MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival goes online anew via KTX.ph platform on August 6-September 5, 2021 with the spotlight on the short film genre. The festival’s Indie Nation section features four full-length feature films.
LOCKDOWN by Joel Lamangan
Lamangan’s Lockdown tells about a returning overseas Filipino worker who desperately turns to cybersex – in the middle of a global pandemic and a struggling economy. The film stars Paolo Gumabao, Max Eigenmann, Allan Paule, Ruby Ruiz, Jess Evardone, Jim Pebanco, Angeline Sanoy, Paul Jake Paule, Sean de Guzman and Alexis Yasuda.
KINTSUGI by Lawrence Fajardo
Kintsugi refers to a unique Japanese method of repairing broken porcelain, wherein shards are reattached with gold. Fajardo’s film follows the story of a Filipino OFW factory worker who develops a close bond with his employer’s daughter. Filmed in Saga, Japan, this is Lawrence Fajardo’s second Sinag Maynila full-length entry after 2015’s Imbisibol. JC Santos and a cast of Filipino and Japanese actors comprise the film.
DON FILIPO by Tim Muñoz
Muñoz’s Don Filipo is about a remote village that is gripped with fear. Its residents are going missing one by one. Now a young nurse is in town to care for an ailing Don Filipo. Will he be the next victim? Featured actors in the film include Luis Padilla, Adrian Arias, Rap Robes, Megan Sharpe, Steven Eduard Yu, Gaye Piccio, JM Martinez, Beverly Benny, Dindeth Ditablan, Nanette Gamboa, Yuri Ladrero, Yoh Buenaventura, Naomi Christine Gamboa, Aaron Javier, Justine Suan, and Potinairs Vicente.
ECQ DIARY (Bawal Lumabas) by Arlyn Dela Cruz Bernal
Bernal’s ECQ Diary (Bawal Lumabas) focuses on two sisters in their sixties who are reunited in one house during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) of 2020. Confined in just one place because of the pandemic, the two sisters, Susan and Amalia, found themselves confronting an old issue that kept them apart for many years. Starring in the film are Elizabeth Oropesa, Daria Ramirez, Unica Yzabel, Danni Ugali, Joshua De Guzman, Anthony Bayarong, Janiel Lorenzo, Krizytynne Reign Nodalo and Maegan Ysabelle Punla.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 17th edition of Cinemalaya migrates to the online platform via KTX.ph. Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.
For more information, visit www.cinemalaya.org or www.culturalcenter.gov.ph. You may also call CCP Film, Broadcast and New Media Division at 8832-1125 local 1704 to 1705 and the CCP Box Office at 8832-3704. Or follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya Facebook and Instagram accounts.
