the epic Humadapnon, when she bags a grant. Marlon will play the lead role of Humadapnon, who becomes trapped in a cave full of women. Dennis’ character now has to rescue Marlon from the women, as he plays the role of Sunmasakay, the male incarnation of the goddess Nagmalitong Yawa. On the eve of their performance, in a drunken conversation, Marlon confronts Karen how he could not understand her poetry. Karen, in response, assures Marlon that he does understand her poetry. His mind is just unwilling to, unlike his body which already understands. Karen invites Marlon to dance with her, but in the middle of her dance, she passes him onto Dennis. Their drunken dance culminates with Marlon and Dennis taking on the roles of Humadapnon and Sunmasakay on stage.
BAHAY BATA (BABY FACTORY)
Sarah is a nurse at a Public Maternity Hospital. The hospital is abuzz with pregnant mothers of all shapes and sizes in different stages of labor. The hospital is short on staff on Christmas Day so Sarah is forced to put in a double shift. Sarah observes the women coming and going in her ward, noting who is a first-timer and who is a veteran. Meanwhile, the wards are overcrowded : two women and their babies sharing single beds while those in labor are spilling unto the hallways. Sarah takes these all in stride, her heart and mind laboring over her own personal pains.
CUCHERA
Based on a true story, Cuchera is about Filipino drug mules, drug couriers and their recruiters. It follows the story of Isabel, a veteran drug mule, in her first attempt at running her own drug transshipment operation between Manila and China. Isabel’s character is based on the story of an actual Filipina drug mule who was caught with eight capsules of heroin lodged in her sex organ, 48 in the rectum and 11 in her abdomen after an x-ray was conducted by Chinese authorities. Cuchera presents an accurate depiction of how some Filipinos end up becoming entrenched in the world of illegal drugs. Currently, the Philippines leads all Southeast Asian countries in the number of nationals arrested for drug smuggling charges in China. As of 2009, there are currently 95 Filipinos languishing in various jails in Chinese territories—four of whom are on death row. Violators include minors who enter China with fake passports.
I-LIBINGS
A coming of age story about Isabel’s lessons and realizations on life and death as a funeral videography intern. Due to her family situation, Isabel is cynical and skeptical of everything that comes her way. When she enters the I-libings for her required college internship, she sees it as the worst internship her college adviser could suggest to her. Later as she accumulates her required hours, she realizes that the company is not just a place where videographers make money out of other people’s misfortunes but is a place where the dead and the grieving receive special attention. It all comes full circle when Isabel is faced with an unusual family tragedy. Isabel realizes that her internship might have been just 200 hours, but the lessons that the I-libings left her would last a lifetime.
LIGO NA U, LAPIT NA ME (STAR-CROSSED LOVE)
Karl Vladimir Lennon J. Villalobos, aka Intoy, is secretly in love with his friend Jenny, the most beautiful girl in the campus. Jenny is rich and quirky; Intoy is street-smart and ordinary. But this friendship is not simple, since Jenny has bestowed on Intoy some perks and privileges, including going to bed with her on the condition that they will not fall in love with each other. Before graduation, Intoy feels that he has to shed his pretensions of being astig and finally profess his love for Jenny. But he is devastated to learn that Jenny is pregnant. Worse, Jenny tells him: “Don’t worry, this is not yours.” Based on the bestselling novel of Eros S. Atalia, Ligo na U, Lapit na Me is an examination of postmodern love and relationship and the way this generation deals with their love and fear.
NINO
The once illustrious Lopez-Aranda family has faded. Celia, once the darling of Philippine opera, and Gaspar, a distinguished ex-congressman, lacked the shrewdness to maintain their once elegant status. Saddled with a failed marriage, a vanishing career and mounting debt, Celia sold her share of their house to Gaspar, now bedridden. She managed to stay for free in exchange for being Gaspar’s caregiver. Gaspar loves listening to Celia’s arias. This idyllic arrangement is shattered when he slips into a coma. His daughter, Raquel, comes home from the US, determined to sell the house to salvage her own economic woes abroad. This signals Celia’s impending homelessness. With only a few heirlooms to sell, she is at her wits’ end. A fervent believer of the Sto. Nino, she hopes for a miracle. She dresses up her grandson, Antony, in Sto. Nino robes to prepare him for the coming fiesta. She insists this will invoke a miracle that will awaken Gaspar and stop Raquel from selling the house. Antony’s father, Mombic, while processing his travel papers to work in Dubai, tries to strike a deal with Raquel in selling the property without his mother Celia’s knowledge. Merced, Mombic’s sister, reluctantly takes on the burden of taking care of Celia and a household sliding to ruin. The family members clash in a confrontation that reveals their weaknesses and their hopeless ideals. Mombic leaves his son to the care of his mother and sister, Merced, the only family member who quietly accepts her fate. As a final ditch to awaken Gaspar, Celia holds a tertulia, inviting her aging opera singer friends. They sing arias, oblivious to the ravages of time, crippled reminders of a glorious past. In the middle of a chorus, Gaspar quietly dies, sealing the fate of his sister and the mansion that once was called Villa Los Reyes Magos. Celia looks out into her once beautiful garden. She sees Antony, still in his Sto. Nino robe, playing in the garden, offering a little illusion of hope to a past that can never be rekindled.
TEORIYA (FATHER’S WAY)
Is a story about loss that centers on the film’s main character, Jimmuel Apostol II. After hearing the news that his father has passed away, Jim goes back home to Zamboanga City after leaving ten years ago in bad terms with his father. He arrives in Zamboanga only to find that his father has already been buried and he doesn’t know where. Jim takes a journey around the Zamboanga peninsula and ultimately into his own self, finding the missing piece of his life.
DIRECTORS SHOWCASE
BISPERAS (EVE)
In the eve of Christmas, the Aguinaldo family’s residence is burglarized, causing its members to identify stolen items and uncover lingering sentiments they have hidden from each other. Amidst the tension brought about by the burglary, the Aguinaldo family realizes how treasured sentiments have been lost, relationships have evolved as they arrive from church at a house in shambles.
BUSONG (PALAWAN FATE)
Punay was born with wounds in her feet so that she cannot step on the earth. Her brother, Angkarang, carries her through a hammock, as he searches the changing landscape of Palawan in hoping to find a healer who can cure Punay. Different people help him carry his sister along the way- a woman looking for her husband, a fisherman who lost his boat and a young man who is searching for himself- and each one meets their fate.
ISDA (FABLE OF THE FISH)
A couple, Lina and Miguel, move into a dumpsite in Catmon, Malabon from Pangasinan. As they adjust to their new abode and surroundings, Lina’s longing to have a child of her own intensifies. Miguel finds a job in a local ice plant while Lina goes with neighbor-scavengers in the nearby dumpster. But when Miguel gets sick and loses his job, he joins his wife in scavenging. Lina finds a burned image of St. Peregrine in the dumpsite and keeps it. Then one day, the news spreads quickly that Lina is pregnant. When her belly has swollen bigger, Lina gets out of her hut to show the world how a fulfilled woman she is. Miguel is a more loving husband than ever. In the middle of a storm, Lina gives birth. Those who witnessed it were shocked—her son is a fish. Miguel cannot accept it. Lina embraces what has happened and treats the fish as her real son. Strange and surreal moments test Lina’s love for her offspring. What unfolds is a fable that questions the needs and compromises of a real family.
PATIKUL
The long-standing conflict between the military forces and the rebel group Abu Sayaff has severely ravaged the poor town of Patikul in Sulu. Residents have become so accustomed to the armed clashes, that reports of kidnappings and recruitment of young Tausugs to join the rebel groups already became normal news to them. However, Amman, a 33 year old coffee farmer in Sitio Kan-Ague, continues to believe that there is still hope for their town. Amman believes that educating his children would change their present situation. His 9-year old son Fahad is one of Kan-Ague Elementary School’s top students. Fahad’s brilliance and perseverance have led him to represent his school in the annual regional quiz bee. Joined by his best friend Alelie, Fahad goes through rigorous training under Michael Balmes, the principal of Kan-Ague Elementary School. Michael is one of the few volunteer teachers who walk daily through a dangerous path just to get to Kan-Ague. Michael’s constant encouragement and persistence to educate the kids in Kan-Ague gives new promise to the residents of Kan-Ague. However, this hope becomes short-lived after a relative of one of the volunteer teachers dies in an armed encounter between the army and rebels. Little did the residents know that this incident would lead to the death of their beloved principal and, for fear for their own safety, force the teachers to abandon the students of Kan-Ague. The town’s worsening situation compels Amman to take action and convince his co-parents to find a solution, but Amman soon discovers that this won’t be an easy task. Most of the parents are reluctant to cooperate, and he finds no support from the local government. Amman is now faced with two choices: capitulate to the brutality of war or find a way to make the teachers go back to the classrooms of Kan-Ague to teach their children once again.
SHORT FEATURE
DEBUT
EVERY OTHER TIME
HANAPBUHAY (SOURCE OF LIVING)
HAZARD
IMMANUEL
NINO BONITO
OLIVER’S APARTMENT
SAMARITO (SAMARITAN)
UN DIUTAY MUNDO
WALANG KATAPUSANG KWARTO (AN ENDLESS ROOM)
Visit Cinemalaya main site for more info @ http://www.cinemalaya.org/
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